Why are AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid features not available in the UK?

@rasg thank you for the helpful reply. @me: AAARGH - look before you leap. I updated to 18 SPECIFICALLY to access the HA feature (as suggested by Apple). Oh well.

But back to the point: by "...an older IOS you could set them up on that" are you suggesting that you can configure the AirPods to an audiogram on an old device and that will persist onto the new one?

No I'm not BUT the AirPods work totally on their own once you have set them up with a device with an older IOS. To change settings you will need to use the device you set them up with. It's not ideal but they work fine. I never update anything until I know it works and the bugs have gone. And there are always bugs. On my M2 Mac Mini I am still on Ventura as it will cost me £500 to update our restaurant ordering system. It's good to have the latest for the new goodies if the bugs have been squashed but not at the expense of anything else.

For the first time ever Apple are now preventing you from going back to an older IOS.

Ok, so just to clarify, are you talking about iOS 18.2 fixing the audio accessibility and adding back the ability to use an audiogram to drive phone audio and transparency mode in those countries where Hearing Aid mode is not supported?

From what I read elsewhere, they’ll just include the ability to take an audiogram with your iPhone in some additional countries, and out of those countries only enable the Hearing Aid feature in the UAE.

All it will do is allow you to take the Apple Hearing Test. No way will Apple be putting the Transparency Mode back until the Hearing Aid Feature is approved for that country. Transparency Mode IS the Hearing Aid Feature with a different name.

Don’t know if this is a naive question but could you re assign the iPad

to an available region in settings e.g from UK to Ireland? where it is

available.

That would be the easiest fix ever! It won't make any difference. The only way you will get the Hearing Aid Feature in a country where they AirPods haven’t been approved is to set them up with an older IOS on a different device. In 18.1 or newer they won't work.

Tinnitus is, for many, a fundamental part and a symptom of hearing loss.

Not the same agreed. The ability for airpods to assist and for

(potential) users like me who have retrochohlear nuroma to adjust the

audiogram will be fantastic. But until, or as it now sounds, if they

are ever, licensed for use in the UK I will wait.

Well there has obviously been some movement in the right direction as the Hearing Test itself will be available in the next update.

The only way to currently set them up as hearing aids in the UK is to set them up on an older IOS. I am using 17.7.1 and I've been sing them since September. My sister bought a pair a couple of days ago and as her iPhone had upgraded to 18.1 I used her iPad Mini.

Not sure what ‘rasg’ is saying: transparency mode was always available regardless of iOS version. Those upgrading to 18 lost the hearing aid functionality and the hearing test which in turn feeds the ‘custom eq’ in Accessibility. Transparency mode and adaptive transparency was always there. 18.2 restores the hearing test and the ability to load the resultant audiogram into custom eq. Not sure what extra the ‘hearing aid’ function gives other than a name and official approval but this small step makes me a bit happier - I found transparency with the accessibility bits and ‘conversation boost’ was pretty good itself - will be interesting to see what an audiogram brings to this.

So to be clear on this, are we saying that the AirPod setup is persistent across devices [that are Bluetoothing to them] until the setup is edited on whatever device is connected at the time? Or alternatively, when you connect to a different device the new Bluetooth session picks up a new setup from the new device? Because if the former then there are workarounds. This is what @rasg seems to be implying. Can @rasg or others confirm?

The hearing test and audiogram custom sound will be available in 18.2 released this week 9/12->

So this with transparency and/or adaptive transparency gives us a lot of the functionality…

Only in countries that have the Hearing Aid approval.

The only way you will get them working using Transparency Mode is with an IOS older than 18. 18.2 will give you nothing if the hearing aid feature has not been approved in your country.

I am on 17.7.1 and I am still using the Custom Transparency Mode using my Costco test audiogram. Working well since September. The trick is to turn Auto Updates off. I am getting reminders on my 15 Pro Max at least twice a day and I just ignore them.

Why would I upgrade if I will lose my hearing aid functionality?

If you are over 60 you can go to your GP and get a referral to

Specsavers who will do a hearing test and dispense NHS hearing aids as

well as the ones they sell. Go with the NHS ones - they are nearly as

good and free.

This one is a real postcode lottery. Different areas use different suppliers and it is down to your local area what is available and the services offered.

Clearly there is a bit of a miss by Apple UK regarding communications about this product under iOS 18.1.

I 100% agree. I wrote to Tim Cook (the CEO of Apple) a week ago and he replied through the VP of Apple health.

[Edited by Moderator]

Well. Appears I’m wrong the hearing test will be there but one can’t link the audiogram to the headphone accommodation settings and set up a custom eq. 8-(

A pre 18 iOS is the only way so far…

Best I don’t update my iPad Pro.

Does anyone know if the custom eq persists on the buds, or does the custom setting get set according to the device its attached to?

The custom EQ persists on the AirPods. If you have set them up, for example, on an iPad Pro, it's bit big to cart around with you BUT you won't be able to change settings. The stems of the AirPods do allow you to change some basic settings though but I've never explored them.

I have always been able to see this. But the ‘Audiogram’ selection has no effect on my transparency mode. When I try to change the amplification levels (with the slider), it doesn’t do anything. Does it work for you?

i Have installed 18.2 - there is no option to add an audiogram in accessibility/headphone accommodations/custom audio setup which is where you need to able to add it in order to have a personal frequency response.