Apple AirPod Pro 2’s as hearing aids

I got a pair on the Prime sale.

It took a bit to get them set up as it has to VERY quiet while you do this.

All I have done is watch some TV, but it seemed to be much clearer. I need to try them out in a restautant.
 
Pinecone said:
I got a pair on the Prime sale.

It took a bit to get them set up as it has to VERY quiet while you do this.

All I have done is watch some TV, but it seemed to be much clearer. I need to try them out in a restautant.
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Restaurants are definitely tough. Everything will sound "sharper", but I think our brains gradually lose some of the ability to filter out background noise.
 
FastEddieB said:
Restaurants are definitely tough.
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I have a real-live hearing aid (left ear only). Restaurants and other busy areas are very difficult for any hearing aid. They do attempt to put more emphasis on voice frequencies to make it easier to understand someone talking to you, but in a restaurant or at a part with a lot of voices, they can all blend together. Some aids help with this by either automatically switching to "party mode" or allowing you to select it yourself. In that mode they focus more on voices in the direction you are facing, and try to filter out more of the voices coming from the sides or from behind, it doesn't seem to help very much for me. I don't know how well the AirPod Pro 2s do this, even the high-end aids have a hard time.
 
Oh great, now there are many choices, one must do research to decide 123 or 4, Pro or Max etc :(IMG_9420.png
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Oh great, now there are many choices, one must do research to decide 123 or 4, Pro or Max etc :(
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No - The 1234 are just iterations in the series. The AirPods 4 would replace the AirPods 3, for example. The ones that are currently on Apple's site with the higher numbers are just product lines that have been out longer - AirPods "Nothing" existed before AirPods Pro, so they're at AirPods 4 now. AirPods Pro are a more recent product, so their most recent iteration is AirPods 2.

There's the "AirPods Nothing" which don't have noise cancellation, the rubber inserts, or any hearing aid functionality. The AirPods Max are over-the-ear (and head) headphones.

Matthew said:
I think the Pro 2 are the only ones that are rated as "hearing aids".
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Correct - And that feature would continue with the Pro 3, Pro 4, etc whenever those get introduced.

Apple should remember what Steve Jobs did upon his return: He got rid of all the product numbers. No more "Performa 620" or whatever - Just "iMac". They are kind of still following that to some extent, but they've added the integer afterwards with the version. Might make for easier tech support but it's more confusing for customer sales in some ways.
 
Ok, I tried them out in a restaurant with a good bit of noise. Yes, they did make the background noise a bit louder, but my companion's voice came through very clear and understandable. This was in transparency mode. I tried adaptive and it lowered the background noise, but also her voice, but she was still very understandable. I need to play with the mode some more.

But overall, I am very happy with them
 
I was able to get them away from my wife long enough to try the hearing aid function last night.

I currently wear one aid, left ear, and I’m waiting on a repair part so it was a good time to try them out. I didn’t put a lot of effort into the hearing test, though. I did see you are able to enter the values from an independent audiogram so I’m going to try it again with the test results from the soundproof box at my audiologist.

What I did find was that it really does work. It’s a little different sound quality than I’m used to, and that might be the result of a rushed hearing test. It sounded a little bit like I was listening through a toilet paper tube held up to my ear. I had that sensation mainly in one ear and after using them for a few minutes that went away, so I might have adjusted.

I didn’t try using them with the media adjustment, though, I didn’t think about it. In that mode they will apply the hearing aid frequency adjustments to music or whatever else you are streaming.

I’m not sure they are as good as a dedicated hearing aid, but for the price and extra abilities they are very good.
 
Improvements include:

•Better sound.
•Better fit with 5 sizes of foam ear pieces (I've been using aftermarket foam earpieces on my 2's).
•Real time language translation. Without a Babel Fish!
•More water/sweat proof.

No real mention of hardware improvement to the hearing aid function, but the battery life is improved, which is a big help:

from Gemini:

• With Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) enabled: The AirPods Pro 3 provide up to 8 hours of listening time on a single charge. This is a 33% increase over the AirPods Pro 2, which offered 6 hours.

