[mcaravey]

Apple AirPods can behave a bit like a hearing aid. You can use the Live Listen feature on an iPhone to get an idea [0].

I’ve got a modern set of hearing aids that I actually ordered last week. They have Bluetooth built in, so they will actually function as earbuds themselves, allowing me to answer calls or listen to music and so on. So the reverse is already happening where the hearing aid acts as headphones.

One last thing to consider is that ear buds occlude the ear completely, where some hearing aids (like mine) are designed to physically allow sound through. In my case it’s better than total occlusion since one of my ears only has partial loss (total loss in the other).

[0] https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209082

[glouwbug]

Don't hearing aids have to be FDA approved? There's a huge potential for something like an Earpod to gain advanced hearing capabilities. The medical powers that be, however, just regulate the market

[mcaravey]

Yeah, which is probably why they cost thousands of dollars :(

They do get programmed to compensate for the specific hearing loss of the individual, but if there was an easy way to take a hearing test and program the earbuds at home to match, that would be amazing. The transparency mode on the Apple AirPods already uses the mic to pass through sound, but I don’t know of any way to amplify specific frequencies or to transmit sound from one side to the other (for one-sided deafness).

[eclipticplane]

A version of cheap hearing aids not unlike being able to pick up non-prescription reading glasses for $5 at the drug store would be life altering for many. Imperfect is better than unattainable.