AirPods can now be used as hearing aids in Australia

Apple's hearing aids software update for the AirPods Pro 2 is now available in Australia, following Therapeutic Goods Administration approval at the end of last year. 

The feature allows users to take a clinical-grade hearing test in Apple's Health app on their iPhone. This test then ranks hearing loss in five categories ranging from "little to no loss" to "profound loss". If needed, this information is then used to adjust the tuning of the AirPods Pro 2 to amplify frequencies where a user may have lost hearing. 

Principal Engineer at hearing research organisation National Acoustic Laboratories, Nicky Chong-White, says hearing loss can impact more than a person's hearing, with flow-on effects being felt at work and in social life. 

"The new hearing features in AirPods Pro are an exciting advancement — they give people a way to check their hearing and set up hearing assistance at home using familiar devices," said Chong-White.

Hearing aid functionality for the AirPods Pro 2 was announced alongside the iPhone 16 in September last year. 

Apple's hearing aid feature set is exclusive to the AirPods Pro 2, but will work with both the older Lightning variants and the newer USB-C model. 

The news follows another audio-related announcement from Apple. The manufacturer yesterday announced that AirPods Max with USB-C will get support for lossless audio when used as wired headphones with the iOS 18.4 update next month. 

Users will be able to use the included USB-C to USB-C cable for lossless audio, but Apple also has a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable available as an optional accessory. 

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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