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Journalism of Courage
Apple may have touched millions of lives with a simple software update to AirPods Pro, essentially transforming them into clinical-grade hearing aids. While overuse of earbuds is often believed to cause hearing loss, the latest move by Apple goes against this popular notion as the AirPods Pro can now prevent further hearing damage.
“The fact that people can walk around wearing their AirPods, that they can protect their hearing at concerts and get insights on their hearing health using these features over time — AirPods are doing what each person wants or needs them to do,” says Kuba Mazur, Apple’s hearing health lead engineer within Acoustics Engineering. “They’re truly the interface to the ear,” Mazur adds.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 1.5 billion people around the world are living with hearing loss, which is often unrecognised. Priced at Rs 24,900, the AirPods Pro 2 (review) is currently the most affordable medical-grade hearing aid with approval from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA). On the contrary, the price of a high-end hearing aid can cost anywhere between Rs 50,000 to Rs 2,00,000. While most high-end earbuds can last for days on a single charge, AirPods Pro can only offer up to six hours of battery life per charge.
However, this feature is currently limited to select markets like the United States of America and is expected to come to India in the coming days. Apple has said that the 2nd generation AirPods Pro is as good as a clinical-grade hearing aid as users can test their hearing ability at home and later use them as hearing aids in case of mild to moderate hearing loss.
To ensure the best performance, Apple has fine-tuned the AirPods Pro using a broad demographic of study participants with a wide range of hearing levels, recreating all the possible scenarios that mimic real-life situations. The hearing test also makes it easy for users to identify any of the unnoticed hearing issues and then use the AirPods to prevent further hearing damage.
