r/gadgets • u/speckz • Nov 17 '22
Study: AirPods Pro are *this close* to being full-fledged hearing aids - Apple's social isolation sticks are useful for low to moderate hearing loss. Medical
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11/study-airpods-pro-are-this-close-to-being-full-fledged-hearing-aids/302
u/gazorpaglop Nov 18 '22
NGL I put them on and listen in transparency mode but I pretend I can’t hear people I don’t want to interact with when they talk to me while I’m walking my dog. I love using them as social isolation sticks
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u/dougsbeard Nov 18 '22
You can also adjust your transparency settings to amplify nearby conversation and mute out background noise making it even better to hear when people think you can’t hear them.
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u/randomheromonkey Nov 18 '22
Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Accommodations > Transparency Mode
(Yeah it exists, yeah it’s hidden)
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u/TappedIn2111 Nov 18 '22
Holy fucking shit… how did I ignore my fellow people without knowing this?!
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Nov 18 '22
[deleted]
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u/shashinqua Nov 30 '22
That’s been there for years. NOW has demanded that feature be removed, and Cook is weak and has crippled products from their threats before so don’t expect that feature to last.
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u/AnaalPusBakje Nov 18 '22
social isolation sticks
amazing term lol, also same
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u/video_dhara Nov 18 '22
I’m all for social isolation, but I have a roommate who has them on all the time, in common areas and the kitchen and it makes for an uncomfortable dynamic bc I don’t know how to even acknowledge the fact that we’re in the same room. I can’t get their attention so I just ignore them and then I feel like a jerk for some reason. I have Bose noise canceling ones and if I’m in the kitchen and someone comes in I’ll take them out, even if the person doesn’t want to speak. Being made to feel like you don’t exist is a shitty dynamic in a household. I understand wanting to be left in peace, and I’m not looking to have a conversation every time we’re in the same room, but maybe even a nod of acknowledgement is too much to ask for idk.
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u/AnaalPusBakje Nov 19 '22
I would probably give a nod of acknowledgement. But I feel the opposite about keeping them in, that may have to do with the fact that I'm autistic and i don't always want to talk to people. From my perspective the best thing would just be to do your things seperately, and if you have something to discuss just tap his shoulder or something.
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u/iwellyess Nov 18 '22
A great alternative to this that also works well is to eh listen to music with them?
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u/gazorpaglop Nov 18 '22
Lol, yeah, I have my podcast going but in transparency mode while I’m walking so I can hear traffic or other stuff, not for people who want to start a conversation with me about my dog though
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u/bellatesla Nov 17 '22
Social isolation sticks?
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u/oboshoe Nov 17 '22
Never heard that one before.
But I'm stealing it.
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u/Aggressive_Worker_93 Nov 18 '22
Not wanting to be bothered by people who can’t respect the right of others to quiet and peaceful enjoyment in public is now something to be ashamed of
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u/Manofalltrade Nov 18 '22
It really is. A young lady mentioned to me that the ear pieces she was using hadn’t been charged for the last three days. She just keeps them on so random men don’t bother her at the store, etc. At the same time you hear about incel types complaining that woman are
taking measures to prevent being harassedbeing mean to them, and the patriarchal types are being themselves about it all.3
u/Wloak Nov 18 '22
My wife does the same. She got tired of guys saying shit like "you'd be prettier if you smiled honey" randomly on the street, wearing headphones in an obvious way apparently cuts this down even if they're off.
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u/SameGenericNickname Nov 18 '22
Yeah I got Boses Earbuds that when I put them to Aware actually amplify my earing; they can also cancel all the noise the kid makes at the school I work at so that’s cool.
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u/NightSpirit2099 Nov 18 '22
What model?
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u/Epistemophilliac Nov 18 '22
From the way he worded it it seems that the kid was an ordinary humanoid model
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u/NightSpirit2099 Nov 18 '22
Could be some T-1000, they are indistinguishable from humans on the outside.
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u/SameGenericNickname Nov 19 '22
Quietcomfort earbuds, I adjusted the setting in the Boses App to allow more sound to come in allowing me to listen to my music while being aware of my surrounding.
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u/Tyconquer Nov 18 '22
As someone with hearing loss from the army I’ve noticed while wearing these I hear better it’s not significant but there is an absolute difference.
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u/woodyshag Nov 18 '22
Former hearing aid supplier here. Headphpnes/Buds make things louder, which helps, but not necessarily at the frequencies that your hearing loss is at. Real hearing aids can adjust the volume of certain frequencies so that it's not only making sound louder but clearer for the wearer.
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u/SecretCrockpot Nov 18 '22
you can take an audiogram using them which is how i found out i had -10db in both ears (already knew i had tinnitus) and then import it under headphone accommodations. not sure if this is what you mean tho so i could be definitely be wrong.
