AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 can function as FDA-authorized over-the-counter hearing aids for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. Apple calls it the Hearing Aid Feature, and it was cleared by the FDA in September 2024, making it the first over-the-counter hearing aid software approved for a consumer audio product. Setting it up takes about five minutes and requires a short hearing test you can do at home.
What You Need Before Starting
The Hearing Aid Feature works with AirPods Pro 2 (with the USB-C charging case) and AirPods Pro 3. Earlier AirPods models, including the original AirPods Pro, don’t support it. You’ll also need an iPhone or iPad running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS.
The feature is designed for people 18 and older who have perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. That covers the range where you might struggle to follow conversations in noisy restaurants, need the TV volume higher than others do, or frequently ask people to repeat themselves. It’s not designed for severe hearing loss.
How to Take the Built-In Hearing Test
Before the AirPods can work as hearing aids, they need to know what your hearing looks like. You have two options: take Apple’s built-in hearing test using the AirPods themselves, or import an audiogram from a professional hearing test you’ve already had done.
If you’re taking the built-in test, find a quiet room. Apple recommends doing it at home when you have about five minutes without interruptions, conversations, or background noise from fans and air conditioning. The test monitors ambient noise in real time and will tell you if your environment is too loud. If it is, try turning off HVAC systems or waiting until nighttime when traffic noise dies down.
To start the test:
- Put your AirPods in and connect them to your iPhone or iPad.
- Go to Settings, tap the name of your AirPods, then tap “Take a Hearing Test.”
- The app may run a quick check first. If so, place your AirPods back in the case, close the lid, and tap OK. Tap “Take Hearing Test” when the check finishes.
- If the test flags a fit issue, try switching to a different size of silicone ear tips. A good seal matters for accurate results.
- When the test begins, tap the screen each time you hear a tone. Tones pulse three times to give you a chance to respond, and you only need to tap once per tone.
If you remove your AirPods or if background noise spikes during the test, it pauses automatically and picks back up when conditions improve. At the end, you’ll see your results along with any recommendations.
Setting Up the Hearing Aid Feature
Once you have hearing test results (either from the built-in test or imported from a professional audiogram), you can activate the Hearing Aid Feature:
- With your AirPods in your ears and connected, go to Settings and tap the name of your AirPods.
- Tap “Hearing Assistance,” then “Set Up Hearing Assistance.”
- If you’ve already taken the hearing test, tap “Use a Prior Test Result” and select your results. If you want to import a professional audiogram, tap “Add Hearing Test Result” and follow the prompts. Your results are also saved in the Health app.
- Tap “Set Up Hearing Aid,” then “Get Started,” then “Next,” then “Turn On Hearing Aid.”
The AirPods now amplify sound based on your specific hearing profile, boosting the frequencies where your hearing is weakest while leaving others alone.
Customizing How They Sound
The Hearing Aid Feature builds on Transparency mode, which uses the AirPods’ external microphones to pipe in the world around you. Once hearing aid mode is active, you can fine-tune several settings to match different situations.
You can adjust overall amplification, left-right balance, and tone. If you find your own voice sounds boomy or hollow (a common sensation with anything sitting in your ear canal), there’s an Own Voice Amplification control that lets you dial your voice up or down separately from the rest of the world.
Two features are especially useful in conversation. Conversation Boost focuses the microphones on the person directly in front of you, making it easier to hear in face-to-face settings. Conversation Awareness goes a step further: it detects when someone starts talking to you, automatically lowers any media you’re listening to, and enhances the voices in front of you. Both can be toggled on or off depending on what you need.
There’s also an Ambient Noise Reduction slider that cuts down background noise, and a Loud Sound Reduction setting that protects your ears from sudden loud environmental sounds. All of this processing happens with roughly a 5-millisecond delay, fast enough that the world sounds natural rather than echoey or out of sync.
Where the Feature Is Available
The Hearing Aid Feature is available in dozens of countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and most of the EU. Apple maintains a full list on its AirPods Pro feature availability page. If you’re outside these regions, the feature won’t appear in your settings.
How AirPods Compare to Traditional Hearing Aids
AirPods Pro cost around $249, a fraction of the $1,000 to $6,000 that traditional hearing aids typically run. For someone who has been putting off getting hearing help because of cost or stigma, this is a genuinely useful entry point.
That said, there are real tradeoffs. Traditional hearing aids are custom-molded to your ear canal, which means better comfort over long stretches and a tighter acoustic seal. AirPods come in three silicone tip sizes, and while they fit most ears reasonably well, an audiologist at Michigan Medicine noted that after prolonged wear, “they fit…but they don’t really fit.” The practical result is that AirPods are better suited for intermittent use, like a noisy dinner or a meeting, rather than all-day wear.
Traditional hearing aids can also be programmed by an audiologist with far more precision across different listening environments. The AirPods’ adjustments are meaningful but more limited in scope. And dedicated hearing aids typically last 12 to 16 hours on a charge compared to the roughly 6 hours you’ll get from AirPods Pro, so you’d need to recharge partway through the day if you’re using them continuously.
Apple’s built-in health tracking does add something traditional hearing aids often lack. The AirPods monitor noise levels in your environment, track how long you’ve been wearing them, and log your overall usage patterns, giving you a clearer picture of your daily noise exposure.
One Important Caution
Mild to moderate hearing loss can sometimes be caused by conditions that need medical attention, like impacted earwax, ear infections, or other ear diseases. These are treatable, and amplifying sound without addressing the underlying cause means you’d be working around a problem instead of fixing it. Getting a professional hearing evaluation before relying on any over-the-counter hearing aid, AirPods included, helps rule out anything that needs direct treatment.