Apple AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids

6miths said:
Will be interesting to try these once the software is available. I have liked the AirPods Pro because they have balance control which allows me to compensate for my unilateral hearing loss.

Agree that Costco is definitely the place to go for affordable hearing aids although they don't offer as much aftercare as one would get from a good audiologist.
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Since I'm thinking about HAs and have heard good things about Costco for HAs, what aftercare should I look for?
 
Also interested in aftercare that I may be missing out on. Just checked and am surprised that mine (Resound CALA 8 RIC) were bought in June of 2017 from Costco. Since then they have cleaned them whenever I've asked, replaced the soft ear bits, changed tube lengths, repaired a broken battery door, readjusted the frequency response, rechecked my hearing a couple times... all at no extra cost. Now at four years past the warranty.
 
GenXguy said:
Airpods Pro 2 have a lot of passive hearing protection while hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss would allow a lot of sound in directly. So, these are not a substitute for hearing aids because they block too much of the real sounds. I have a friend with hearing aids as well as Airpods Pro 2, and he mentioned this specific thing as to why he prefers his hearing aids most of the time, but he does like to wear the Airpods Pro 2 in a noisy environment where he wants to reduce the sound level.
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What about pass-through mode for Airpods pro 2? DW switches between modes as needed ( this is without upcoming hearing aid functionality yet )
 
calmloki said:
Also interested in aftercare that I may be missing out on. Just checked and am surprised that mine (Resound CALA 8 RIC) were bought in June of 2017 from Costco. Since then they have cleaned them whenever I've asked, replaced the soft ear bits, changed tube lengths, repaired a broken battery door, readjusted the frequency response, rechecked my hearing a couple times... all at no extra cost. Now at four years past the warranty.
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Well that is pretty awesome ongoing care I would say and even better since they have not apparently pushed a newer model on you. I have three Costco stores within 15 miles and I would say that they are victims of their own success. It is pretty hard to get in for an appointment sooner than 4 weeks so hard to keep up with software updates and rechecks both of which you have to go in for. That said they will do all the aftercare if you make the appointments. I think less inclined to do cleanings but happy to show you how if they have time. Very similar to the tire centres which are usually pretty overwhelmed especially fall and spring tire change time. Unfortunately they stopped offering oil changes in July. That was a deal!
 
6miths said:
Well that is pretty awesome ongoing care I would say and even better since they have not apparently pushed a newer model on you. I have three Costco stores within 15 miles and I would say that they are victims of their own success. It is pretty hard to get in for an appointment sooner than 4 weeks so hard to keep up with software updates and rechecks both of which you have to go in for. That said they will do all the aftercare if you make the appointments. I think less inclined to do cleanings but happy to show you how if they have time. Very similar to the tire centres which are usually pretty overwhelmed especially fall and spring tire change time. Unfortunately they stopped offering oil changes in July. That was a deal!
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It's certainly true that Costco Tire is always busy, but never had problems getting my Costco tires "topped off" with N2.

I'm happy to hear Costco does after care on their hearing aids. Their HA desk never seems too busy at our Costco.
 
DW just got Jabra hearing aids from Costco for $1600, exam included. This was right before Apple's announcement about their new AirPods, but since she has severe loss in some frequencies, I don't think the AirPods would work, plus the battery life from hers are 18 hours vs. just a few hours from AirPods.

At the follow up visit, she asked questions about the settings and the tech wasn't sure so called Jabra and they recommended low power receivers to minimize the unnaturalness of how hearing aids pick up and amplify ambient sound and Costco did that for free. I don't know where Costco's profit margin is, perhaps it's a loss lead to get you to buy the membership or maybe it's so you'll do a cleaning now and then and shop around the store while waiting.
 
sailor said:
What about pass-through mode for Airpods pro 2? DW switches between modes as needed ( this is without upcoming hearing aid functionality yet )
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I assume you are talking about transparency mode, but that's what you would be using to hear external sounds, so of course he's using that feature to communicate in those noisy environments, HOWEVER, those sounds are what are passed through electronically, not to be confused with open hearing aids that allow sounds to pass through directly to the ear canal, which are recommended for people that still have reasonable hearing in lower frequencies. Sealed off hearing aids are generally not recommended with mild to moderate hearing loss. An audiologist was just talking about that to me today, not that I was asking him about it.
 
Exchme said:
I don't know where Costco's profit margin is, perhaps it's a loss lead to get you to buy the membership or maybe it's so you'll do a cleaning now and then and shop around the store while waiting.
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I assume there is a huge mark-up for the devices which gives them a lot of room to play with when offering continuing services. They are "in house" rather than needing a store-front as would be the case for a normal "hearing aid" store. And, true to form, Costco has HUGE buying power to hold over suppliers.
 
