It's the little things that get you. Small seemingly insignificant moments that result in a tsunami of consequences. Like habitual breathing through one's mouth as a toddler or underestimating a business-mogul-turned-reality-star-turned-US-President-turned-convict-turned-US President-Again. So, yes. Small things. Like your hearing. That concert you attended; maybe you have ringing in your ears the next day but things return to normal. You shrug it off and, due to the hubris of youth, you attend that concert. And then another. Before you know it, your hearing is shit.
Dr Sumbul Desai, vice president of Health at Apple, wants to change people's perception of hearing health. "We actually don't think about anything related to our health until you lose it often. And I think that's one of the things that we're really trying to change is how do we drive people to be more proactive and preventative around their health to lead longer and healthier lives."
She sees hearing loss as a critical blow to one's health. "There is actually a seminal paper that came out last year in the Journal of American Medicine," Dr Desai said. "[It] talked about the strong connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline and shows that the more you lose your hearing over time. Without any hearing assistance, it can have a more detrimental impact on your cognition leading to dementia.
"Number two, hearing loss has shown to increase social isolation as well as increase loneliness depression. It impacts on your wellbeing because, if you think about it, it's how you connect."
Dr Desai cited her mother who has profound hearing loss and how exhausting it was to connect with her when she isn't using her hearing aid. That frustration can lead people into feeling isolated and with a lack of interpersonal connection, the well-being takes a hit.
But, as Dr Desai touched on before, prevention is better than cure. Your Apple AirPods Pro 2 can protect your hearing with Control mode switched on (go to Settings in iPhone > tap the name of your AirPods > tap Hearing Protection). With activated, your AirPods Pro 2 will note your surroundings and alert you if you're exposed to decibels exceeding unhealthy levels. It can also reduce the noise level as well.
When Apple first launched AirPods in 2016, it revolutionised what earphones can be: wireless, can be charged in its case, aesthetically pleasing. Spatial audio features and noise cancellation and transparency became part of the AirPods hallmarks. "We recognised that these features that make AirPods were actually the core building blocks needed to create these hearing health features," said John Ternus, senior vice president of Apple's Hardware Engineering.
Working with Dr Desai and her health team, Ternus shaped these audio devices to possess features that can impact hearing. Along with Control and Noise alert modes, the Airpods Pro 2 (and only that model) also has an FDA-approved Hearing Test that can also personalised a hearing aid function from the results.
To take the Hearing Test, your AirPods Pro 2 (with the latest firmware) needs to pair with an iPhone or iPad that are running on iOS or iPadOS 18.1 or later. The silicon tips of your AirPods Pro 2 must fit perfectly in your ears to create a seal.
Ensure that you're free of any otolaryngological maladies like a cold, a sinus infection, ear infection, allergies or were in a loud environment (like a concert) in the last 24 hours. Next, you'll need to find a quiet spot for the five-minute Hearing Test, which is a simple process of tapping the screen whenever you hear tones played at different volumes and frequencies.
I took the test lying down. While I could hear the blood rush in my ears, as the outside world closed about me, eyes closed, I was so deep in concentration, tapping on the screen whenever the beep came on. When the results came out, I wasn't convinced. So, I took it again for corroboration. The results were similar: both my ears suffer from "little to no loss".
But what if the results were worse? Then, there's the option to turn on Hearing Aid mode, which pumps up the sounds around you so that you can hear or you can tweak the balance to your specs. Hearing Aid mode also applies to the volume controls on the iPhone, like your calls or the videos you watch. Your AirPods Pro 2 are also a cheaper hearing aid than, well, the actual hearing aids themselves.
I'm not sure what the opinions of actual ENT doctors have on the Hearing Test but the ease of taking them and the "gamification" aspect can encourage users to take the tests and sometimes share (show off) the results. Like this is the aural version of "how much can you press, bro?" Imagine a bunch of men huddled together and comparing hearing results; this can be a positive push for preventative or remedy for one's hearing health and we like the sound of that.
