Updated to 18.1 this morning. I read the fine print—Australia is *not* in the list of countries where Hearing Test is available. Very disappointing. I was looking forward to using iPods Pro 2 for hearing assistance.
AirPods Pro (2nd generation)
Update:
this feature is available in Australia now: Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features available today with AirPods Pro 2 - Apple (AU)
peter.neale wrote:
Just updated my phone to iOS 18.4 (Saturday 5 April 2025 at 23:50).
Sadly, the hearing aid function is still not there.
What's going on, Apple Australia? Have you been so heavily lobbied by the Hearing Aid Lobby that you may never add this function in Australia?
The feature included Australia before the iOS 18.4 update and verified here and in other forums by users in that region. Make sure your AirPods Pro 2 have been updated to the latest firmware.
About firmware updates for AirPods - Apple Support
It was actually made available in Australia on March 26th.
Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features available today with AirPods Pro 2 - Apple (AU)
arjmand wrote: "@apple should do something about it."
arjmand ~ Your "@apple" won't be seen by Apple in these user-to-user communities. Go here:
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Re: Why was Australia not included in the release?
We are all Apple users like yourself in the community, so no-one here knows for sure. Seems only some countries marketing and health authorities have given their approval, as the FDA has done in America.
Re: When Australian’s be given access.
As Apple users, like yourself, we have no way of knowing for sure.
Various health products can not be shipped to Australia from US because of Australia's regulations.
If needed: AirPods support website: (info / resources / support / contact etc.)
Thank you for your enquiry to the TGA.
Hearing aids that meet the definition of a medical device as set out in the Therapeutic goods legislation, require approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) prior to legal supply in Australia.
Generally the TGA does not disclose if an application has been submitted as this is potentially commercially sensitive information. You will need to contact Apple, the manufacturer of the device directly to obtain this information.
To date, the TGA can confirm that a clinical grade hearing aid manufactured by Apple has not been approved.
Kind regards
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.
Not that it is much help, but the TGA did respond to my message.
From TGA;
Thank you for your enquiry to the TGA.
Hearing aids that meet the definition of a medical device as set out in the Therapeutic goods legislation, require approval by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) prior to legal supply in Australia. Approvals require submissions to be made by the manufacturuer or their Australian representative.
Generally the TGA does not disclose if an application has been submitted as this is potentially commercially sensitive information. You will need to contact Apple, the manufacturer of the device directly to obtain this information.
To date, the TGA can confirm that a clinical grade hearing aid manufactured by Apple has not been approved.
To be fair to the TGA, it seems that they have not been asked to assess this hardware–software solution, according to one member here who has contacted them. And, apparently, it is Apple who have to approach them to ask them to do this assessment. A number of members have contacted Apple and registered this request.
The TGA has now approved the hardware and software for Apple’s AirPods hearing aid features:
https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/artg/473488
https://www.tga.gov.au/resources/artg/473487
However, the features still aren’t showing up as available on Apple’s website: AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability - Apple
We have done all we can; now we wait for the software update. I have to say that in this instance, the TGA has responded remarkably quickly. Thanks to everyone involved.
kit laughlin wrote: "...Does anyone know where one can post to convey our wishes to Apple?"
Here:
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The TGA indicated to me that Apple hasn’t applied for the approval yet !! That was three weeks ago.
I bought it today and was setting it up, when found that its not available in Australia 😡
@apple should do something about it.
It's not Apple you should be complaining about. It's the governing body in your country that hasn't approved them.
Do you have an iPad or old iPhone running IOS 16 or 17? If you do, you can set them up using Headphone Accommodations in settings. I have been using mine since September and they work really well for my mild to moderate hearing loss.
Armedeus wrote:
I got the following from TGA today.
Thank you for your enquiry to the TGA.
The supply of Apple’s in-the-ear hearing aid has been approved for supply by the TGA in Australia since 17 December 2024.
That is correct. Based on previous approvals by the TGA for the ECG feature, it was 2 months after approval before it made its way to the device. The roadmap for iOS updates are several months out where multiple point updates are in the works at the same time. Currently the 18.4 update is being beta tested by users with any improvements to that version being added prior to it being released to beta testers. There has been no indication on which iOS version back in December it would have been added to.
Don't forget that back in September when the feature was released that over 100 countries had already approved it. In addition, the sleep apnea feature released back in September had already been approved by over 150 countries and that still has not been approved by the TGA. There is an obvious delay in getting these features to Australian users, but there is also a clear reason why that is the case.
TGA has apparently approved the hearing aid feature as of today (23 Dec).
https://amp.9news.com.au/article/e49d400f-94f0-4722-8ef8-953a4dfb0c1d
I suggest you read messages in the feed going back to October 2024 when the hearing aid function was enabled in the US and several other markets.
Because the hearing aid function required approval of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) the function not enabled in Australia .
TGA approval was announced on 23 December 2024.
Now we wait, patiently, for Apply to get around to releasing the hearing Function. We are hopeful that could happen as early as next week with the release of iOS 18.3, but no guarantees.
Hi. Found this article:
Heavily marketed hearing health features for Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 earphones are now the latest innovations from the technology giant which have launched in the United States but remain unavailable in Australia due to a lack of regulatory approval.
Announced in September and released on 28 October, the hearing health features on Apple’s $399 AirPods Pro 2 — including a hearing test and a clinical-grade hearing aid capability — are available in dozens of countries, including New Zealand.
The features, which Apple has touted as “groundbreaking”, are yet to receive regulatory approval from Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Hearing test not available in Australia after iOS update this morning
