AirPods Hearing Test not showing on iPhone

ThomasTouhey wrote:

I just bought the airpod pro 2 for the hearing aid feature and it does not show. I thought it said it was available in Canada.

Not very nice APPLE

Canada is not listed on the page that shows which countries support the hearing aid function. But it's not Apple who is disallowing it. You can search to see what the hold up is with the Canadian government.

Oh and by the way, you are posting to an Apple user to user community forum. Apple is not here and rarely reads these posts.

rasg wrote:

Airpod Pro 2s have been available to use as hearing aids since September 2022 when they were released but Apple kept quiet about but probably gleaned a massive amount of data at the same time. There are many videos on YouTube explaining how to set them up as hearing aids and five weeks ago I did exactly that.

Please link to one.

I have been using them using the Audiogram from my local Costco Hearing Centre but I also used the Mimi app for a couple of tests before the Audiologist sent it to me and they work REALLY well for me and I have spent a LOT of time getting to know them. How they work. Amount of noise cancelling that suits me etc and I now use Adaptive Mode for most things that I do.

Noise canceling and Adaptive mode are not the same as having the AirPods function as hearing aids.

If you have a device that uses IOS 17.7.1 or older you can get them working as hearing aids through Headphone Accommodations. If you are on IOS 18, 18.01 or 18.1 there is no fix yet until your country approves their use.

Once their use is approved as long as your hearing is mild to moderate they will work. If your hearing loss is severe or worse, they won't.

I believe that this test is not approved either in Canada or in the UK. A workaround is to create a second address in your iTunes account in a country where it is approved. The hearing test then appears and can be used. Also, it stays even after you log back out and into your original account.

Yup, just went through all the iOS18.1 updates on my iPhone and iPad. No go. Canada wont have the software for a while, maybe never. Could be a problem with Health Canada I’m thinking. Regardless, I’m returning mine till they get them to do the functions I bought them for. The hearing aid aspect…

Having the same problem. Using lates firmware and IOS. Have a US based Apple ID but am in Mexico but using a VPN to the US. Turned off location services but still not seeing the hearing test option. Any work around?

Just had this issue with my dad. He has an iPhone 13 Pro. After upgrading to 18.1 and linking the AirPods Pro 2 there were no options to perform the hearing test. Only after a soft reboot of the iPhone did the option to do the hearing test finally appear and started the hearing test wizard. Good luck hope this works for you all.

Hi, this exactly is the solution. Thanks for writing your entry.

Bought my Airpods Pro 2 on Amazon (Apple Store) and they didn't work.

Went to the Apple Store in person.

In order to update the Airpods firmware, you need to put them in their case, close it, then connect it to a charger.

Then, leave your iPhone nearby for around 20-30 minutes.

The update is silent; no notifications.

Next, once the Airpods show the firmware is 7Bxx (the xx is some number), restart your iPhone.

This fixed the problem for me.

all 3 updates, reboot…still mo hearing health. Physically i am traveling in Europe.

Which country specifically were you in when you tried to update them and even more important which country do you live in when you’re not traveling?

I am pretty certain, from what I have read, that Apple ties your location to the country where you set up your Apple ID. If in the US, they will work. If in Canada they won't. The FDA in the US have approved their use. The equivalent of the FDA in Canada have not.

My father has prescription hearing aids paired to his phone so it will not allow him to have two separate devices work as hearing aids. He has to unpair his original hearing aids to get the ability to use AirPods as hearing aids.

Also you have to be in the country as well. My apple account is from the US but i am right now in Colombia and it just does not show the hearing test while I'm here, I spoke to my daughter back home and she was able to take under the same account.

I purchased the Pro 2 for my mom because she wanted to use it as a hearing aid, but I found out it is not available in Canada. I even changed the iPhone region to US but it still doesn’t show hearing test. Very disappointed, especially that there are so many other countries that support it, and I just think there are enough Canadians that need this feature.

PepsiC0la wrote:

Stop posting rubbish; the feature isn’t available everywhere!

That's why Carol B., the person you replied to, included information on how to check if it was available in your country. What she posted was NOT rubbish.

I’m in New York City Brooklyn I bought this specifically for my hearing aid and I cannot find the hearing aid app. I double checked they were the right version. I updated my system to 18.2. I have the latest iPhone and nothing. And all of a sudden, my screen stopped.

[Edited by Moderator]

I think both the hearing test and hearing aid features vary heavily by country. Sadly these features have been promoted heavily because they are available now in the US. I think the expression “dropped the ball” would apply to Apple on this.