Many children, teenagers and adults are affected by hearing problems. These can have several causes but in general the treatment is the same: patients can wear hearing aids. Devices that are generally very expensive, and whose design is sometimes questionable – which only amplify the surrounding sounds so that the wearer can recover their hearing.
The problem is that these devices are usually quite limited. Some offer a bluetooth connection which allows for example to connect them to the smartphone. But probably nothing is as practical and flexible in this area as AirPods with an iPhone. However, a study seems to show that the AirPods Pro deliver, with the right configuration, performance similar to the most advanced hearing aids.
What if the AirPods Pro made deafness go incognito?
Between their iconic style, the price ultimately quite reasonable compared to medical devices, their charging system, their simplified pairing, and access to accessibility features, the AirPods Pro could certainly, if these results are confirmed, make their mark. path in medicine. It must be said that Apple thought about disability from the start – and even tried to obtain certification from the American FDA.
Unfortunately, however, the agency felt that the headphones did not meet the standards necessary to be prescribed as a hearing aid. And yet, as the study published in the journal iScience shows, they could be quite adequate in managing mild to moderate hearing loss problems in adults.
Lab tests show that AirPods wearers with hearing loss can hear conversations better than with two other devices prescribed by doctors – when accessibility features are turned on. According to the researchers, beyond the question of having this type of alternative approved, it is possible to advise people on the path to deafness to use these headphones so as to have an idea of the benefits that could bring them. real hearing aids.
In detail, the researchers based their study on a sample of 21 people and configured AirPods Pro as well as AirPods 2 with Live Listen functionality. One control group wore entry-level hearing aids while another wore premium hearing aids. The AirPods Pro hit the high-end $10,000+ hearing aid level in 4 of the 5 categories tested.
The open-design AirPods 2 were far from these results, but still had a correct score in two of the five categories studied.
Source: Presse-Citron
I am a journalist with over 6 years of experience working in the news industry. I currently work as an author for Global Happenings, and my coverage focuses on Technology news. I have written for various publications, including Reuters, The New York Times and The Guardian.
