It looks like the FDA has approved the use in the US as hearing aids, does anyone know if Apple will support this use in Australia. There will be (is?) a firmware update to support this apparently.
iPad, iPadOS 17
I was in the Genius Bar at Doncaster in Melbourne this morning (Feb 17 2025), with questions regarding problems I was having with what I thought was the “hearing aid” functionality, as the latest iOS 18.3.1 seems to have a lot of the functionality required, and it seemed to work (although the options I had seemed different to those shown on the “how to” sites I was looking at); for example I could load an audiogram from the Mimi app and in transparency mode they worked very like my prescription Costco hearing aides - what a winner, I thought…. I had bought the AirPods specifically for this capability, and I assumed that the latest, recent software update would include it.
The problem I had was that the frequent handover of the AirPods between Watch <=>iPhone<=>iPad wreaked havoc on the “hearing aid” settings, and often the transparency mode option disappeared; or the AirPods dropped the settings of the “custom” transparency mode (which effectively killed the hearing aides functionality). Basically they were useless as hearing aids.
The Genius Bar guys were very helpful, and after discussing with their tech people they had a highly plausible answer - although the governmental approvals are all there, the software is not yet fully in place, and the function doesn’t work in Australia yet. That is why some of the overseas “how to” YouTube vids etc reference software options that are not yet there in Australia. The tech showed me some of the additional screens or options which will be there when the functionality is available (which my version of iOS didn’t have), and advised that the problems I was having should not occur when the AirPods were correctly installed with the (yet to be released) supporting version of iOS and the AirPod firmware. They couldn’t say when this would happen, but said to expect some kind of official announcement with the release. The current Apple documentation does NOT YET have Australia listed, so the answer sounds pretty correct.
They also explained that because the hearing aides functionality is a regulated offering in Australia, a separate team, within health, will look after these issues; and that is why some mainstream support staff are not really able to help much, because they will not be supporting it, and anyway it is not yet released.
I was in the Genius Bar at Doncaster in Melbourne this morning (Feb 17 2025), with questions regarding problems I was having with what I thought was the “hearing aid” functionality, as the latest iOS 18.3.1 seems to have a lot of the functionality required, and it seemed to work (although the options I had seemed different to those shown on the “how to” sites I was looking at); for example I could load an audiogram from the Mimi app and in transparency mode they worked very like my prescription Costco hearing aides - what a winner, I thought…. I had bought the AirPods specifically for this capability, and I assumed that the latest, recent software update would include it.
The problem I had was that the frequent handover of the AirPods between Watch <=>iPhone<=>iPad wreaked havoc on the “hearing aid” settings, and often the transparency mode option disappeared; or the AirPods dropped the settings of the “custom” transparency mode (which effectively killed the hearing aides functionality). Basically they were useless as hearing aids.
The Genius Bar guys were very helpful, and after discussing with their tech people they had a highly plausible answer - although the governmental approvals are all there, the software is not yet fully in place, and the function doesn’t work in Australia yet. That is why some of the overseas “how to” YouTube vids etc reference software options that are not yet there in Australia. The tech showed me some of the additional screens or options which will be there when the functionality is available (which my version of iOS didn’t have), and advised that the problems I was having should not occur when the AirPods were correctly installed with the (yet to be released) supporting version of iOS and the AirPod firmware. They couldn’t say when this would happen, but said to expect some kind of official announcement with the release. The current Apple documentation does NOT YET have Australia listed, so the answer sounds pretty correct.
They also explained that because the hearing aides functionality is a regulated offering in Australia, a separate team, within health, will look after these issues; and that is why some mainstream support staff are not really able to help much, because they will not be supporting it, and anyway it is not yet released.
When is the software update going to be released?
Smarten up APPLE WE BOUGHT PRO 2 that does not work YET. BUT WHEN. ????please smarten up the hearing is needed
The TGA approved the use of AirPods 2 Pro on the 17th December 2024. It is now up to Apple to roll out the software update for iPhones so the updated software gets loaded up. The iPhone software is the required part at the moment. As @Ferret73 said, it is not the hardware of the AirPods.
Thanks, wonder why New Zealand is supported but not Australia? Apple?
I don’t think it would help buying them from the US. I’m pretty sure that the feature is controlled through iOS not the hardware of the AirPods.
Re: "Airpods Pro2 used as hearing aids in Australia: It looks like the FDA has approved the use in the US
as hearing aids, does anyone know if Apple will support this use in Australia".
We are all Apple users, like yourself, in the community. Seems no-one here would know, and could share details.
There are often "rumours" that may or may not have any accuracy. Mostly, we just have to wait, and we only find out when Apple creates a public announcement.
Most recent AirPods info. from Apple Newsroom (September 9, 2024):
Apple introduces AirPods 4 and a hearing health experience with AirPods Pro 2 - Apple
says:
"New hearing health features will be available this fall for AirPods Pro 2 users in more than 100 countries and regions".
Where to check for new announcements: Newsroom - Apple
I bought the AirPod pro 2 specifically for this feature. But I don’t think Australia will ever be included. Here’s the list of eligible countries.
AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability - Apple (AU)
All I can think is that the Aus Gov is taking a cut (taxing) off the ludicrous prices of hearing aids. Nearly every country is covered except Australia.
Would buying the AirPods from another country eg US be a workaround do you think ?
Thanks for the info, that’s good news!
Airpods Pro2 used as hearing aids in Australia
