AirPod Pro 2s and Music

Written By Darleen Wilson
 
 

December 3, 2024

The Apple of My Ear

It’s been a while since I touched down here, sidetracked first by a cross-country road trip, and then, thanks to Apple’s AirPod Pro 2’s, a surprise reconnection with music!

I’ve started drafts on various topics, such as 
—What do you want from an audiologist? What do you need to learn?
—If you have hearing loss, what do you miss most? Is there any particular aspect you wish you could improve?

This led me to think more about a particular aspect of my experience that bugs me… the sound of music through my hearing aids: It just doesn’t sound right. In fact it mostly just sounds awful. For years, hearing aids have been optimized for speech— accenting abrasive frequencies, suppressing warmth and sheen at either end of the spectrum. 

I recall telling my audiologist some years ago that I want control over how my hearing aids sound in different environments, and she said, most of her patients don’t want to have to fiddle with anything. I want ease of use, yes, but I also want control.

Eventually, hearing aid companies started to deliver more options for the hearing aid user to adjust sound quality. My most recent (high end, pricey, 2-year-old) model came with an app that supposedly provides user control over the sound spectrum. This app reminds me of a toy kitchen designed for a little kid: there are gizmos to manipulate and pretend you are cooking. Trying to adjust my hearing aids to listen to music was just an exercise in make believe. It was always frustrating. In a vulnerable mood, it was tortuous. So I’d pretty much gotten out of the habit of listening to music, much less making it in any ongoing way. 

Then there came a lot of hype about AirPod Pro 2s. I read the low-hanging fruit that’s out there about them, first from Apple itself, and then from esteemed colleagues who investigate realms of hearing/hearing loss [see links below] and, I confess, part me couldn’t suppress an eye roll. But, in the interest of due diligence, not wanting to cave to my adolescent self (who is alive and feisty as I approach 75 earth years), I thought I should check them out.

The big difference between the Pro 2s and the rest of the AirPod line, is that you can use the Pro 2s to take a hearing test, or upload a test if you happen to have one, and calibrate the AirPods for your unique hearing. 

In my case, my hearing is too far gone to actually be able to use them as hearing aids… but I can calibrate them. And —miracle of miracles!— music sounds good. I want to listen.

Depending on what I’m doing and what I need to hear, it’s a little extra effort to have to physically switch between the AirPod Pro 2s and my hearing aids. I could upgrade my hearing aids to a newly released version that leverages artificial intelligence to analyze the environment and modify what the hearing aids deliver. I could gamble that the AI analysis and programming is spot on, and that this new model will be music-friendly and sound as good to me as the AirPod Pros, but at 20 times the price of the AirPods, I will wait.

— I can’t believe I am promoting a product, but my sense is, if you enjoy listening, even if your hearing is “perfect’,’ the benefit of being able to verify that your hearing is in good shape, and monitor your hearing as time goes by is TOTALLY worth the price.

Meanwhile, I’m celebrating. Thank you, Apple. Music is alive, and I am coming alive again.

 
 
Darleen Wilson
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