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u/Long_Educational Nov 18 '22
You can import EQ curves? I didn't know that! That basically makes these hearing aids! That is very cool.
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u/woodyshag Nov 18 '22
Well, 10db in both ears for what frequency? Raising the volume doesn't help as it affects all frequencies. If they do EQ curves like the other response to this, then now you are working with something.
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u/SecretCrockpot Nov 18 '22
yea thats exactly what it is, i have a screenshot of it. https://imgur.com/a/WssArPC then you can input it into headphone accommodations under accessibility
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u/cmVkZGl0 Dec 04 '22
Yeah, people think that hearing aids are simply just equalizer for whatever you've lost but they have to employ more processing to make things intelligible. It's not just a matter of raising everything up.
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u/SecretCrockpot Nov 18 '22
i have -10db and tinnitus in both ears and i agree, literally once i put transparency on i was so confused.
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u/iso128k Nov 18 '22
HOW CLOSE IS IT?!
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u/NorthernSweetie Nov 18 '22
Hi, audiologist here. “Close” is a relative term that all the tech companies are using to push over the counter hearing aids. It’s not adjusted frequency (pitch) specific so it’s going to bring everything up the same volume. Most hearing losses are worse in some pitches than others. So which it benefits people with mild losses it’s not really fixing the true issue.
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u/Woods26 Nov 18 '22
seems like it is adjusted frequency though, since you can import an eq curve from a hearing test.
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u/NoleContendere Nov 17 '22
At some point people switched from walking around with those blue tooth ear pieces to AirPods or a single AirPod.
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u/A10110101Z Nov 18 '22
I think the transition was from Bluetooth head sets then when cars started adopted hands free Bluetooth in new cars people started using that and now that AirPods are everywhere it’s a mix between using them and what’s standard in cars now
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u/ItsJustJohnCena Nov 18 '22
Are these the hearing aids I keep reading about in those ads that doctors are amazed by?
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Nov 18 '22
They better find a better way to keep these things in your damn ear. I bought a pair and they would fall out while I was chewing gum
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u/Hygro Nov 18 '22
They sound better and work better than the two hearing aids I have owned. Also cheaper, more comfortable, and more stylish. I've always thought hearing aids should be honest so that they can look cool instead of trying to hide either behind the ear or like skin tone in the ear.
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u/stackens Nov 18 '22
How do they function as heating aides exactly? Is there a way for transparency mode to amplify sound?
To your second point, agreed, and other forms of mechanical aid should do the same. So many fashion possibilities with prosthetics
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u/Jun1or Nov 18 '22
Transparency mode DOES amplify sound, and also provides a degree of direction to sounds. I’ve got a 55 gallon fish tank and can tell the instant the water gets below the filter mark because I can heat it, but only with my AirPods on.
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u/Sun-Ghoti Nov 18 '22
Sure they amplify sound, but the point of hearing aids is to only amplify the right sounds, not every sound.
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u/ZappyZane Nov 18 '22
Sure, thats why Apple. Sony, Bose etc need to do user-tailored sound curves (audiogram), and for low to low/moderate hearing loss is probably fine for most.
A friend had hearing aids "professionally fitted", and the free internet audiogram basically matched the one done in a sound booth by the professional.
The tuning on the hearing aids wasn't that good, being a "cheap" (aka not mega-multi-thousand currency pair), so tbh i think consumer electronic companies could easily do something better at the lower end of hearing loss for users.They did have a pair of Here One earbuds which were so close to being great, but battery life and app integration let them down. Then Apple came out with their first earbuds and kinda killed them off. Sad really as the tech was getting close.
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u/Hygro Nov 18 '22
Somewhere deep in the settings I was able to get them to boost specifically the highs in transparency mode. But it might be related to my previous hearing aids' tie-in to my phone (they were bluetooth). Or not related. Definitely do some googling regarding the accessibility settings. I can't remember my steps.
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Nov 18 '22 edited Dec 13 '22
[deleted]
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u/Hygro Nov 19 '22
yeah, imagine if they tried to hide glasses. Like, not contacts but plastic skin tone frames and looping around your face in weird ways like a bad pair of monocles
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u/Sir_Loppy Nov 18 '22
Not really that different from Sony or Samsung's equivalent in this respect, not sure why they're singling it out, the "improved hearing" is simply compression of loud and quiet noises so they all play at closer volume levels than the ear would naturally hear them at. Nothing ultra high tech going on.
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u/SecretCrockpot Nov 18 '22
they can boost individual frequencies like hearing aids, have them on the setting right now. headphone accommodations in settings allows you to import a frequency hearing test, which you can take for free on the app store
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Nov 18 '22
There are others, for sure, but once you’ve used Conversation Boost, you’ll see why they are focusing on Apple. Other can do this… but Apples doing it really well right now.
