Can AirPods be used as hearing aid? Research explains

A new research suggests that AirPods Pro may serve as a hearing assistive device for mild-to-moderate hearing loss. It concludes that this Apple device with smartphone stands on most of the ANSI/CTA-2051 electroacoustic standards.

Hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic health problem. According to a World Health Organisation’s (WHO) report presented last year, one in four people will be living with some degree of hearing loss by 2050. It states that nearly 700 million people will require access to ear and hearing care and other rehabilitation services if not treated.

However, there is low prevalence of hearing aid use among individuals with hearing loss because they are expensive and there is a social stigma attached to it. The report claims, “Personal sound amplification products (PSAPs) may serve as alternatives with adequate hearing compensation and greater accessibility.”

ALSO READ: Apple AirPods to be manufactured in India, says IT ministry: Report

The research published in iScience journal studied the electroacoustic features of hearing aids and few smartphone-bundled earphones, including AirPods, as PSAPs and tested hearing performances among adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss.

AirPods were launched in 2016. It comes with a “Live Listen” feature that receives the environmental sounds and transmits the amplified sound through the AirPods. The study examines if this feature may be comparable with the functionality of PSAPs.

The experiment result showed that Speech recognition of AirPods Pro is similar to conventional hearing aids in noise also the device passed four out of five standards per the ANSI/CTA-2051 criteria for PSAPs.