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by yojo 206 days ago
I got my father-in-law to try AirPods Pro 2 last year. He’s needed hearing aids for about a decade, but wouldn’t get them, I think for vanity reasons. I’m at the in-laws for thanksgiving and he’s wearing the AirPods now.

From the other side, it’s night and day. We can have conversations. He can hear my kids. The TV volume is set to reasonable levels.

Sample size of one, but it’s been a tremendous improvement. A lot of places are closing out the second gens right now for $140. I’d give it a go. It’s a pretty low price of entry for something that could literally be life changing.
3 comments
dhosek 206 days ago
I would absolutely love for Apple to make proper hearing aids or license their chipset to a HA maker. Before I became completely dependent on HAs I had a set of Beats headphones with the Apple wireless chipset in it and the ease of switching between devices with it was amazing. With my current HAs I essentially only can use it for sound with my phone.
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mountainriver 206 days ago
This seems like such an easy win for them, hopefully they see the value
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dhosek 206 days ago
The big problem is that I want prescription-level HAs and the regulatory apparatus around this is complex enough that they probably don’t want to bother.
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aaronbrethorst 206 days ago
I did the same with my mom. Big improvement for her. She’s also subsequently gotten ‘real’ hearing aids and finds them much more fiddly to use than her AirPods Pro. She’s 83, FWIW.
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pugworthy 206 days ago
Yes I’d love HAs as easy to use as AirPods. AirPods with the HA form factor would have some real advantages, even for those not hard of hearing.

I don’t ever hide my hearing aids but the discrete nature of them is great.

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remh 206 days ago
Thank you! My family member is in a similar boat. I guess I found my christmas present for him.
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shellfishgene 206 days ago
We also did this for my mom, but keep in mind this is a bit of a crutch that may keep them even more from getting a real hearing aid. My mom later had to go to the hospital, and because of battery life and other problems we regretted not pushing for a real hearing aid earlier. This caused real problems in the hospital.
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