Koolau said:
It's certainly true that Costco Tire is always busy, but never had problems getting my Costco tires "topped off" with N2.

I'm happy to hear Costco does after care on their hearing aids. Their HA desk never seems too busy at our Costco.
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Agree on the N2. Our local Costco’s now have self serve N2 inflators. Just like old days of free air at the gas station.
 
Koolau said:
It's certainly true that Costco Tire is always busy, but never had problems getting my Costco tires "topped off" with N2.

I'm happy to hear Costco does after care on their hearing aids. Their HA desk never seems too busy at our Costco.
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I just top off my tires in my driveway with the cheaper 78% Nitrogen. :D
 
Here is an audiologists take on the using airpod pro 2 as hearing aids.
Don't think the hearing test is available yet even though IOS 18 is now out.
 
homestead said:
Here is an audiologists take on the using airpod pro 2 as hearing aids.
Don't think the hearing test is available yet even though IOS 18 is now out.
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Wow, he really missed out on some key points, I guess from lack of information.
 
I bought a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and really like them, especially the noise cancellation option. In researching the upcoming hearing aid feature (which I’m not sure I need yet) I discovered it’s already possible to use a third party hearing test app like Mimi to enhance the AirPods. It seemed to really make a difference in the higher frequencies, to me at least.

mimi.io

Personalize Apple Headphones Using the Mimi Hearing Test App

Customize the sound of your Apple headphones using the Mimi Hearing Test App to suit your listening preferences.
mimi.io mimi.io
 
homestead said:
Here is an audiologists take on the using airpod pro 2 as hearing aids.
Don't think the hearing test is available yet even though IOS 18 is now out.
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I am not sure, but I believe that Apple will be turning on the hearing test and aid function in 18.1, which should be in a few weeks, or less.
 
I updated my iPhone to 18. I have AirPods Pro. The hearing aid function is already available to me. I tried it out. Not impressed.
 
Redbugdave said:
That was a very informative video. Thanks Homestead for posting it.
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Yeah, I was seriously considering an OTC approach and I keep coming back to maybe instead trying Costco this year. I'm ambivalent on the subject, I guess.

But at the back of my mind, I keep coming back to "hearing aids aren't rocket science." WHY are they so expensive? Why CAN'T an OTC HA compete?

Maybe HAs really are that complex and require that level of interaction with a professional to be effective.

Thanks for the video.
 
GalaxyBoy said:
As of yesterday, according to MacRumors it isn't out yet? I have iOS 18 and don't see it. Although I have an iPhone 11, the feature is supposed to be supported by any phone that runs iOS 18.
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But it is on my phone. Not a rumor. A fact. You have to load Live Listen. Follow these instructions Live Listen. I'm wearing them right now.
 
MissMolly said:
But it is on my phone. Not a rumor. A fact. You have to load Live Listen. Follow these instructions Live Listen. I'm wearing them right now.
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If it didn't give you a hearing test and store the results then you are just using the older software's hearing mode.
 
Like I said earlier, my friend has been using transparency mode to use the Airpods Pro 2 as hearing aids part of the time. There was already a feature to enter your audiogram. But while he likes it for noisy environments since it seals the ear canal for good passive noise reduction along with electronic noise reduction, he prefers the hearing aids in most circumstances, which have open domes to allow real sounds through for better hearing with his moderate hearing loss. So, the Airpods Pro add an option for him that he likes to use on occasion, but they are NOT a replacement for hearing aids.

The review from the audiologist missed out on that key point and also made no mention of how long the battery lasts, which I understand is much less than good hearing aids.
 
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homestead said:
If it didn't give you a hearing test and store the results then you are just using the older software's hearing mode.
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MissMolly said:
I updated my iPhone to 18. I have AirPods Pro. The hearing aid function is already available to me. I tried it out. Not impressed.
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I also have AirPods Pro and the iPhone 12.
Did you experience anything at all favorable, or is it a work in progress?
 
Healthy Lifestyle said:
I also have AirPods Pro and the iPhone 12.
Did you experience anything at all favorable, or is it a work in progress?
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Well they worked well as long as my phone was next to my husband but if I was standing across the room from him holding my phone, not so great. As long as my phone was right next to him I could walk all over the house and hear him. But after a few minutes it just quit working. But to be honest, I haven't spent a lot of time fooling around with it.
 
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