FDA Approves Apple AirPods As Hearing Aids
- Reference: 0174984475
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/09/12/2014242/fda-approves-apple-airpods-as-hearing-aids
- Source link:
> The move, which comes two years after the FDA first approved over-the-counter hearing aids, could help more Americans with hearing loss start getting help, the FDA said in a statement. The feature works by amplifying some sounds, such as voices, while minimizing others, such as ambient noise. Users can take a hearing test in the Apple Health app, and their AirPods will adjust sound level automatically based on the results. The feature is only available on the AirPods Pro 2, which cost $249.
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> The FDA says it tested Apple's hearing aid feature in a clinical study with 118 subjects who believed they had mild or moderate hearing loss. The study found that people who set up their AirPods using Apple's hearing test noticed similar benefits as people who had a professional set up the earbuds. Over-the-counter hearing aids are best for people with mild to moderate hearing loss, audiologists say, many of whom don't seek treatment. [...] However, consumer earbuds aren't a good solution for people with severe hearing loss, experts maintain, and most over-the-counter hearing devices will still require a trip to the audiologist for some fine tuning.
[1] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-first-over-counter-hearing-aid-software?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/12/fda-approval-apple-airpod-hearing-aid/
Seems really good (Score:1)
Just from what I saw in the announcement video, this seems really useful.
After you run the analysis screen it factors in how much each ear can hear, and then adjusts the balance of both ambient sounds and music. And furthermore using the same technology that can let voice through over background sounds in a noise reduction mode, can enhance how voices sound over the environment.
I have some relatives that use commercial hearing aids, I plan to buy one of these for them and have them try it out to see how we
This will be an interesting experiment (Score:1)
We will now have people who are hard of hearing appear to others as if they are listening to music and not those around them.
I envision the person using them asking someone to repeat themselves and said person get annoyed, thinking they're just being rude and not turning their music down.
On the flipside, you'll have people using that as an excuse as to why they need their AirPods and all the time regardless of their ability to hear.
One final thing is there is a long way to go before they can be considered a
Likely to require an iPhone (Score:2)
I bought some airpod pro's eager to try out Conversation Boost but it requires an iPhone - not just to configure that mode but constantly to use it. So, I returned them.
So how much noise reduction? (Score:2)
The specs say it exists, but not a db rating. It should be listed like this.
"They have a noise reduction rating (SNR) of 24 decibels, NRR of 14..."
Canadians (Score:2)
Canadians will no longer have an excuse to always say âoeeh?â
Re: Canadians (Score:2)
Canadians will no longer have an excuse to always say eh?
Re: (Score:2)
What makes you think we need an excuse, eh?