You’ve probably owned a pair of AirPods for years without ever thinking of them as medical equipment. Apple’s AirPods Pro now doubles as an FDA authorized hearing aid, and the same earbuds sometimes blamed for damaging young ears can screen for and treat mild to moderate hearing loss too. It’s a genuinely surprising shift, and it’s already changing how people approach getting help. Here’s what readers are asking about the AirPods hearing aid feature in 2026.

Can AirPods Pro Really Work as a Hearing Aid?

Yes. The FDA authorized the Hearing Aid Feature on September 12, 2024, making it the first over the counter hearing aid software ever cleared through the agency’s de novo pathway for novel, low to moderate risk devices.

The clearance was based on a 118 person clinical trial registered at ClinicalTrials.gov as Apple’s Smartphone Enabled Hearing Study. Self fitted AirPods matched professionally fitted results with no device related adverse events, along with comparable speech in noise performance and amplification accuracy.

A separate peer reviewed study in the Yonsei Medical Journal tested the earbuds’ headphone accommodation feature on 35 adults with mild to moderate hearing loss and found it performed on par with a validated personal sound amplification product, improving word recognition and speech understanding in noise.

 

Related: Can Rucking Improve Posture? How It Builds Upper Back and Core Strength

Weighted walking has moved from military training grounds to suburban sidewalks, and one question keeps coming up for people trying it. Can strapping on a loaded pack actually fix the slump that hours at a desk leave behind? Rucking posture is the piece of the trend that fitness pros, physical therapists and everyday walkers say […]

Which AirPods Models Have the Hearing Aid Feature?

The FDA authorization applies to AirPods Pro 2 and the newer AirPods Pro 3, according to Apple’s hearing health page, which calls the setup the world’s first end to end hearing health experience built into consumer earbuds.

Older models, including the original AirPods Pro, are not covered and cannot run the Hearing Test or Hearing Aid feature. Users also need a compatible iPhone to complete the at home test and store the resulting hearing profile.

Apple is no longer alone here. Sony, Jabra and Bose, through its Lexie partnership, have all since brought their own FDA cleared over the counter hearing aids to market, part of a wider shift Consumer Reports has tracked as more traditional audio brands enter the hearing space.

How Much Does the AirPods Hearing Aid Feature Cost Compared to Prescription Hearing Aids?

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 both retail for $249, undercutting most prescription hearing aids by a wide margin. Prescription devices commonly …