AirPods hearing aids capabilities

[JAB]

Long-rumored work on AirPods hearing aids capabilities just the start,
says report
...
...
Apple has already recently taken a step in this direction, with the
launch of the Conversation Boost feature in iOS 15.

Conversation Boost focuses your AirPods Pro on the person talking
in front of you, making it easier to hear in a face-to-face
conversation.
https://9to5mac.com/2021/10/13/airpods-hearing-aids-capabilities/

Apple's Third-Generation AirPods

Apple in October 2021 unveiled the third-generation AirPods, which
feature the first design change to the AirPods since their 2016
introduction.
...
...
To provide improved sound, Apple is using the H1 chip to provide an
Adaptive EQ feature powered by computational audio. With Adaptive EQ,
a microphone monitors for sound and then tunes low and mid frequencies
so each user will get the best audio for their ear size and shape.


The AirPods support AAC-ELD, a speech codec that brings full HD voice
quality for FaceTime calls. Beamforming microphones also block out
ambient noise and focus on the user's voice during calls and for Siri
commands.

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/airpods/

[Mike Spencer]

JAB <he...@is.invalid> writes:

> To provide improved sound, Apple is using the H1 chip to provide an
> Adaptive EQ feature powered by computational audio. With Adaptive EQ,
> a microphone monitors for sound and then tunes low and mid frequencies
> so each user will get the best audio for their ear size and shape.

The *outer* ear? The auricle? Maybe a subtle enhancement for
audiophiles but what the hard of hearing with speech discrimination
deficit need is the ability to selectively amplify portions of the audido
spectrum corresponding to the frequency ranges the loss of which causes their
hearing deficiency. Modern hearing aids do this but, in order to compress
them into devices too small to see, they cost ca. $2,000.

I have a notion that a device that could be tuned to do this with
screws big enough to see or digitally with software should be easy and
producible at 1/10 the usual hearing aid cost. What with attractive
young people going around with ear buds in place, can we just skip the
$1,800 per ear price of oh-I'm-not-old vanity?

--
Mike Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 01:44:15 -0400, Mike Spencer
<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>hard of hearing

Active Noise Cancellation will assist with background noise
removed/reduced.

SEE: Updated 19 May 2021

https://www.hearingtracker.com/news/airpods-pro-become-hearing-aids-with-ios-14

Conversation Boost feature in iOS 15.

Apple's Third-Generation AirPods: October 2021

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 01:44:15 -0400, Mike Spencer
<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>a device

"Apple attaches the “Adaptive EQ” marketing term to its premium
noise-canceling wireless headphones."

https://www.howtogeek.com/746511/what-is-adaptive-eq/

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 01:44:15 -0400, Mike Spencer
<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

> hard of hearing

Best I can find currently...I don't know if a program exists to
increase specific frequencies for listening. I would suspect there
might be one out there, but I have not come across it...just need to
find an Apple Geek

In US, FDA approves hearing aids, so Apple is not claiming their
equipment is/are hearing aids. If Apple pursues this topic, it would
upset the hearing aid industry, dollars and cents wise.





How to Use AirPods as Hearing Aids
Updated March 24, 2021
https://www.seniorliving.org/hearing-aids/airpods/

https://www.seniorliving.org/hearing-aids/airpods/

Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats

With Live Listen, your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch can act like a
microphone that sends sound to your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max,
Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro. Live Listen can help you hear a
conversation in a noisy area or even hear someone speaking across the
room.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209082

[Mike Spencer]

JAB <he...@is.invalid> writes:

> On 16 Jan 2022 01:44:15 -0400, Mike Spencer
> <m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:
>
> > hard of hearing
>
> Best I can find currently...I don't know if a program exists to
> increase specific frequencies for listening. I would suspect there
> might be one out there, but I have not come across it...just need to
> find an Apple Geek
>
> In US, FDA approves hearing aids, so Apple is not claiming their
> equipment is/are hearing aids. If Apple pursues this topic, it would
> upset the hearing aid industry, dollars and cents wise.

How terrible! :-/

Tnx for the references.

> How to Use AirPods as Hearing Aids
> Updated March 24, 2021
> https://www.seniorliving.org/hearing-aids/airpods/
>
> https://www.seniorliving.org/hearing-aids/airpods/
>
> Use Live Listen with AirPods or Beats
>
> With Live Listen, your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch can act like a
> microphone that sends sound to your AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max,
> Powerbeats Pro, or Beats Fit Pro. Live Listen can help you hear a
> conversation in a noisy area or even hear someone speaking across the
> room.
> https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209082
>

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 19:01:51 -0400, Mike Spencer
<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>references.

