The UK's department of health and social care has approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, which has prompted Apple to announce that its hearing aid feature for AirPods Pro 2 will launch in the United Kingdom within weeks.
Previously, people with hearing problems were only able to obtain a hearing aid if they had a prescription from a doctor, due to confusion over the rules. A UK government policy statement last Thursday clarified that over-the-counter hearing aids are in fact allowed.
Following the changes, Apple in a statement to The Telegraph said it will bring the hearing aid features to AirPods Pro 2 users in the UK in the "coming weeks" – likely with the upcoming release of iOS 18.3.
AirPods Pro 2 include a clinical-grade hearing aid feature designed to enhance surrounding sounds, catering to adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, according to Apple. Meanwhile, a hearing test feature allows adults to identify if they have hearing loss by measuring their ability to hear different frequencies of sound.
These health features are rolled out through free software updates. The features debuted in the US and other countries in late October. There is also a hearing protection feature currently only available in the US and Canada that continuously monitors the user's environment and reduces the impact of loud sounds in real time.
When iOS 18.3 becomes available, UK users should install the software and connect their AirPods Pro to their iPhone, which may cause a firmware update to installed automatically to bring support for the hearing aid feature.
AirPods Pro 2 users may also need to run the hearing test feature again, which will open the Hearing Assistance menu. Apple will suggest using the AirPods Pro as a hearing aid only if you have mild-to-moderate hearing loss when listening to spoken-word frequencies.
