Hearing technology comes to your AirPods.
Credit: TanyaKim via Shutterstock
Apple made history this month when a feature in the company’s forthcoming AirPods Pro 2 was approved by the Food and Drug Administration as the first over-the-counter (OTC), clinical-grade hearing aid software. The Hearing Aid Feature, as Apple refers to the software, amplifies sound for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing impairment (it also features a user-friendly hearing test).
Stigma over hearing loss — and old-school hearing aids — persists, even though over 30 million Americans suffer from some level of hearing loss. Can the new AirPods convince more people to get their hearing tested, boost their aural faculties, and lead better lives? Attorney Haben Girma, the first deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School and the author of Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law, is optimistic about what the new AirPods — available this fall in many countries — can offer. Girma connected with Mashable about the AirPods’ innovation and Big Tech’s role in improving disabled lives.
SEE ALSO:
I demoed the new AirPods Pro 2 hearing test — and here’s how it went
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