Just did a quick Google search...and scanned...did not evaluate this
below, but it suggests there might be a *real* solution

Do you have an iPhone that still gets updates?


OCT 27, 2021

If you struggled to choose between the comparisons with Apple’s
hearing test, you might want to install Mimi Hearing Test (Free) to
run a more detailed hearing test instead. Then link it with your
Health app and choose those Audiogram results from the Headphone
Accommodation settings for perfectly customized EQ in your AirPods
Pro.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/improve-airpods-pro-sound-quality/

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 19:01:51 -0400, Mike Spencer
<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>references

More tidbits for iPhone


Apple may have dropped built-in noise cancellation on the iPhone 13
It's been a long-running accessibility feature on past iPhones.
https://www.engadget.com/apple-has-reportedly-killed-noise-cancellation-on-the-i-phone-13-083456476.html

[Retrograde]

On 2022-01-16, JAB <he...@is.invalid> wrote:
> Long-rumored work on AirPods hearing aids capabilities just the start,
> says report
> ...
> ...
> Apple has already recently taken a step in this direction, with the
> launch of the Conversation Boost feature in iOS 15.

I'm most interested in the fabled, but still not available, 'force mute
dumb-asses' feature. Man, I'd use that feature all f*ing day.

Put it on the same list as "punch someone in the face over the internet"
protocol (psitfoti). So needed, so unavailable.

Making the world a better place.

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 19:01:51 -0400, Mike Spencer
<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>How terrible! :-/

I'm not familiar with this topic, but having state control may be a
back door to screw consumers.




Paxton Urges FDA to Pre­serve State Reg­u­la­tion of Over-the-Counter
Hear­ing Aids


Attorney General Paxton joined 42 states urging the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) to preserve state authority to enforce
pro-consumer state laws governing the sale of over-the-counter hearing
aids. While the states generally support the FDA’s proposal to
establish a new category of hearing aids that could be sold over the
counter -- lowering costs and minimizing burdens to consumers – they
should make clear that federal law will not override traditional state
consumer protections laws that, among other things, provide for
warranties, ensure proper labeling for use, and impose age
restrictions that ensure people receive the hearing aids that best
meet their need without risking avoidable hearing loss.

https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/paxton-urges-fda-preserve-state-regulation-over-counter-hearing-aids

[JAB]

On Thu, 20 Jan 2022 02:51:12 -0000 (UTC), Retrograde
<fun...@amongus.com.invalid> wrote:

>I'm most interested in the fabled, but still not available, 'force mute
>dumb-asses' feature. Man, I'd use that feature all f*ing day.

In regards to the blind men and the elephant, some of them were
sincere but mistaken, and some without examining the elephant were
just echoing others.

[JAB]

Apple has this site,

Made for iPhone compatible hearing devices
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT210386

but after scanning a few, and via VLSI tech [Very large-scale
integration], I have this feeling many are the same internally.

I came across this tidbit

Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 - Regulations for this new
class of hearing aid are expected to be released by the end of 2020
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-Counter_Hearing_Aid_Act_of_2017

and this

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids are a new category of hearing aids
that consumers will soon be able to buy directly, without visiting a
hearing health professional.
...
...
OTC hearing aids will be for adults with perceived mild-to-moderate
hearing loss. They are not meant for children or for adults who have
severe hearing loss or significant difficulty hearing. If you have
severe hearing loss, OTC hearing aids might not be able to amplify
sounds at high enough levels to help you.

https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/over-counter-hearing-aids

Maybe sometime this year OTC hearing aids will exist. I doubt they
cost much to make...and the audiologists/etc have been porking out

[JAB]

Apple also added improvements for hearing aid users with iPhones this
year, allowing for bi-directional communication. This means that those
who connect compatible hearing aids to their iPhones no longer have to
use their handset’s mic to be heard by their callers — the hearing aid
can pick up the speaker’s voice, too. So far, Starkey and ReSound have
released compatible "made for iPhone" devices.

https://9to5mac.com/2022/01/03/apples-accessibility-record-2021/

[JAB]

On 16 Jan 2022 01:44:15 -0400, Mike Spencer

<m...@bogus.nodomain.nowhere> wrote:

>can we just skip the
>$1,800 per ear price of oh-I'm-not-old vanity?

15 minute vid...but he, Doctor Cliff Olson, Audiologist, covers this
topic very well...for mild to moderate hearing loss.


Apple Airpods Pro Detailed Hearing Aid Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psOt0oyRC1Y