AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aids Not in Canada

The update to IOS and the AirPods firmware is not blocked in any way, shape, or form in Canada. What is blocked is the hearing aid functionality of the AirPods Pro by Apple because the sale of OTC hearing aids is still banned in Canada. We must assume that Apple considers the hearing aid functionality introduced with IOS 18.1 to qualify the AirPods Pro as a hearing aid under Canadian law. Therefore, because the sale of OTC hearing aids is still banned in Canada, Apple prevents Airpods Pro users from using this functionality.

I doubt it's Apple. It's the same with the UK, France, Spain and Australia. No OTC hearing aids in the Uk. Mine work as hearing aids as I am still running IOS 17.7.1 and they work really well for me.

I think you can purchase the Airpods Pro from Canada. What is important is to get the most recent firmware on the Airpods Pro.

It's not. They still work well in Adaptive or Transparency Mode and you can upload your audiogram. Any IOS that's older than 18.1 will work and there are NO locks. I've been using them for weeks as hearing aids and they work extremely well running IOS 17.7.1. Yes the volume can be slightly more in 18.1 but the hassle. For me it's not worth it. FYI I have mild to moderate in the medium and high frequencies.

Strangely mine are running the very latest firmware nut I doubt that 17.7.1 can take full advantage of it BUT it didn't stop them working.

So, trying to summarize. I have an iPhone 15. If I disable automatic upgrades, I stay with iOS 17.6 and buy the AirPods here in Canada, I should be able to install them on my phone and make them work as hearing aids, in your opinion?

No, this will not work. You have to upgrade to 18.1 to get the hearing aid function. The hearing aid function will only show up on your phone if you are physically in one of the supported countries.

So, trying to summarize. I have an iPhone 15. If I disable automatic upgrades, I stay with iOS 17.6 and buy the AirPods here in Canada, I should be able to install them on my phone and make them work as hearing

aids, in your opinion?

It's not my opinion. It's a fact!

I never upgrade automatically as there are always bugs to iron out.

I am happy to take you through it if you like when you have the Airpods.

Airpod Pro 2s.

No, this will not work. You have to upgrade to 18.1 to get the hearing

aid function. The hearing aid function will only show up on your phone

if you are physically in one of the supported countries.

Incorrect. The hearing aid function has been working since September 2022 and many people,have been using them. The difference was that Apple were not legally allowed to call them hearing aids.

I have been using them since September, I haven't upgraded to 18.1 because it will stop them working. Still on 17.7.1 and I did my hearing test with the Mimi app from the app store. Results were almost identical to my Costco Audiogram.

I think you can purchase the Airpods Pro from Canada. What is important is to get the most recent firmware on the Airpods Pro.

That is not correct. I have been using my Airpods as hearing aids since September running IOS 17.7.1.

The firmware has changed three times since I started using them. They have behaved exactly the same way through all three updates. I understand that the latest firmware will allow the Airpods to produce a higher volume but that's about it.

I am still using IOS 17.7.1 and will continue to do so until approval has been given in the UK.

They work really well for me with my mild to moderate hearing loss.

Do you think the same process would work if I buy the Air pods- create

an US Apple ID, etc? The Sony hearing aids sound great but they are

$1000 US.

They will work as hearing aids if you set them up with an iPad or iPhone with IOS 18.01 pr older.

I think this is the only officially supported way to get them to work.

That is true but they will work very well unofficially if you haven’t updated to 18.1.

I have been using them since September and they work very well for me. Why would I stop them working by updating to 18.1? Seriously?

FYI, I have tried to get the hearing features working in Canada by wiping my phone, setting up using a VPN, disabling location services and using a US account but it did not work. I guess they use your GPS location even if you don't allow it.

My next attempt will be a trip to the USA to see if that works.

What will work is if you set them up with an Apple device that is on IOS 18.01 or older.

It works. I have been using them since September and they work well for somebody with mild to moderate hearing loss. Music was a revelation and I am loving listening to music again.