• In Transparency mode: The battery life is even more impressive, with a single charge lasting up to 10 hours. This is a 67% increase over the AirPods Pro 2. This is particularly beneficial for those using the AirPods for the new "Hearing Aid" feature.

• With the heart rate sensor enabled during workouts: Battery life is up to 6.5 hours.

Not in a rush to upgrade, but I likely will with the first Best Buy or Amazon sale.
 
FastEddieB said:
Not in a rush to upgrade, but I likely will with the first Best Buy or Amazon sale.
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Ditto. SWMBO and I are both using AirPods Pro that we got 4-5 years ago. Mine have been getting a little wonky and I never have really been that happy with the ear fit. I'll be watching for sales.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Unfortunately, those always seem to happen right before the next model is introduced...
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I remember some pretty good Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals last year on the Pro 2. I was going to get a pair, then missed the sale by a couple days and the price slowly crept back up to list within a week or two. Maybe this year will be similar. Check the price today and start two watch it over the next couple months. I ended up getting some back in July on sale again, probably when the Pro 3s were about ready to be announced.
 
DaleB said:
Ditto. SWMBO and I are both using AirPods Pro that we got 4-5 years ago. Mine have been getting a little wonky and I never have really been that happy with the ear fit. I'll be watching for sales.
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I've been using the Comply ear tips, really makes a difference with the airpods pro 2.
 
murphey said:
I've been using the Comply ear tips, really makes a difference with the airpods pro 2.
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I posted upthread about those, and, yes - they work far better for me as well.

Looks like Apple may have done their homework in improving theirs.

Marcus Brownlee was certainly impressed:


As an aside, I’m leaning towards just going ahead and paying full list for a pair now. I use mine so regularly it would be a shame not to take advantage of improved performance, even if minor.
 
murphey said:
I've been using the Comply ear tips, really makes a difference with the airpods pro 2.
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Wish I'd known about those a few years ago. I'm not going to buy them now, since I'll replace the AirPods in a month or two when they go on sale... but they would have been nice to have when I was using mine a lot more than I am now.
 
I went ahead and ordered the 3's from Amazon earlier this week. I would have ordered from Apple, but they were showing delivery 2 weeks out where Prime was 2 days.

Got notification they were delivered yesterday, left in our mailbox. Opened the box to get them charging...and the box was EMPTY, other than some paper.

54827938670_5ce377bed6_z.jpg


The box appeared to have been opened, with the shipping label stuck over the opening.

Weird. Amazon made it fairly straightforward to report the empty box, and sent out replacements to arrive tomorrow.

We're going by the Post Office to report what happened. Don't know if they track this sort of thing.
 
I ordered Pro 3s this weekend and got them today.

I’m not used to earbuds so I’m still adjusting.

I manually entered my audiogram data into the hearing aid function. It can scan that chart using the camera but I had a hard time getting that to work.

I enabled the audio assist to apply the hearing aid correction to the music I was listening to and it was a huge difference. For some people this alone will be worth the price. It’s pretty quiet in the house today so I wasn’t able to put the hearing aid function to a very good test.

The factory charge was only about 10% so I’m recharging them now. I haven’t tried using the heart rate monitor yet, I will work on that later.
 
I used the Pro 3s as a heart rate sensor yesterday. The iPhone Fitness app has a “Indoor Run” workout. With iOS 26.x and Pro 3 pods, the app uses the heart rate sensors and some other accelerometer data to calculate distance and calories burned. It also displays current heart rate.

Unless you have it linked to an Apple watch, there isn’t a way to calibrate, though.

I don’t know the accuracy of the treadmill distance measurement, so I really don’t know the accuracy of the pods. I went 3.22 miles on the treadmill and the app showed 2.9 miles, about a 10% difference. The calories burned calculation on the treadmill showed 420 and the app showed 349. I don’t know where the app got things like age, height, and weight that it uses for calculating distance and calories.