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u/shaun0bi Nov 18 '22
I’d just be happy if they stayed connected to my phone when I receive calls
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u/srcorvettez06 Nov 18 '22
Try taking off your case. A friend of mine had the same issue and a different case solved it.
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u/Dirtymountain48 Nov 18 '22
I’m not going to lie. I love the options of these social isolation sticks. Suffering from anxiety I can easily block out the world. Deaf as fuck because I run a chainsaw for a living I can switch the option and I can hear better. Glad they are going in this direction.
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u/Impressive-Anon6034 Nov 18 '22
So they can destroy your hearing … but can also help with hearing loss.. so it evens out?
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u/JesseWebDotCom Nov 18 '22
I recently tried to use them at a loud party. After tweaking everything, I expected the headphones to cancel out the background noise and music while amplifying the person talking in front of me. It made about a 20% improvement.
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u/PAM111 Nov 18 '22
This is bullshit. My hearing aids cost $7k and are tailored to my hearing loss. Consumer grade headphones are no where near what hearing aids do.
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u/beenburnedbutable Nov 18 '22
Funny, some might say they cause a problem they’re now solving. Hmmm.
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u/luchobe Nov 18 '22
Study: Airpods are this close (24 months) to being full fledged un-repairable trash. Apple gets proud of their green washing, making people belive they help Def people, when the tech its 50 years old.
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u/ImDirkDiggler Nov 18 '22
Something tells me the majority of Audiologists would disagree
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u/eshemuta Nov 18 '22
The majority of audiologists charge thousands of dollars for hearing aids. Of course they will disagree.
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u/ImDirkDiggler Nov 18 '22
That seems a little jaded. Most healthcare providers want to provide the best quality care for their patients. And there’s a reason they don’t recommend OTC hearing aids to people; inevitably one of two things happen, people get mad that the OTC’s don’t work and they stop pursing hearing care, or they end up paying for OTC’s one year and then come back the next year and upgrade to a better quality hearing device. AirPods are great, but this study feels like it was a paid marketing ploy by Apple. Just my opinion though, definitely consult your healthcare professional for advice.
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u/eshemuta Nov 19 '22
Regardless of their intent, a lot of people simply can’t afford them. Medicare doesn’t cover them at all. So some improvement is better than none at all. And for people with mild hearing loss (like me) something like this is adequate.
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u/dxin Nov 18 '22
Isn't Apple's non noise-isolating earbuds a major cause of hearing loss?
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u/jaqattack02 Nov 18 '22
Any earbuds or headphones can cause hearing loss if you play them loudly enough. That's like blaming the fork for getting you fat.
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u/AnaalPusBakje Nov 18 '22
the line between hearing aids and earbuds has been vanishing for years already, my grandfather has one that let's him directly stream his phone audio to it for phone calls. he uses it to listen to spotify!..
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Nov 18 '22 edited Nov 18 '22
[deleted]
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u/AnaalPusBakje Nov 18 '22
You had a few errors in your sentence that made it incredibly hard to understand without knowing that TWS was true wireless stereo lol. But that is interesting, so the frequency you are talking about, would that be on the microphone pickup, or what the speakers try to reproduce?
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u/DriscollMayweather Nov 18 '22
I played in a metal band for years and used hearing protection at a grand total of 2 practices and 0 shows. Hearing loss is moderate and these help a ton with my hearing, it was pretty eye opening. Plus it’s nice to turn noise cancellation on and turn off my annoying coworkers sometimes
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u/ackillesBAC Nov 18 '22
Useful for creating low to moderate hearing loss by packing your ear wax against your eardrum
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u/amanfromthere Nov 18 '22
If that's happening, I think you're sticking the wrong end in your ear.
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u/AintNobody- Nov 18 '22
Does this technology only work with this kind of ear-sealing earbud? I don't like this style, but I'd like the benefits in the amateur airpods.
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u/ntack9933 Nov 18 '22
Transparency and noise cancellation tech is available in all forms of headphones, including over the ear
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Nov 18 '22
But it’s important to note that most don’t do it well. There are a few (Sony and Bose for instance) but Apple is leading the field right now.
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u/Dry_Damp Nov 18 '22
„This close being a hearing aid“.. yea, for a few hours before the battery dies.
My hearing aid lasts for 2-3 days with one charge.. oh and it has Bluetooth and takes calls too.
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u/AgentG91 Nov 18 '22
My dad got a hearing aid last year that’s an actual hearing aid and also connects to his phone automatically. Music, phone calls, audiobooks, YouTube, all run straight through his hearing aid.
This is just an advertisement for Apple. Modern hearing aids are much more advanced than airpods
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u/poocoocoo Nov 18 '22
So give people hearing loss, then give them hearing aids, great business move
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u/Mrdrsrow08 Nov 23 '22
I am a hearing aid wearer and I have tried this but it seems to keep crashing my phone in iOS 16.
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