Setting up AirPods Pro as hearing aids

AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 can work as over-the-counter hearing aids. In September 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized Apple's Hearing Aid feature, the first hearing aid software it had cleared for over-the-counter use.¹ Once it's set up, your AirPods amplify the sound around you, shaped to your own audiogram.

Is it right for you?

The feature is meant for adults 18 and older with mild to moderate hearing loss. On an audiogram, that's thresholds from about 26 to 55 dB HL on the U.S. scale; Apple's own grading stretches moderate to 60.²

If your loss is severe or profound, the feature can't provide enough gain, and a prescription hearing aid or a cochlear implant evaluation is the better path. Over-the-counter hearing aids also aren't the first step if any of these apply; see a doctor first:³

• Hearing loss or ringing in only one ear
• Hearing that changed suddenly or has gotten worse in the last six months
• Ear pain, dizziness, or fluid draining from the ear

What you need

• AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3, updated to the latest firmware. Firmware updates install on their own while the AirPods charge near your iPhone.
• An iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later.
• A supported country or region. The United States is one of more than 100.⁴
• Ear tips that seal well. The setup runs a fit test; if it says the seal is poor, try the next size up or down.

Step 1: Get your hearing test results

The feature fits itself to your audiogram, so it needs one first. You can take Apple's hearing test or use an audiogram you already have.

Apple's Hearing Test runs on the AirPods themselves and takes about five minutes. Find a quiet room where you won't be interrupted, put both AirPods in, and tap the screen each time you hear a tone. It tests 250 Hz to 8 kHz in each ear, and the results are saved to the Health app.²

An audiogram from a hearing test with a doctor or audiologist works too. During setup, choose to use prior test results, tap Add Hearing Test Result, and follow the prompts to add the thresholds for each ear.

Step 2: Turn on the Hearing Aid feature

1. Charge your AirPods and connect them to your iPhone or iPad.
2. Open Settings and tap your AirPods' name near the top.
3. Tap Hearing Health, then Hearing Assistance.
4. Tap Set Up Hearing Assistance and choose whether to take a new test or use existing results.
5. Follow the prompts, then tap Turn On Hearing Aid.⁵

Depending on your results, setup may suggest Media Assist instead. Media Assist uses your audiogram to adjust music, videos, and calls, without amplifying the room around you. It's available alongside the Hearing Aid feature too, and it works in every listening mode.

Step 3: Use Transparency mode

The Hearing Aid feature only amplifies the world around you in Transparency mode. In Noise Cancellation, you'll hear your media and calls, but not the room. Press and hold the stem of either AirPod to switch modes.

Step 4: Fine-tune it

Open Settings, tap your AirPods' name, then Hearing Health → Hearing Assistance → Adjustments. You can also change most of these from Control Center by tapping the Hearing control.

• Amplification turns the sound of your surroundings up or down.
• Balance shifts amplification between your left and right ears.
• Tone makes amplified sound brighter or darker.
• Ambient Noise Reduction turns down steady background sounds like fans, air conditioning, and road noise.
• Conversation Boost focuses on the person talking in front of you.
• Own Voice Amplification changes how loud your own voice sounds to you. It's in Control Center.

The volume buttons on your iPhone change media volume, not amplification. To change amplification with the AirPods themselves, turn on Swipe to Control Amplification in the same settings, then swipe up or down on the stem while you're in Transparency mode with nothing playing.⁵

On other devices

Your settings live on the AirPods, so they keep working when your iPhone isn't nearby. On a Mac, find the same adjustments in System Settings → your AirPods → Hearing Health. On an Apple Watch, open Control Center and tap the Hearing Aid button. If you have more than one pair of AirPods Pro, each pair needs its own setup.

Exporting your results

The Health app can export any hearing test result as a PDF audiogram, to keep for your records or bring to a doctor:

1. Open the Health app.
2. On iPhone, tap Browse. On iPad, open the sidebar.
3. Tap Hearing, then open your hearing test result.
4. Scroll down, tap Export PDF, and save or share the file.²

Hearing your results in the simulator

To hear what your audiogram does to speech and everyday sounds, open the simulator, open the profile menu, and choose Create custom profile at the bottom of the list. Turn off Same for both ears if your ears differ, then copy the level at each pitch from the PDF into the table of values for each ear. If the PDF skips a pitch the table asks for, like 3 kHz or 6 kHz, use a level between its neighbors.

Your profile is saved in your own browser, and it's never uploaded.