Hearing test not available in Australia after iOS update this morning

Very disappointed, finally bit the bullet and bought AirPod pro 2 today believing I could use the hearing assistance feature only to find out it is not available in Australia.

[Edited by Moderator]

I have been following this for sometime now and must say it is another form of Australian government protectionism. The only reason they have not let Apple implement this software upgrade presumably is to protect some local interest in regular hearing aids which cost upwards of $6000 in Australia. Hardly surprised that they won’t allow this simple upgrade to the Apple air buds which cost < $400!

I have bought a pair and fully expect Australia to agree to allow Apple to market the product

I have written to Choice magazine about this issue asking them to look into it asap.

You kidding me, they were so fast that, australia was one of the first places to have the vaccine available.

TGA is doing more harm than good to be honest. Just let more people take advantage of the new features, if it doesnt work, people will stop using it !!!! simple as that

The $5000 hearing Aid my father got, it's RUBBISH ! It so frustrating that we cant even have a normal conversation with him!!!

i believe you can still add your own audiogram by going into the Health App and select Browse, then Hearing, then Hearing Test results and add the numbers manually (unless this feature was only left over from prior to 18.1 when I had added my audiogram).

then you go to Settings and select Audio & Visual, then Headphone Accommodations and tick tune for Audiogram.

i think this puts your profile into the AirpPods but it is not the hearing aid feature.

I did exactly the same thing this morning. over an hour on the phone to Apple support only to find out myself on google it is not avaliable in Australia. I did not need to spend $400 on "just another set of ear buds".

They could not even give an ETA.

I subsquently put in a complaint on the TGA website after calling them and being advised "no eta". The more squeeking we make might strike oil. :-)

While we wait for full hearing assistance tech to be made available in Australia, there's an article on the use of the 'Headphone Accommodations' feature which does seem to work (I just tried it) - a Feb 2023 article on techradar about how to use it search for How to use your Apple AirPods Pro as hearing aids

also an interesting v recent article on hackaday website

I saw the multiple YouTube videos talking about this feature. I bought the pro2 and looked forward to setting up with this.

when I got them there was no feature in the 18.1.1 update. I rang Apple and they tried for an hour to figure out the problem. Finally we figured it out. The software is not available in Australia.

so like $400 later I am back to zero. Thanks for the heads up when I purchased these Apple. NOT

Has Apple submitted to the TGA in Australia?

Waited ages for ECG and it’s been incredibly useful.

Wowee22 wrote:

The question is why is the TGA taking so much time to approve the hearing aid capability of the Air Pro 2? Surely it can’t be too hard to make such a decision just as so many other countries have. Is it due to lobbying from those in the audiology industry or just bureaucratic indecisiveness?

When was the last time you got such an explanation from a government agency? ;-)

I also spent an hour or so talking to technical support a couple of weeks ago. The person I spoke to had no idea that there was a problem. I can’t blame Apple for the TGA taking so long but I can blame Apple for omitting to inform us about the situation. Nothing on the Apple website, nothing communicated by Apple staff at point of purchase and technical support that didn’t have a clue that there was an issue. The fact that the technical support person was located somewhere outside of Australia added to the problem. Very disappointing customer service.

This was what I got from the TGA today

“Thank you for your enquiry of 14/11/2024 to theTherapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Due to confidentiality the TGA does not disclose information about current applications and cannot advise whether an application has been received or is in progress. The information that the TGAcan lawfully provide about a product is publicly available on the TGA website.

You may wish to contact the sponsor or manufacturer for further information about their intentions to submit an application to the TGA for registration of this product.”

So even less helpful than your reply

This was the reply I got from the TGA today

”Thank you for your enquiry of 14/11/2024 to theTherapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

Due to confidentiality the TGA does not disclose information about current applications and cannot advise whether an application has been received or is in progress. The information that the TGAcan lawfully provide about a product is publicly available on the TGA website.

You may wish to contact the sponsor or manufacturer for further information about their intentions to submit an application to the TGA for registration of this product.”

not very helpful or informative as tax payers we should be able to see what they are doing with the money we have provided for this service rather than hide behind some dubious confidentiality clause

Hi kit laughlin

Re: "Hearing test not available in Australia after iOS update this morning"

Yes, I see Australia is not listed in Apple's article: AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability - Apple

Wondering whether or not marketing and Health Authorities in Australia are still looking into authorization.

___________________________________________________________

Apple's September 9, 2024 Press Release about new health features

says:

"The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features are expected to receive marketing authorization from global health authorities soon, and will be available this fall in more than 100 countries and regions, including the U.S., Germany, and Japan.3"

and

3 "The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features are expected to be available fall 2024. The Hearing Aid feature is pending marketing authorization from the FDA and other global health authorities. The Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features will be supported on AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware paired with a compatible iPhone or iPad with iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 and later, and is intended for people 18 years or older. The Hearing Aid feature is intended for people with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss".

USA Fall 2024:  Starts on Sunday, September 22 and ends on Saturday, December 21

As community members, like yourself, we have no way of checking whether or not the hearing-test availability is complete, or whether other countries may be included in time.

All the best :-)