Can You Use AirPods as Hearing Aids? An Honest UK Guide
Can You Use AirPods as Hearing Aids? An Honest UK Guide
Yes, in the UK you can use AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids, because Apple's Hearing Aid feature has been available here since February 2025. Whether they are the right everyday answer for you is a different question, and this guide covers both sides honestly.
If you already own a pair of AirPods, it is a fair question to ask before you spend anything at all. A lot of people first notice they are struggling in noisy rooms while wearing earbuds they bought for music, and wonder whether the answer has been in their pocket the whole time.
The short answer is that AirPods Pro 2 genuinely can help some people, and if you already own a pair it costs you nothing to try. The longer answer is that they were designed as earbuds first, and that shows up in how they fit into a full day. Here is what to weigh up.
Can AirPods be used as hearing aids in the UK?
AirPods Pro 2 can be used as hearing aids in the UK using Apple's built-in Hearing Aid feature, which Apple made available to UK users as a free software update on 24 February 2025. Apple describes it as a clinical-grade, over-the-counter hearing aid feature.
This matters because it is a real, deliberate hearing feature rather than simply turning up the transparency mode. Apple built it for adults with what it calls perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.
What the Hearing Aid feature actually does
The feature works from a personal hearing profile, which the AirPods create from a hearing test you take yourself. According to Apple, that test takes about five minutes.
Once the profile exists, the AirPods make real-time adjustments to the sound around you, so voices and everyday sounds are boosted in a way that matches your own results. Apple also applies the same profile to music, films and phone calls.
What you need for it to work
- AirPods Pro 2 running the latest firmware. Older AirPods models are not supported.
- A compatible iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later.
- To be 18 or over. Apple states the feature is intended for adults.
If you are an Android user, or you have an older iPhone that cannot run iOS 18, this route is closed to you. That is worth knowing before you go any further.
JD Health Tech sells personal sound amplifiers, not medical hearing aids. We are not going to pretend AirPods are a bad idea, because for some people they are a sensible first step that costs nothing extra. What we can usefully do is set out where each option tends to work, so you spend your money once.
Where AirPods work well as hearing aids
AirPods make most sense when you already own them and your listening difficulty is occasional rather than constant. There are a few situations where they do a genuinely good job.
Trying the idea before you commit
If you suspect your hearing has changed but you are not sure, this is a low-risk way to find out whether amplification helps you at all. You learn something useful either way.
Short, specific situations
A two-hour dinner, a conference talk, a family gathering. AirPods are excellent for a defined block of time where you would put earbuds in anyway.
Media and calls
Because your hearing profile is applied to music, films and phone calls too, AirPods are strong for anything piped directly into your ears. A dedicated everyday amplifier is designed to help with the room around you rather than to double as headphones.
What to expect in a busy restaurant
Be realistic here, whichever route you take. Amplification of any kind makes sounds louder and clearer, but it cannot separate one conversation from four others the way a quiet room does. AirPods and personal sound amplifiers both tend to help most when you can also sit away from the kitchen, face the person you are talking to, and put your back to the noise.
Where AirPods fall short for everyday listening
The main limitation is that AirPods were designed to be worn for a while and then put away, whereas hearing support tends to be most useful when it is simply always there. Four practical issues come up.
Battery and wear time
Earbuds are built around listening sessions, not full days. Expect to be returning them to the case and waiting, which is fine for a film and frustrating during a working day of back-to-back conversations. Rechargeable personal sound amplifiers are designed around a longer daily wear pattern, though they too need charging overnight, so neither option is truly maintenance-free.
How they look to other people
This is the one customers raise with us most. White earbuds are highly visible and they carry a specific social meaning: to most people in a meeting room, earbuds read as "listening to something else", not "listening to you". Some people genuinely do not mind. Others find it changes how colleagues behave towards them, which is the opposite of what they wanted.
A discreet in-canal personal sound amplifier is designed to be unremarkable rather than fashionable. That is the whole point of the category.
Fit and the blocked-up feeling
AirPods seal the ear canal reasonably firmly. Over several hours that can feel occluded, and your own voice can sound boomy. Amplifiers designed for long wear usually come with a choice of open or closed domes so you can pick how sealed you want to be.
You have to stay in the Apple ecosystem
Your hearing setup is tied to your phone. If you change phone, lose the AirPods, or find yourself without a charged iPhone, the hearing feature goes with it.
AirPods vs personal sound amplifiers: an honest comparison
| Consideration | AirPods Pro 2 with Hearing Aid feature | Personal sound amplifiers |
|---|---|---|
| Best suited to | Occasional use, media, defined social occasions | Consistent everyday wear across a full day |
| Discretion | Highly visible; reads as earbuds to others | In-canal styles designed to go unnoticed |
| Setup | Self-administered hearing test on iPhone or iPad | Volume and programme settings, some models app-adjustable |
| Requires a smartphone | Yes, an iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or later | No for most models; optional on app-enabled ones |
| Doubles as headphones | Yes | No |
| If you already own them | No extra cost to try | A separate purchase |
Neither column is the winner. They are simply built around different daily habits.
Which route makes sense for you?
