Apple Provides Update on Expanding AirPods Hearing Aid Feature to Canada
While the AirPods hearing aid and hearing test features received Health Canada approval at the federal level in December, the features are not yet available in Canada. According to reports from CTV News and the Toronto Star this month, the features have yet to launch in Canada because regulations vary at the provincial level.
In the most populous Canadian province of Ontario, for example, hearing aids require a prescription from a physician or an audiologist.
The good news is that Apple recently told the Toronto Star that it is working with Canadian provinces to get approval to release the AirPods hearing aid and hearing test features over the counter. Apple told the newspaper that it hopes to make the features available as soon as possible, but it did not provide a timeframe.
With the clinical-grade hearing aid feature, AirPods Pro 2 can amplify the sound around you. The feature is intended for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss, according to Apple. There is no additional cost to use the feature.
Meanwhile, the five-minute hearing test allows adults to identify if they have hearing loss by measuring their ability to hear different frequencies of sound. Afterwards, the results will show a hearing loss classification and recommended next steps.
The two features first launched in the U.S. and select other countries in late October, and they continue to roll out to more countries.
There is a third AirPods hearing health feature — hearing protection — that is available in Canada.
All three features require AirPods Pro 2.
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