Your AirPods Pro 2 can now work as a hearing aid-here's how

Even if you don't have significant hearing loss, these features can make music and videos sound a lot better.

- JASON CROSS

With the iOS 18.1 release (and a corresponding AirPods firmware update), you can use your AirPods Pro 2 to take a "clinical-grade" hearing test, and then optionally use them as over-the-counter hearing aids or just adjust media playback to match your hearing loss.

It's a fantastic new feature that we recommend everyone make use of. Hearing loss is more common than most people realize, and even if you don't suffer significant loss of hearing, you can use your AirPods 2 as hearing aids.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO TURN AIRPODS PRO INTO HEARING AIDS

To run the hearing test and use your AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids (or just adjust media playback to match your hearing profile), you'll need three things:

1. An iPhone running iOS 18.1 or later

2. AirPods Pro 2 (either the Lightning or USB-C version)

3. AirPods Pro 2 updated to firmware 7B19 or later

That last one might be a bit tricky. There isn't a way to force an upgrade to the new firmware, but it will automatically install when the AirPods are in their case and charging. However, it can take hours or even days to get the latest version of the firmware.

To check your firmware version, open your AirPods Pro 2 case and then head to the Settings app on your iPhone, select your connected AirPods (near the top), scroll down past all the options to the About section, and look at the Version line. You can also find this information in General About [name of your AirPods].