You may have heard that the world’s most popular earbuds can now double as hearing aids. What does this mean for the audiology world? Honestly, this is interesting and we are excited! Manufacturers such as Starkey, Signia, Phonak and Widex, just to name a few, will still be the gold standard for top quality amplification, but given that Apple is a brand that carries products so many of us already feel very comfortable around, Airpods can be a great gate-way into the hearing aid world! Let me share a few of my thoughts regarding advantages and disadvantages of using AirPods as your hearing aids.
Benefits:
For just ~$200, you not only get the Bluetooth earbuds you want anyways, you now have access to noise cancellation and frequency-adjusted amplification. Not a bad deal if you’re new to the game and looking at an out-of-pocket hearing aid purchase. My husband confirms that they fit and sound great, and he loves how sleek they are for his work calls. Hearing loss or not, he gives rates them a 10 out of 10!
Drawbacks:
Insurance does not help with the cost, so it is worth looking into your hearing aid benefits for coverage through us with a major hearing aid manufacturer. You will be prompted to take a hearing test with your AirPods, and knowing how difficult it is to find silence in the real world, your results may be skewed. A hearing evaluation by a trained professional in a soundproof booth will absolutely be more accurate and provide you with a much better picture of not only your hearing, but your understanding and processing of speech. Your AirPods may miss important details of your ears that require medical attention, which is why if a hearing loss is probable or you have true concerns, I would always recommend a full audiological work up.
It’s a great first step for many future patients, and does give you an opportunity to think about prescription hearing aids later on if you learn you need more. As always, we are all ears for you!
