Using AirPods as a Hearing Aid

Garry Knight:

I spent a lot of time some years ago working with very loud sound while producing music with pro level headphones. Subsequently my ability to hear sounds at 1,000 Hz and above was greatly reduced. Amongst other things this meant that it was difficult to hear consonants in speech, effectively making me partially deaf.

I got a pair of AirPod Pro earbuds and set them up for my personal hearing needs. Later that day I went for a walk in my local woods and literally gasped out loud at hearing the birds I’d been missing for some years!

The way you set them up is buried deep in the Settings, so it’s not surprising that not many people know about it. Here’s where you need to go.

Apple can’t bill them as hearing aids for regulatory reasons, but I keep seeing reports from people who are hard of hearing who find AirPods Pro to be remarkable as audio accessibility devices. (Via Kottke.)

★ Monday, 24 July 2023