AirPods Pro hearing assistance feature availability in India

I bought the AirPods Pro in the US a couple of weeks ago for its hearing assistance feature. I started setting it up for my dad in India. I found that the feature is not available in India! When will Apple offer it in India? With the nice marketing authorization from US FDA (DEN230081), it should be straightforward to port that to clearances in other countries. Please hurry. Huge country, big market. What's the timeline?

Posted on Feb 21, 2025 8:18 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 23, 2025 1:31 AM

Hi 7moons,

welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community!


Re: AirPods Pro hearing assistance feature availability in India : I found that the feature is not available in India!


Apple announced ahead-of-time that approval for the features was necessary before a country could receive them. The FDA approved them for USA.


Marketing and / or health regulators in over 100 countries approved the use of the hearing health features in their countries, before Apple released them last year. Apple seems to be gradually releasing the features as authorities in more countries approve them. Apple doesn't seem to announce ahead of time, in which OS update a country can expect the features to be available. Patience is needed to wait and see.


This is the list of countries Apple publishes: AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability - Apple

________________________________________________________

Re: Please hurry. Huge country, big market. What's the timeline?


We are all Apple users, like yourself, in this community, so no-one here can do as you ask. (Apple is not here.)

As no-one else has replied, likely no-one knows whether authorities in India have or have not approved the use of the use of the features. You may wish to contact India's regulating authorities yourself, for information.


Besides the new features that require approval, Apple has previously provided hearing-assistance for AirPods.

So AirPods Pro 2 can already help with hearing, with or without the new Hearing Test and Hearing Aid feature.


Am no expert in this area, yet, to give you some idea ... Apple Support provides articles such as:

Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency modes for AirPods - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"You can switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Noise Control modes on your AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, depending on how much of your surroundings you want to hear.

You can also turn off Noise Control".


Customize headphone audio levels on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"Conversation Boost focuses your AirPods Pro on the person who's talking in front of you. This makes it easier to hear when you're talking face-to-face".


Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"With Live Listen, your iPhone or iPad can act like a microphone that sends sound to your AirPods or Beats.


Live Listen can help you hear a conversation in a noisy area or even hear someone speaking across the room.


To use Live Listen with your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro, your iPhone or iPad device needs iOS or iPadOS 14.3 or later.

You also need to connect your AirPods or Beats to your device."

_______________________________________________________________________________

If you haven't already seen it : The AirPods User Guide - Apple Support is a useful resource


For more info. / support / contact options etc., if needed:

AirPods Support website: AirPods Support - Official Apple Support


If you wish: Web-form to reach those who work behind-the-scenes at Apple: Feedback - AirPods - Apple


All the best :-)

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Feb 23, 2025 1:31 AM in response to 7moons

Hi 7moons,

welcome to the Apple (user-to-user) Community!


Re: AirPods Pro hearing assistance feature availability in India : I found that the feature is not available in India!


Apple announced ahead-of-time that approval for the features was necessary before a country could receive them. The FDA approved them for USA.


Marketing and / or health regulators in over 100 countries approved the use of the hearing health features in their countries, before Apple released them last year. Apple seems to be gradually releasing the features as authorities in more countries approve them. Apple doesn't seem to announce ahead of time, in which OS update a country can expect the features to be available. Patience is needed to wait and see.


This is the list of countries Apple publishes: AirPods Pro 2 - Hearing Health Feature Availability - Apple

________________________________________________________

Re: Please hurry. Huge country, big market. What's the timeline?


We are all Apple users, like yourself, in this community, so no-one here can do as you ask. (Apple is not here.)

As no-one else has replied, likely no-one knows whether authorities in India have or have not approved the use of the use of the features. You may wish to contact India's regulating authorities yourself, for information.


Besides the new features that require approval, Apple has previously provided hearing-assistance for AirPods.

So AirPods Pro 2 can already help with hearing, with or without the new Hearing Test and Hearing Aid feature.


Am no expert in this area, yet, to give you some idea ... Apple Support provides articles such as:

Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency modes for AirPods - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"You can switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency Noise Control modes on your AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, depending on how much of your surroundings you want to hear.

You can also turn off Noise Control".


Customize headphone audio levels on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"Conversation Boost focuses your AirPods Pro on the person who's talking in front of you. This makes it easier to hear when you're talking face-to-face".


Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats - Apple Support

Eg: says:

"With Live Listen, your iPhone or iPad can act like a microphone that sends sound to your AirPods or Beats.


Live Listen can help you hear a conversation in a noisy area or even hear someone speaking across the room.


To use Live Listen with your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro, your iPhone or iPad device needs iOS or iPadOS 14.3 or later.

You also need to connect your AirPods or Beats to your device."

_______________________________________________________________________________

If you haven't already seen it : The AirPods User Guide - Apple Support is a useful resource


For more info. / support / contact options etc., if needed:

AirPods Support website: AirPods Support - Official Apple Support


If you wish: Web-form to reach those who work behind-the-scenes at Apple: Feedback - AirPods - Apple


All the best :-)

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AirPods Pro hearing assistance feature availability in India

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