AirPods Pro 2: Apple's hearing test finally arrives in France, but without the correction
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The deployment of Apple's new hearing aid solution in France is still uncertain. If the famous function dedicated to AirPods Pro 2 has been approved by health authorities in the United States since October 2024, and already available in more than 100 countries, this is still not the case in France.
But as reported Numeramaagainst all expectations, hearing technology would arrive in France in the coming days. The solution would however be incomplete, with only two out of three functions having been confirmed by Apple.
Apple hearing aid: two out of three functions deployed in France
The first feature associated with Apple's new hearing health program is “loud sound reduction.” Not really new, it is already available on AirPods Pro 2 since the implementation of the H2 chip. It automatically reduces the intensity of sounds dangerous to hearing, such as those of construction, emergency vehicle sirens, crowds, etc. In complete autonomy, the AirPods Pro 2 are able to attenuate loud noises by 15 dB in transparency mode and by 30 dB in noise reduction mode.
As for new features, we note the introduction of the hearing test. Thanks to it, French owners of AirPods Pro 2 will be able to measure their hearing thanks to an examination requiring only a few minutes. As a result, they will obtain a curve representing at what decibel level frequencies between 250 Hz and 8 kHz are heard. This feature can be useful if you wish to clarify any doubts about a hearing problem, before making an appointment with an already overloaded ENT specialist.
The hearing aid functions available in France stop there. The most interesting of these, which consists of using the test results to accentuate the lost frequencies, remains blocked by French regulations. Unfortunately, this part of the solution is the only one that could really help people with hearing loss.
A complete unlocking of the solution for 2025?
Blocking hearing correction is not what Apple wants, which has every interest in extending it as much as possible. The French organizations have not yet given their agreement, because they are seeking to know in particular whether or not hearing aid stores will be able to distribute AirPods Pro 2. Thus, if the authorities are not fundamentally opposed to considering them as hearing aids medical in their own right, you will have to wait until 2025 to correct your hearing using Apple's wireless headphones.
