In iOS 18.1 the long awaited Air Pods Pro 2 Hearing Test and Hearing Aids feature is (as of 18.1 release date) not available in Canada. When will it be available and is there any specific was as users we can make this happen?
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iPhone 13 mini, iOS 18
It’s not as if allowing the iOS upgrade in Canada will have any effect on the audiologists own sales because if you couldn’t afford $5000 for a set of prescription Hearing Aids before the iPod Pro iOS 18.1 upgrade you are still not going to go to an audiologist. So let’s see the Canadian gov do the right thing and allow us all to use iPods for hearing tests and improve our hearing ability at the same time.
The Sony CRE-C20 OTC ITE hearing aids are a valid upgrade over the CRE-C10. The most significant change is the rechargeable battery and the water-resisting factor now that the enclosure is sealed. I would not dive in a swimming pool or a lake with them, but they will resist rain or sweat, and it will not be the end of them if you forget to take them off before taking a shower.
On the functionality side, they are better at focusing on your spouse's or friend's speech while in a busy and noisy place like a restaurant. The hearing test has been modernized and appears more accurate. The rest of the app is pretty much the same.
The issue that needs to be clarified is whether Apple looks at GPS data to determine where you are located when you attempt to configure the AirPods Pro. I could log in to my US Apple ID using a VPN and then download the Sony app and configure my hearing aids—all that from my location north of Montreal. But I don’t know if the Apple process is the same. Remember that when you log in to a different Apple ID on one iPhone, you must first log out of your Canadian Apple ID. If you have the lockdown feature set, you have to wait an hour before being able to log in to your US Apple ID. It’s better to turn off lockdown mode before you begin this process. You can reactivate lockdown mode after you’re done.
lakedogs_2000 wrote:
That is why the 18.1 update is “not available” in Canada, using GPS locating to prevent access to that update to the firmware for users of AirPods in Canada!
Are you saying that iOS 18.1 is not available in Canada at all? That's not what I've read anywhere or heard from my Canadian friends.
If it’s good enough for the US regulatory authorities - it’s good enough for Canadian regulatory authorities.
I thought it was only U.S. citizens who thought that Canada and the U.S. were just alike and practically the same country. ;-)
I have updated my iPhone 13 Pro to IOS version 18.1 and the AirPods Pro firmware to version 7B21, the most recent version for IOS and the AirPods Pro firmware. In the configuration window for the Airpods Pro, I get Hearing Protection, but the Hearing Test and the Hearing aid functionality are nowhere to be found. ‘Many others have reported the same and realized that the reason is because we are located in Canada.
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Noeffix wrote:
« I hope this addresses your concerns » no it dosent. You explained why jut youre my mp so I want you to push for it to change.
The person you're responding to is not the MP. They were quoting the response they received from their MP.
Remember that iPhone models before the Model X are incompatible with IOS 18.
Yes they are but an old iPhone 12 running an older IOS than 18.1 will allow you to set them up in hearing accommodations. My wife's 2018 iPad on 17.7.1 set them up with no problems.
Some people here mistakenly label the AirPods Pro's transparency and noise cancellation functionalities as the hearing aid functionality. It’s like Live Listen, which has existed for a very long time, whereby you could use your iPhone to pick up sounds and relay them to your AirPods. These functionalities are fine but not the same as the hearing aid functionality.
The only way to get the hearing test and the hearing aid functionality is with IOS 18.1 and up and AirPods Pro firmware 7B19 and up, in a country that allows OTC sale of hearing aids.
I tried to set up my AirPods Pro 2 with firmware 7B21 with an older iPhone 1ù2 with IOS 17.7.1 yesterday, and YOU DO NOT GET the hearing test and the hearing aid functionality.
There is a lot of misinformation being spread here about this.
Some people here mistakenly label the AirPods Pro's transparency and noise cancellation functionalities as the hearing aid functionality. It’s like Live Listen, which has existed for a very long time, whereby you could use your iPhone to pick up sounds and relay them to your AirPods. These functionalities are fine but not the same as the hearing aid functionality.
The only way to get the hearing test and the hearing aid functionality is with IOS 18.1 and up and AirPods Pro firmware 7B19 and up, in a country that allows OTC sale of hearing aids.
There is a lot of misinformation being spread here about this.
You are incorrect on so many levels here and you are splitting hairs. You have been able to apply your audiogram to your AirPods since September 2022 and I notice you conveniently missed that bit off.
When you go to, say, a Costco audiologist, they will check your ears and give you a hearing test and then apply the Audiogram to the hearing aids they have decided will be good for you. It's exactly the same principle and as long as you have mild to moderate hearing loss Airpods should work well for you if you get on with them.
I do agree with you that you cannot use the Apple Hearing test but that is easily sorted by downloading the Mimi hearing test app from the App store to do your test.
OR you can use your AirPods so they are even MORE like REAL hearing aids by applying your professionally created Audiogram to the Airpods.
The AirPod Pro 2s are sounding more and more like real hearing aids to me! The only difference is that back in 2022 were not selling them as REAL hearing aids and they didn't have FDA approval.
