Using AirPods as a Hearing Aid (Revised)
I posted a link to an article earlier about what we can do to prevent dementia.
https://mstdn.social/@garry/110004588618144618
One thing that was news to me is that there is a link between poor hearing and dementia. And one thing that many people don't know is that you can use AirPods as a hearing aid. It takes a few minutes to set up but can make a world of difference.
I spent a lot of time some years ago working with very loud sound while producing music with pro level headphones. Subsequently my ability to hear sounds at 1,000 Hz and above was greatly reduced. Amongst other things this meant that it was difficult to hear consonants in speech, effectively making me partially deaf.
I got a pair of AirPod Pro earbuds and set them up for my personal hearing needs. Later that day I went for a walk in my local woods and literally gasped out loud at hearing the birds I'd been missing for some years!
The way you set them up is buried deep in the Settings, so it's not surprising that not many people know about it. Here's where you need to go. You need to have the AirPods connected to your iPhone or iPad.
Settings
Accessibility
AirPods
Audio Accessibility Settings
Headphone Accommodations
Custom Audio Setup
Headphone Audio Customisation
You run through a couple of hearing tests, one for voice volume levels and one for best music settings. After the tests you should see a volume slider. It's important to move that to wherever you need it. Hearing sounds at all frequencies is great, but I found that I wanted a slight volume boost to enhance conversations. Some people might want to turn it down if it's enhancing the sound too much.
After this you should be good to go, but you can always set it up again. And maybe make a note of where the settings are. (Why can't we bookmark particular settings, Apple?)
"A few points to note:
1) If you can get an audiogram (from a free hearing test?) you can input that at an early stage of the setup. I didn't have one to test but I imagine that it speeds up the whole process.
2) This process worked for me, but I'm not an audiologist, so it's your decision whether to go this route.
3) Here's the list of devices it works with, and the news is good for anyone with any of these devices:
AirPods Pro (1st and 2nd generation)
AirPods (2nd and 3rd generation)
AirPods Max
Apple EarPods (with 3.5mm Headphone Plug or Lightning Connector)
Powerbeats
Powerbeats Pro
Beats Solo Pro
Beats Fit Pro
I tried it with the EarPods that came with my iPhone XS and they weren't recognised for some reason. Maybe it's only with newer models.
4) Airpods Pro 2 cost £248 currently in the UK. That's a fair amount of money. Hearing aids that actually work typically cost between £500 and £3,000, and that's just for one. You usually get a discount for two, but it's still a lot of money. Cheaper to get an audiogram and the AirPods.
5) It should be obvious that you need to use the AirPods in Transparency mode for this to work. You can, of course, listen to music in Transparency mode, and you should find that you can turn the music up or down without affecting the volume of the sounds around you. Now, if Apple would just add extra sensitivity for the sound of ebikes and scooters...
6) Dr Rob (@PapaBear) reminded me that you can use Live Listen (sometimes jokingly referred to as Espionage Mode), which is where, say, you put your iPhone in the middle of a desk during a meeting, or right in front of the TV. You can read about that here:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/airpods/dev85c352340/web
7) I'm going to repeat the warning that Apple (and every other manufacturer of such audio devices gives you, slightly revised for the context: Listening (to anything through AirPods) at high volumes can damage your health.
8) Paul (@beerbaking) suggested a way of using a Shortcut to access the Settings without having to dive down one level at a time.
Open the Shortcuts app, tap Add Action, tap URL (you can search for it first), enter prefs:root=ACCESSIBILITY&path=AUDIO_VISUAL_TITLE/AXPAEnableSpecID (perhaps copy and paste to avoid mistakes) in the field with the paperclip icon, tap Open URLs under Next Action suggestions, tap Done. Tap the new Shortcut to try it. You can then long-press on the Shortcut to Rename it. You can also long-press, tap Share, then tap Add to Home Screen for a one-tap solution that avoids going back into the Shortcuts app every time.
I hope you find this information useful. And especially that it keeps some of you from worse hearing loss, let alone dementia.
There are a couple of articles you might be interested in:
Study: AirPods Pro are this close to being full-fledged hearing aids
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11/study-airpods-pro-are-this-close-to-being-full-fledged-hearing-aids/
Apple AirPods getting new health features in the next few years
https://appleinsider.com/articles/23/03/12/apple-airpods-getting-health-features-in-the-next-few-years
@garry this is brilliant. Had a conversation about just whether something like this was possible a couple of months ago, was thinking about bone conduction headphones. But interesting to know this exists
Thanks, Garry! Cool information.
@garry this is cool. One issue is battery life. How well does using on AirPod Pro while the other one is charging?
@garry @pvonhellermannn thanks - I had no idea this was possible! I’d add that hearing aids are available free on the NHS. They’re not as elegant as AirPods but they will be set up for you by an expert and regular checks are offered. The advice is to get them as soon as you start to need them, for two reasons: (1) a younger brain adapts more easily to hearing aids, (2) wearing them keeps dementia at bay by continuing social interactions.