Go to settings/accessibility/audio visual/headphone accommodations

Lucster wrote:

Some people here mistakenly label the AirPods Pro's transparency and noise cancellation functionalities as the hearing aid functionality. It’s like Live Listen, which has existed for a very long time, whereby you could use your iPhone to pick up sounds and relay them to your AirPods. These functionalities are fine but not the same as the hearing aid functionality.

The only way to get the hearing test and the hearing aid functionality is with IOS 18.1 and up and AirPods Pro firmware 7B19 and up, in a country that allows OTC sale of hearing aids.

I tried to set up my AirPods Pro 2 with firmware 7B21 with an older iPhone 1ù2 with IOS 17.7.1 yesterday, and YOU DO NOT GET the hearing test and the hearing aid functionality.

There is a lot of misinformation being spread here about this.

I tried to make that point early on in other threads. No one wanted to listen. Perhaps you'll have better luck. I hope so.

I tried to make that point early on in other threads. No one wanted to listen. Perhaps you'll have better luck. I hope so.

I wondered how long it would take for you to chip in.

In the end you and Lucster are really dancing on the head of a pin as to what constitutes "real" hearing aids.

The AirPod hearing aid setup prior to 18.1 was not promoted by Apple as hearing aids because the FDA would not have allowed them to be sold as hearing aids.

Apple put the features in and let customers find out for themselves. You only have to look on YouTube. There are dozens of videos showing how to set them up.

Here is the definition of hearing amplifiers.

Hearing Aids vs Hearing Amplifiers

Hearing Aid UK

https://www.hearingaid.org.uk › ... › Hearing Aid Advice

9 Sept 2024 — All sounds are amplified, unlike hearing aids that are programmed for the specific frequencies an individual with hearing loss needs to hear. ...

Note that it says that ALL sounds are amplified so we know that Apple did NOT release the Airpods as hearing amplifiers in 2022 because you can upload your audiogram to the Airpods and they work across a range of frequencies..

I have mild to moderate hearing loss in my ears in the high and mid tones and my left ear is much worse than my right.

Let's move onto hearing what people are saying to me when I am wearing them.

In a noisy restaurant last week using the Airpods, background noise drops in volume and voices are crystal clear from everybody sitting at the eight person table. You can manually adjust the volume of background noise and voices independently using Transparency Mode or use the Adaptive Mode so they adjust automatically.

If I am listening to a podcast or some music and somebody starts talking to me, because I have Conversation Boost and Conversation Awareness switched on too, as soon as I start talking, OR somebody starts talking to me, the music or Podcast or fades to nothing while I carry on a conversation and gradually fades back up where it left off. It took me a couple of days to gets used to the fact that all I needed was to start talking to get the music to fade out.

Listening to music was totally transformed for me. Previously all I heard in my left ear was a mush using a cheap set of ear buds.

The Loud Sound Reduction also works extremely well. Our peanut grinder is deafening when I used it and the first time I tried it the volume dropped to less than 50%.

Whether you both like it or not, my Airpods sound like a VERY sophisticated pair of hearing aids to me and guess what? I am using IOS 17.7.1 and using them in the UK where they haven’t been approved.

I think this is the only officially supported way to get them to work.

Correct but then if you are in the "wrong" country where they are not approved you cannot use them at all. They work very well using 17.7.1 unofficially and the only difference I have heard about is that the volume output is higher running 18.1. As I have mild to moderate hearing loss they are better than fine for me.

Why would I update when the 18.1 update will prevent me from using them? They work really well on 17.7.1.

@rasg

Does 17.7.1 let you enter the audiogram test result to use the "hearing aid" function? If yes, you are probably right. If not, it is not a hearing aid, just a background noise cancellation. Honest question here because I don't have an airpod pro 2.

I’ve just gone thru the process that @rasg suggested and if you use the mimi app for the hearing test there is a box below the audiogram that asks if you want to integrate into Apple health.

Excellent.