My treadmill was programmed for a 5 minute warmup, 30 minute run alternating between faster speed and no slope, and slower speed with higher slope. Then a 5 minute cooldown. Total distance was 3.22 in 40 minutes.

The next time I do a long walk I will try to remember to start that app.

The Pro 3 has some fun features.

IMG_9598.jpegIMG_9597.png
 
murphey said:
Costco has them in-store with 2 yrs Apple Care added on for free, for the same price Amazon and Apple are selling just the airpods.

Just lettin y'all know.
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Update…until Monday night Dec 8, Costco price is $229
Wish I needed them but my AirPod pro 2s are just fine.
 
Matthew said:
I used the Pro 3s as a heart rate sensor yesterday. The iPhone Fitness app has a “Indoor Run” workout. With iOS 26.x and Pro 3 pods, the app uses the heart rate sensors and some other accelerometer data to calculate distance and calories burned. It also displays current heart rate.

Unless you have it linked to an Apple watch, there isn’t a way to calibrate, though.

I don’t know the accuracy of the treadmill distance measurement, so I really don’t know the accuracy of the pods. I went 3.22 miles on the treadmill and the app showed 2.9 miles, about a 10% difference. The calories burned calculation on the treadmill showed 420 and the app showed 349. I don’t know where the app got things like age, height, and weight that it uses for calculating distance and calories.

My treadmill was programmed for a 5 minute warmup, 30 minute run alternating between faster speed and no slope, and slower speed with higher slope. Then a 5 minute cooldown. Total distance was 3.22 in 40 minutes.

The next time I do a long walk I will try to remember to start that app.

The Pro 3 has some fun features.

View attachment 147869View attachment 147870
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I would imagine that they're using an estimated stride length when you're on a treadmill, whereas if you use them on a real walk they can use GPS to determine actual distance, and possibly even correct said stride length!

It would be interesting to do a similar workout without a slope on the treadmill, then do the workout outside for real, then do it on the treadmill again and see if the treadmill number gets more accurate the second time.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
It would be interesting to do a similar workout without a slope on the treadmill, then do the workout outside for real, then do it on the treadmill again and see if the treadmill number gets more accurate the second time.
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That sounds like work. Let me know what you find out!

I just did another 3.22 on the treadmill, same workout, same results.

Later today I might walk our 2-ish mile route and compare it to the iPhone Health app results.
 
Update: I found another cool thing. When I recorded those treadmill workouts, that info was imported into the Health app. So it recorded my workout and filled in my daily step count and distance.
 
Matthew said:
Update: I found another cool thing. When I recorded those treadmill workouts, that info was imported into the Health app. So it recorded my workout and filled in my daily step count and distance.
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Yes, and health data is used to calculate your calories burned. Health can be a very powerful app, but you do need to keep your weight current in Health for a lot of things to accurately calculate.
 
TCABM said:
Yes, and health data is used to calculate your calories burned. Health can be a very powerful app, but you do need to keep your weight current in Health for a lot of things to accurately calculate.
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I verified my age, height, and weight in a few different places on the phone. I haven’t had a chance to get a multi-mile outdoor walk yet. Maybe tomorrow, then I can check the Fitness and Health apps against each other, then see what my Friday treadmill run shows.

I had planned on getting a Garmin Forerunner for myself for Christmas so I would have all those sensors in one unit. My Garmin Swim watch gets used hard, but it’s pretty much a swim-only unit and it’s about time to get something more capable.
 
Matthew said:
I verified my age, height, and weight in a few different places on the phone. I haven’t had a chance to get a multi-mile outdoor walk yet. Maybe tomorrow, then I can check the Fitness and Health apps against each other, then see what my Friday treadmill run shows.

I had planned on getting a Garmin Forerunner for myself for Christmas so I would have all those sensors in one unit. My Garmin Swim watch gets used hard, but it’s pretty much a swim-only unit and it’s about time to get something more capable.
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I was a long time forerunner user for fitness tracking until just recently when I picked up an Ultra2. The primary reason for the forerunner was for swim workouts, but apple seems to have finally figured that one out.

