Seems "The Telegraph" news (& other UK papers) mention that the Hearing Aid feature/software has just been released in the UK on 24/02/2025.
Seems the public beta software is available now, with the general release version to follow before long.:
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/02/24/apple-seeds-ios-18-4-public-beta/
18.4 is not necessary for the hearing aid feature to work in the UK.
I updated to 18.3.1 from 17.7.1 last night, took a hearing test and set mine up.
My first impressions of the AirPods Pro 2s as hearing aids after finally updating to 18.3.1.
I updated my iPhone last night and did a hearing test and first impressions when comparing to the pre 18.1 transparency feature are mixed so far.
In the old mode I didn’t have to change any of the default settings but the latest version is very different. I've had to take the volume down quite a bit and I have the occlusion effect that I simply didn’t have before. Not much but it's annoying as it wasn't there before.
The sound was so natural before using the feature in 17.7.1 I had quite a shock when I first started using them with the volume. Tapping on my keyboard sounded like somebody kicking the wall next to me. It was loud. My wife rustled a bag next to me and it made my teeth itch it was so loud. The extra volume is going to be great for people who actually need it but I have found that my hearing is not that bad.
The Costco test showed I had moderate to severe hearing loss in my left ear and the right was mild to moderate. It seems that is not the case at all. I have very little hearing loss in my right ear and mild in my left. The only thing I can think why that might be, is that the Costco test was my very first hearing test and my reactions were not quick enough when I hear the tones.
Update: I've just been playing with the settings found that Adaptive Mode is much better for me. It's much closer to the way they worked before I updated and the occlusion effect has gone. Weirdly, the tinnitus in my left ear seems better too.