By the way. My AirPods are running the firmware 7B21 and over the six weeks I have been using them with IOS 17.7.1 the firmware has changed three times with NO change in the function of them.
I tried to set up my AirPods Pro 2 with firmware 7B21 with an older iPhone 1ù2 with IOS 17.7.1 yesterday, and YOU DO NOT GET the hearing test and the hearing aid functionality.
That is incorrect. You do. I have them set up on my 15 Pro Max and they work extremely well for me.
Last week to prove that they still work I set them up on an iPad 2018 running on IOS 17.7.1.
Just sitting here typing away with my hearing aids (Airpods) in my ears listening to a podcast and they sound great.
You won't lose any hearing assistance but only from what I have read, you won’t be able to change any of the Airpod settings, which of course, is the whole point.
I now have mine setup on a 2018 iPad and my iPhone and both are running 17.7.1.
I arrived in California from Alberta 4 days ago. When Apple released 18.1.1 - I updated my iPhone (16 promax) and now I have the hearing aid option available - initial thoughts - excellent - did. 18.1.1 update in Canada in a similar fashion?
Yes. I arrived home in Alberta last week and the hearing aids are working perfectly. I was in California when 18.1.1 came out - I updated there and lo and behold the hearing aid capability was added. I am guessing that IF I update to the next software release in Canada I will lose the hearing aid capability?
Hi, I have the AirPods now and you offered to help me set them up for as hearing aids. I am still using the IOS 17. Looking forward for your instructions.
You will need to download the free Mimi app to do do a hearing test OR you can download your audiogram by taking a photo of it.
Assuming you have set them up using Bluetooth after you have taken a hearing test. The AirPods need to be in your ears.
To take an Ear Tip Fit test on your iPhone, go to Settings/Bluetooth and tap the info icon for the
AirPods Pro. At the very bottom choose Ear Tip Fit Test, then tap Continue and Play. Both ears should show the seal is ok before you carry on.
Go to Settings/Accessibility/Audio Visual and click on Headphone Accommodations. You may need to click on Custom Audio Set up but you should see Audiogram and it will ask you which one to use. If you used the Mimi app the test will appear with today's date. Select it. In the next menu you can hear a sample of music and toggle between music with your Audiogram applied and without it so you know your Audiogram is working.
Go to the bottom and click on Transparency Mode and also switch Conversation boost on.
With the Airpods connected to your phone or iPad, your Airpods will appear close to the top of the Settings menu. Click on it. Switch Conversation Awareness on. Switch Loud Sound Reduction on.
That's about it but there are loads of settings you can play around with. In the last menu I mentioned you can simply set them to Adaptive Mode which will automatically set Noise Cancellation volume according to your surroundings. Otherwise you tinker with the Background Volume and Hearing Aid Volume manually independently of each other.
Hope this helps. Copy it quick!
It appear what you described is the custom transparency mode which in
reality pretty close to an OTC hearing aid. The hearing aid upgrade in
18.1 includes hearing test and updated algorithm to received approval as
OTC hearing aid device, probably with better hear aid performance and
functions. Are you saying that by upgrade to 18.1, the custom
transparency will be blocked?
It's not something I have tried as I am still using IOS 17.7.1.
I have read that you cannot use your Audiogram in Transparency Mode after you update to IOS 18.1 in countries where the Hearing Aid feature has not been approved. It's certainly upset a lot of people who have been using them for a while. The feature was first available in September 2022 when the AirPod Pro 2s were launched. It was orginally launched in the AirPod Pros back in 2020.
What I don't know is if the Custom Transparency Mode is still available after upgrading to 18.1 in countries where the Hearing Aid Feature has been approved. It might be worth asking somebody who is using them in the US.
The one thing I do know is that Apple have simplified the menus dramatically in the update. Lot's of settings seem to have disappeared including Loud Sound Reduction that I really like in 17.7.1. According to the Apple availability chart the Hearing Protection feature is only available in the US and Canada.
Are Loud Sound Reduction and Hearing Protection the same? I don't know.
Unfortunately it’s now up to the various provinces to approve. If you read that email I got from my mp it said in part:
“Health Canada regulates hearing aids as “medical devices”, so the federal agency (Health Canada) would have to approve Over-the-Counter models for sale in Canada. Once they have been approved, it is up to the provinces to decide whether such hearing aids could be sold over the counter. For example, In British Columbia, provincial law says only a licenced audiologist can prescribe a hearing aid and prohibits providing anyone a hearing aid without a prescription.”
This is very helpful only under headphone accommodation I am not offered the option of using an audiogram. I have done the Mimi test and associated the audiogram with the Health app but still don’t get that option.
iPhone 12 Pro Max 18.2
Airpods Pro 2
Canadian resident obviously
The Hearing Aid Feature is not supported in Canada yet. Neither is the UK where I live. If you have an iPad or iPhone running IOS 17.7.1 or older you can them working and access and add your audiogram and USE your audiogram as long as you set them up with is older than 18.1.
You can get access if you have an older Apple iPad or iPhone.
AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aids not available in Canada
