Does the Apple airpods pro 2 hearing aid feature meet prescribed targets for standardized audiograms?

Abstract

Objective: We aimed to record deviation of Apple AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid Feature (HAF) output from prescriptive targets (i.e., NAL-NL2) using two manually entered, standardized audiograms. We also aimed to record the acoustic effects of the HAF tuning controls and their utility for fine tuning HAF outputs.

Design and study sample: HAF output was quantified by real-ear aided responses measured bilaterally in an acoustic manikin using 55, 65, and 75 dB SPL recorded speech inputs. Repeated measurements were made for left and right earbuds, from two sets of AirPods Pro 2 devices. Two manually entered, standardized audiograms (mild- and moderate-sloping hearing losses) were used to generate prescriptive targets. Fine tuning by a researcher towards validated prescriptive targets was explored using "Amplification" and "Tone" sliders on an iPhone.

Results: For both manually-entered audiograms, under-amplification relative to targets was observed at HAF's default setting; however, match to targets could be achieved after fine tuning. The "amplification" slider gives ∼10 dB of broadband level changes, while "Tone" slider gives ∼5-10 dB of spectral tilt.

Conclusions: We provide preliminary data supporting the potential of HAF for fitting patients with manually-entered mild- and moderate-sloping audiograms. HAF tuning controls could be used to meet prescriptive targets.