Stick with AirPods if
- You already own AirPods Pro 2 and an iPhone.
- Your difficulty is situational, such as restaurants or the television, rather than constant.
- You are relaxed about being seen wearing earbuds.
- You want to test whether amplification helps you before spending anything.
Consider a personal sound amplifier if
- You want something you can put in at breakfast and forget about.
- Discretion matters to you at work or socially.
- You do not use an iPhone, or you would rather your hearing support did not depend on a phone at all.
- You tried AirPods, found the amplification helpful, and now want something built for all-day wear.
- You do not already own AirPods Pro 2. Buying them purely as hearing support is a considerably larger outlay than most personal sound amplifiers, and you would still be buying earbuds rather than something designed for all-day wear.
Being straight about the limits: a personal sound amplifier is not the right answer for everyone. If sounds are already loud enough but words still run together, or if one ear is noticeably worse than the other, more volume is unlikely to fix it and an audiologist is the better next call.
Speak to a professional if
Neither option is right for everyone, and it is worth being plain about that. See a GP if your hearing has changed suddenly, if only one ear is affected, or if you have pain, discharge or persistent ringing. The NHS also notes that hearing aids only help if you still have some hearing left, so it advises not putting off getting help if your hearing is getting worse.
Worth knowing about cost. The NHS provides hearing aids free as a long-term loan, including free batteries and repairs, though it notes the wait can sometimes be longer than going private. For private hearing aids, the NHS advises researching typical costs and says you can pay anything from £500 to £3,500 or more for a single hearing aid. Personal sound amplifiers sit in a different, much lower price bracket, and our own range starts at under £50 (prices correct at the time of writing).
A word about the hearing test itself
An at-home hearing check, whether Apple's or ours, is a useful indicator. It is not the same thing as a full assessment by a qualified audiologist, and it is not a diagnosis.
What a home check is good for is answering the question "is this worth taking further?" If you would like a free starting point that does not require any particular phone, you can use our online hearing check.
How to decide without wasting money
- 1If you own AirPods Pro 2 and an iPhone, set up the Hearing Aid feature first. It costs nothing and tells you whether amplification helps you.
- 2Wear them for a week in the situations that actually bother you, not just quiet rooms.
- 3Note what stops you using them. Battery? Comfort? How they look? Those specific frustrations tell you what to buy next.
- 4If the frustrations are about all-day wear and discretion, a personal sound amplifier is the natural next step. If they are about sound quality in complex environments, that is a conversation for an audiologist.
Not sure which route is right?
Every JD Health Tech order comes with a 30-day home trial and free UK returns, so you can test in real rooms with real voices rather than guessing from a product page. UK-based support, and no pressure either way.
Browse hearing amplifiers Take the free hearing checkFrequently asked questions
Yes. Apple's Hearing Aid feature became available on AirPods Pro 2 in the UK on 24 February 2025 as a free software update, and Apple describes it as a clinical-grade, over-the-counter hearing aid feature. You need AirPods Pro 2 with current firmware and a compatible iPhone or iPad on iOS 18 or later.
Apple lists the Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features as supported on AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware. Standard AirPods and earlier AirPods Pro models are not covered, so owning any pair of AirPods is not enough on its own.
Yes. Apple states the features require a compatible iPhone or iPad running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later. Android users cannot use the feature. If you would rather your hearing support did not depend on a phone at all, most personal sound amplifiers work straight out of the box with no app needed.
No. It is a self-administered test that takes about five minutes and gives you an indication, which Apple stores in the Health app so it can be shared with a healthcare provider. A full assessment with a qualified audiologist looks at more than tone thresholds and can identify causes that a home check cannot. Treat any at-home result as a starting point, not a diagnosis.
Hearing aids are regulated medical devices intended to address diagnosed hearing loss. Hearing amplifiers, also called personal sound amplifiers, are consumer products designed to make everyday sounds clearer for people with mild to moderate everyday listening challenges. They do not diagnose, treat or cure anything. Apple's Hearing Aid feature sits in the regulated hearing aid category; JD Health Tech products are personal sound amplifiers.
Not comfortably for most people. Earbuds are designed around listening sessions with returns to the charging case, and the firm seal in the ear canal can start to feel blocked over several hours. If you want something you can put in after breakfast and leave in, a rechargeable personal sound amplifier with a choice of open or closed domes is a better fit for that pattern.
They are visible, and that visibility carries a meaning. To most people in a room, earbuds suggest you are listening to something else rather than to them. If that bothers you, in-canal amplifiers are designed to sit out of sight and go unremarked. If it does not bother you, AirPods are perfectly workable.
Several manufacturers have introduced hearing-related features, but availability varies by brand, model and country, and regulatory approval differs between markets. Check the manufacturer's own UK support pages before assuming a feature is available here, and be cautious of listings that describe ordinary earbuds as hearing aids.
That is genuinely useful information, because it tells you amplification is worth pursuing. Decide based on what stopped you using the AirPods. If it was battery life, comfort or how they looked, a personal sound amplifier built for all-day wear addresses those directly. If it was that speech still felt unclear even when loud enough, that is a sign to speak to an audiologist rather than to buy another device.