I still use a dedicated Garmin Edge computer and associated sensors on the bike.
 
TCABM said:
I was a long time forerunner user for fitness tracking until just recently when I picked up an Ultra2. The primary reason for the forerunner was for swim workouts, but apple seems to have finally figured that one out.

I still use a dedicated Garmin Edge computer and associated sensors on the bike.
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I’m pretty hard on watches. My Casio G-Shock has managed to survive a long time. I use a gen 1 Garmin Swim, but it’s not really an everyday watch. Getting a Forerunner gets me an everyday watch, with the same swim features and controls I’m used to, plus all the other health tracking functions. And I won’t feel as bad banging it around instead of a more expensive smart watch. That old Casio of mine still does what it does, but the solar battery charging system has been failing for a while. That’s a problem in winter when there isn’t as much sunlight and long sleeves block whatever sunlight there is. So the battery typically dies around Feb until March.

I know, first world problems.
 
Walmart has Apple AirPod Pro 3’s on sale for $199.

For now, I’ve given up on conventional hearing aids and just use my AirPods. I may upgrade to newer, more advanced hearing aids some time in the future, but for now the AirPods get the job done very well.
 
I gave my 3s a good workout yesterday. Until now they’ve been used indoors, mainly streaming music and audio books. Hearing aid function enabled and in transparent mode.

Yesterday I did several hours of yardwork. With the lawnmower going I switched over to noise canceling mode. Mower noise was suppressed quite a bit. I noticed a dynamic music volume: when the mower was running, the music volume increased and when it was stopped, the volume decreased. The settings also allow for a conversation to mute the volume. That’s handy indoors, but it worked a little differently than I expected when running the mower. Outdoor, with the noise canceling enabled: when the mower was running, music volume increased and the conversation mute didn’t work. Maybe I wasn’t speaking (talking to myself) loudly enough. But when the mower was stopped, music volume went down and it did recognize my voice. When I started speaking the music muted and the 3s switched over to transparent mode. After I had stopped talking for a bit the 3s went back into noise canceling and the music restarted. What I didn’t expect was the auto switch between noise canceling and transparent.
 
Matthew said:
I gave my 3s a good workout yesterday. Until now they’ve been used indoors, mainly streaming music and audio books. Hearing aid function enabled and in transparent mode.

Yesterday I did several hours of yardwork. With the lawnmower going I switched over to noise canceling mode. Mower noise was suppressed quite a bit. I noticed a dynamic music volume: when the mower was running, the music volume increased and when it was stopped, the volume decreased. The settings also allow for a conversation to mute the volume. That’s handy indoors, but it worked a little differently than I expected when running the mower. Outdoor, with the noise canceling enabled: when the mower was running, music volume increased and the conversation mute didn’t work. Maybe I wasn’t speaking (talking to myself) loudly enough. But when the mower was stopped, music volume went down and it did recognize my voice. When I started speaking the music muted and the 3s switched over to transparent mode. After I had stopped talking for a bit the 3s went back into noise canceling and the music restarted. What I didn’t expect was the auto switch between noise canceling and transparent.
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Wow, that's pretty cool!

I would imagine that with the mower running they don't want to blast you with loud sound unexpectedly.
 
FastEddieB said:
Walmart has Apple AirPod Pro 3’s on sale for $199.

For now, I’ve given up on conventional hearing aids and just use my AirPods. I may upgrade to newer, more advanced hearing aids some time in the future, but for now the AirPods get the job done very well.
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Target, too.
None of the walmarts near me have any airpods, but Target does.
 
FastEddieB said:
Thanks.

I think the Walmart deal is online only. Or at least not in stock in stores.

I see none at my local Targets either.
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Target near me....order online, pick up from the store in a couple hours. Want me to get you a pair on Friday?
 
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