Now approved by the US FDA this innovation is going to shake up the hearing aid industry.
Particularly as AirPods Pro 2 retail for CHF229!
Wonder when the software will be available in Switzerland?
Edited to add:
From Apple Suisse web-site in a footnote:
Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features (available in the fall of 2024),
Ah, it’s here now with the iOS 18.1 update and firmware update for iPod 2 Pros.
Sounds good, but I’m not convinced. Won’t take the place of proper hearing tests. And of course you need a mobile phone or tablet - neither of which I have or want. I’ll stick with my Phonax hearing aids thanks.
Absolutely, you do need an iphone and the iPod 2 Pros which aren’t cheap. But as I already have both I’m giving it a go.
So far it tells me I have mild hearing loss in both ears. Not surprising for a 69 year old. Taking a little while to get used to, but I do see some improvements particularly with higher frequencies.
Do you see them on the handy or do you notice them irl as well?
Er, I should have said I notice an improvement… so far, this evening I haven’t said “What” to my wife once.
That’s cool, I bet she loves it!
She has a high frequency voice then? 
High frequency in the sense of often?
Nope, in the sense of:
Well you would be right, her voice is higher pitched, except when she is angry.
The cats too …
I am surprised how little power they use when only being used for hearing assistance. 
The problem is you already look distracted when you wear them, so people wait until you take them out before asking if they can borrow your stapler.
That’s the bit I missed, there is hearing assistance as well as a test.
I had a test (approaching my 50’s) and if there’s background noise while someone’s talking it just sounds like mush.
So sick of shouting WHAT? around the house. I wonder if these would help with that.
Bit wary of Apple though, they hook you and then the subscriptions and tie ins start later…
If you have to buy an iPhone and AP2P it could cost as much as good hearing aids.
Mind you you could likely find an iPhone 11 (that’s what I use), replace the battery ann add the airpods for under CHF500.
I don’t see why others couldn’t duplicate it but most manufacturers don’t do software and v.v. It might be some time.
My experience with apple subscriptions is the will bring these in when the introduce something new, for example Apple arcade, but don’t add them to existing products. When they began to charge for iCloud data storage they also doubled what you could get for free. There is no extra costs to do the hearing test or use the hearing assistance.
But they do lock you in. We are an Apple house, if we abandoned them it would be expensive to replace what we no longer have.
Er, how is that a problem? I’m speaking from the perspective of always trying to find my stapler only to discover someone had borrowed it.
But you are right it will take some time to learn that some people with plastic things in there ears are listening but others are not. Perhaps they need to glow a particular colour; green for listen; red for listening to the drum solo from In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.
Funnily enough I had a hearing test scheduled today at the doctors, and before heading to the doctors I downloaded and tried the new hearing test on my iPhone / AirPods. The output graph from the doctors, and from my iPhone looked pretty much identical… my doctor hadn’t heard of the new iPhone functionality and seemed rather astounded.
I’m really surprised that Apple isn’t making a bigger splash with these. For people simply getting old, ie without profound hearing loss, they appear to be as good as CHF1k aids.
The bonus is that they can be adjusted as your hearing changes, at home, just like that.
I signed up today, took the test and learned I don’t really have hearing loss. I could have sworn I did since I always ask people to repeat
I suggest you try the test again in a few hours.