@rebeccaclimate @garry @pvonhellermannn and enhance hearing abilities
@garry I’ve always had hearing aids that ‘actually’ work for free - on the NHS. I’ve been hard of hearing from birth, but my mum aged 69 has also recently received hearing aids via the NHS. It’s the creeping effect of the US model of healthcare into this country that makes people assume they can’t go their GP with concerns regarding hearing loss. But I would also argue that headphones and AirPods are big drivers of hearing loss amongst Gen X and would caution against their excessive use
@garry I use my AirPods in meetings a lot but my normal hearing aids for the day. It certainly helps being able to put my phone in the middle of the table.
@jaycee@toot.community@garry I went to the NHS and saw an audiologist. Much safer…..
@jaycee@toot.community@garry oh, and the two digital hearing aids are I now have are provided by the NHS, free at the point of use. 
@garry thank you so much for this. My mom was just told she needs new hearing aids. We will try this first.
@garry I had no idea that hearing loss and dementia had such a close relationship. Just did some quick reading on it.
I use headphones a lot for music making regularly. The tinnitus is still on the trivial end although silence isn’t a thing these days. Makes me a lot more aware and a lot more cautious of what that next stage could lead to.
Thanks for raising the awareness.
@BadExampleMan@mstdn.social@garry thank you for this! I , too, fried my mid- and upper-frequency response, in my case with a couple of years sitting behind a drum kit. I have a lot of trouble with conversation when there's even a little background noise. I'm going to try this.
@garry The street finds it's own use for things. 
@garry the default settings help my hearing on my Android phone but I wish there were something like this for Android users, I cannot understand speech or songs very well and it makes a world of difference to use the airpods pro.
@garry @PapaBear I appreciate what you’ve posted about AirPods and hearing aids. However, as someone who has been following dementia research since 2009 I am skeptical about much lifestyle and dementia.
My wife was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2009. I know many spouses of people with dementia (mostly FTD) whose spouses led very healthy lifestyles.
I just find media reporting on medical studies to not be great.
I just don’t want you freaking out since you have hearing loss.
@dlljs @garry @PapaBear You probably want to look into Nuheara who are doing similar things: https://www.nuheara.com/usa/
@garry @PapaBear Thanks so much for posting this! I'm likely about to have to get my first pair of hearing aids and I'm absolutely shocked as the prices for the good ones in the US.
One question: Do the earbuds have to be connected over Bluetooth to your iPad or iPhone for them to work this way, or only when configuring the settings initially?
@garry @PapaBear Answering my own question!
https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/yy3p9f/study_airpods_pro_are_this_close_to_being/iwv67pr
@garry this is great information. Thank you!
When I first bought a pair of AirPods I jokingly referred to them as “millennial hearing aids” but never uncovered the settings to make them useful as such.
My very expensive - but very good - hearing aids are not as workshop-friendly as AirPods so I often forget to wear them. I did not know about the link between hearing loss and dementia. I’m going to put my ears in right now!
@garry @CindyWeinstein @PapaBear @beerbaking I have airpods pro 1 and 2, and transparency mode is in fact wonderful. But there’s a reason (besides greed on the part of the hearing aid companies) that real hearing instruments are more expensive. Airpods work as a simple mic ->equalizer -> amp -> speaker. This is helpful indeed to boost missing frequencies, and it’s how all hearing aids worked a decade or so ago. Modern hearing aids though are… 1/
@garry @PapaBear @beerbaking Great info, thanks for sharing this!
@garry @PapaBear My dudes. I just set this up and while the hearing aid functionality is really good and convenient, an underappreciated feature is tuning music playback to my audiogram… my god… all of the missing frequencies are back. Every album and track has a richness and clarity that has been missing for so long…
@garry @PapaBear @beerbaking Check out https://apps.apple.com/app/id932496645 mimi for a free audiogram. Works with Health, so you can import it.
@garry @PapaBear @beerbaking Interesting, your comment about the birds. I just published this short blog: https://geotripperbirds.blogspot.com/2023/07/birding-with-hearing-loss-and-my-blue.html
@garry if you want to bookmark straight to the AirPods accessibility setting screen you can do it with a shortcut (which you can then put on your Home Screen)
The specific string to open is “prefs:root=ACCESSIBILITY&path=AIRPODS” and you’re using the Safari open url action. Once you make the shortcut you can add it to your Home Screen.
@garry @PapaBear @beerbaking There are a few hearing-test apps for iOS that will generate audiograms. I’ve used one called Mimi, which generates a 6-point curve for each ear (I’m curious whether a test by a real audiologist produces a finer-grained curve). My hearing is pretty good, but I’m old enough that I’ve had some high-frequency loss; when I applied the audiogram results to my iPhone (which isn’t as easy as it seems like it should be), the results were noticeable but not dramatic.
Good post. One note, you can get an audiogram test from the app, Mimi (https://apps.apple.com/app/id932496645) which inputs into Apple Health and will be picked up by the Accessibility tool you described above.
@garry I only wish my airpods pro would hold well in my ears, at least one always falls out if I do something more than sitting. I still have to try third party foam tips
@garry that is extremely cool - what a great discovery. i've got two friends who are hard of hearing - both of which despise wearing traditional hearing aids - and i'll pass this along.
@garry @PapaBear @beerbaking thank you for this. I am not able to replace my hearing aids but I do have Airpods. Going to set them up. So appreciate this. 
@garry @PapaBear @beerbaking The free Mimi app will give you a hearing test that is importable. The whole Airpods-as-hearing aids thing was a lifesaver for me last winter before I could have an ENT clear impacted ear wax.