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By choosing neutral versus stigmatizing terms for their hearing enhancement features, Apple is helping to remove psychosocial barriers to treating hearing loss writes Dr, Laura Sinnott, Tuned’s Head of Product
If you own the Apple Airpods Pro, generation 1 or 2, you actually own hearing aid. Apple does not call it a hearing aid, however, as an audiologist, I assure you that the features in Headphone Accommodations used with Transparency Mode are on par with what you will find in a traditional hearing aid programmed to fit mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
The choice to not use terms like hearing aid, PSAP, and hearable, and the choice to not (yet) apply to formally enter the OTC may have a curious effect on the number one reason why people do not utilize hearing enhancement devices — stigma.
Intentional or not, Apple’s approach to hearing health is blurring the lines between “normal” and “problem.” We use words like hearing loss, hearing aids, and hearing handicap. For many, these terms drizzle, or even shower, feelings of shame, embarrassment, and denial, and in our American, ageist society where we don’t revere the elderly, “getting old.”
Getting a hearing aid can feel like a death wish for some, to put it bluntly.
Airpods Pro Gen 2 — a low-cost, high-fidelity hearing enhancement device for mild-to-moderate hearing loss.
We audiologists dedicate our careers to understanding and treating hearing disorders, and know that using a hearing enhancement device can reverse the feeling of aging, and improve quality of life — regardless of age.
But we can preach all we want — decades of trying to convince people to start the hearing aid journey (typically it takes people 7–10 years to try hearing aids after recognizing they have hearing loss) hasn’t moved the dial.
But Apple? Hmmm…. These features are almost hidden — you have to know how to find Headphone Accommodations. When you do find it, you can actually upload results from a professional hearing test and it will apply custom amplification to your Airpods Pro just like a hearing aid does. Pros:
- No one will have any idea if you turned the feature on.
- You can tweak it in such a way that even audio nerds should be decently satisfied.
- The fidelity of the audio is much, much better than with traditional hearing aids.
- Many people without clinically diagnosable hearing loss may find benefit while tinkering with features like “conversation boost,” where the microphones focus more on the sound in front of you and less on the sides.
- Kids may find it fun to use Live Listen to sonically spy on their parents. Or people with some hearing loss in the upper-frequency range, not typically tested, may enjoy a little boost in brightness.
The best part is, this binary labeling of normal vs. abnormal isn’t highlighted. The path to these hidden features is below, and if you really want to optimize the settings for you, book a consultation with a Tuned audiologist.
Meanwhile, high five to Apple for normalizing what needn’t have been stigmatized in the first place — hearing enhancement.
Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual (NOT Hearing Devices) > Headphone Accommodations > tap slider button to enable >
