AirPods lack hearing monitoring features in Australia | Information Age

Apple’s hearing health features for AirPods Pro 2 launched in many countries on October 28th. Photo: Apple/Supplied

The much-touted hearing protection features of Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 headphones are now the tech giant’s latest innovation, which launched in the US but is still unavailable in Australia due to a lack of regulatory approval.

Announced in September and released on October 28, the hearing monitoring features of Apple’s $399 AirPods Pro 2, including hearing tests and clinical-grade hearing aid capabilities, are available in dozens of countries, including New Zealand.

These features, which Apple calls “groundbreaking”, have yet to receive regulatory approval from Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The AirPods Pro 2’s hearing protection feature, which Apple says will help users “minimize exposure to loud environmental noise,” was only available in the US and Canada at launch.

The UK has also yet to approve any of the new hearing health features, while Canada has only approved Apple’s hearing protection system.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment Information Age on whether it has submitted the AirPods Pro 2’s hearing monitoring features for TGA approval in Australia.

The TGA had previously refused to disclose whether Apple had submitted new healthcare features for regulatory approval.

“Some hearing enhancement features are not currently available in all regions,” Apple notes on its website.

“The hearing screening and hearing aid functions are regulated healthcare functions that require regulatory approval and will be offered upon approval.”

Some users are ‘very disappointed’

Keith Loughlin, a 71-year-old former gunfighter from the New South Wales south coast, said Information Age he bought AirPods Pro 2 to overcome his hearing problems and better enjoy media from his phone and laptop.

Laughlin said he held off on buying more expensive hearing aids because he felt they didn’t take advantage of the processing power of modern phones and computers.

He said he also thinks AirPods are more socially acceptable.

“Everyone wears AirPods these days, so there’s no stigma attached to them,” he said.

“But wearing a powerful hearing aid, especially one that sits behind the ears, is still (stigmatized).”

_{Former shooter Keith Laughlin says he bought AirPods Pro 2 to help with his hearing problems. Photo: Keith Laughlin/Supplied}

Loughlin said that while he believes it is not Apple’s fault that hearing health features are not yet available in Australia, he has provided the company with feedback about his experience.

Other AirPods Pro 2 users expressed their disappointment in a thread created by Loughlin on Apple’s community forums.

“Just bought my AirPods Pro this morning just for this feature,” one wrote.

“When you get home you find it’s out of stock in Australia. Guess how I feel about this issue. Not happy.”

Another user wrote: “Very disappointed, finally bit the bullet and bought an AirPod Pro 2 today thinking I could use the hearing aid feature only to find it’s not available in Australia.”

“This is extremely annoying,” wrote another.

“I just canceled my order for new AirPods because the only reason I was going to upgrade was because of the promised hearing aid features.”

Apple’s Vice President of Health Dr. Sumbul Desai said in a recent press release that the company believes its hearing health features will “literally change people’s lives—and democratize access to treatment for a condition that affects more than a billion people.”

The World Health Organization’s technical lead on hearing, Dr. Shelley Chadha, said in the same press release that technology can play “an important role in raising awareness and providing intervention options for people living with hearing loss.”

_{Apple says the hearing monitoring features in AirPods Pro 2 are subject to regulatory approval in each market. Photo: Apple/Supplied}

Australian Apple users are missing other features

The lack of local regulatory approval for Apple’s hearing health features comes after the company released updated Apple Watch software in September that included a new sleep apnea notification feature that has not yet been approved for use in Australia.

According to Apple, this feature will notify the user when their Apple Watch notices an increase in breathing disturbances during sleep.

In September, sleep apnea became available in more than 150 countries at once, and Australia and Canada were among the few English-speaking countries that had not yet approved it.

Australian Apple Watch users previously waited more than two years for the TGA to approve the device’s electrocardiogram (ECG) and irregular heart rhythm notification features after Apple announced them in September 2018.

Although the first in the company’s line of highly anticipated artificial intelligence features, dubbed Apple Intelligence, have not received regulatory approval, they were publicly released in October for devices using American English as a language, but will not be available for devices using Australian English until then. until December, Apple said.