OTC Hearing Aids - Apple EarPod Pro2 vs. Philips 9050

[TheWalkman]

Lately, I’ve noticed that I was experiencing minor hearing challenges with some high frequency roll-off; sometimes it was hard to make out conversations in loud environments, listening to really thick accents on the radio or in day-to-day interactions, etc.

While having a hot dog at my local Costco a month ago, I thought I’d get my hearing tested. Sure enough, I’m experiencing mild hearing loss above 2k. Bummer. (I had a second test at my Sam's Club a couple of weeks later while having a slice of pizza, not that I was in denial or anything...)

With two bad hearing tests, I did some research (talking to a friend who is a Speech Pathologist (Phd), doing some reading (Consumer Reports, etc.), chatting with friends who wear hearing aids, etc. I decided to order a pair of the new, highly recommended, Philips HearLink 9050’s from Costco.

I understand the Philips are manufactured by Otocon and identical to their products but 1/2 to 1/3 of the Otocon price.

After a week or so of using the Philips hearing aids, I have been very disappointed with them: the sound is very tinny (think transistor radio with no low end); the ear domes weren’t comfortable and felt like they were cutting my ear canals; overall sound quality was meh (coming from an ASR background, perhaps I’m a bit picky).

This was not what I expected the hearing devices to do to, "improve" my hearing.

I stopped by the Costco to discuss/ adjust them last week and the guy says I have an appointment in three weeks to adjust them. Come back then. Wrong answer. (Jerk.)

Having read about all the OTC hearing aid developments, I left the Hearing Department and walked over to Electronics and bought a pair of Apple EarPod Pro 2s on the spot. (Costco has a no questions asked return policy of 180 days on the hearing aids and 90 on the Ear Pods.)

I got home and downloaded the Mimi Hearing Test app on my iPhone which resulted in test results which are virtually identical to the professional test. (The EarPods allow you to download the audiogram to automatically adjust the EQ for your loss.

Unlike the Philips, the EarPods sound absolutely fantastic - as good or better than most IEMs I've used. I realize that the Philips domes don't seal the ear canal which would really diminish the low frequency response but they still sound shrill and tinny.

The active noise canceling feature on the EarPods is simply unbelievable. Yesterday, I attended an air show and decided to take my new EarPods along with my standard, 3M WorkTune hearing protectors. I never put the 3M's on once: the EarPods happily silenced a bunch of F18s like they were miles away.

Though impressive, the EarPods aren't perfect:

- the large silicone tips are a little too small for me and I'm having a tough time finding an XL for complete ear seal/ isolation. (Has anyone found a source XL tips for EarPods?)

- the battery life is o.k. - perhaps four to six hours which is probably fine for most users but not ideal for someone who might want to use these as hearing aids. (The Philips batteries appear to last all day with ease.)

- Apple ecosystem integration is fantastic. I can switch from iPhone to iPad and the EarPods switch over seamlessly. This is the best BlueTooth integration I've ever seen;

- Ironically, the Apple software is far from perfect. Instead of having everything in one place, the EarPod software adjustments are all over - in the Control Panel, in Settings, in Accessibility. The Philips software is no where near as extensive or flexible as Apple's (perhaps to be expected) but it's dead simple to use.

Apple promises to deliver new software this Fall (but I'm wondering if they will simply buy out the Mimi software and that will be their big announcement.

- Appearance. I could care less about wearing hearing aids (I'm in my mid sixties and have officially reached, "old fart" status. Ironically, I'd rather be seen wearing hearing aids than EarPods since it's far more age appropriate! (I don't want to be one of those old guys walking around everywhere sporting a set of EarPods, particularly in a business meeting, dinner party or worse yet a cocktail party or a funeral.)

- Price - the EarPods were $200 vs $1500 for the Philips.

Am I the lone ASR member facing this challenge? I look forward to hearing your experiences!

 

[Petrushka]

Lately, I’ve noticed that I was experiencing minor hearing challenges with some high frequency roll-off; sometimes it was hard to make out conversations in loud environments, listening to really thick accents on the radio or in day-to-day interactions, etc.

While having a hot dog at my local Costco a month ago, I thought I’d get my hearing tested. Sure enough, I’m experiencing mild hearing loss above 2k. Bummer. (I had a second test at my Sam's Club a couple of weeks later while having a slice of pizza, not that I was in denial or anything...)

With two bad hearing tests, I did some research (talking to a friend who is a Speech Pathologist (Phd), doing some reading (Consumer Reports, etc.), chatting with friends who wear hearing aids, etc. I decided to order a pair of the new, highly recommended, Philips HearLink 9050’s from Costco.

I understand the Philips are manufactured by Otocon and identical to their products but 1/2 to 1/3 of the Otocon price.

After a week or so of using the Philips hearing aids, I have been very disappointed with them: the sound is very tinny (think transistor radio with no low end); the ear domes weren’t comfortable and felt like they were cutting my ear canals; overall sound quality was meh (coming from an ASR background, perhaps I’m a bit picky).

This was not what I expected the hearing devices to do to, "improve" my hearing.

I stopped by the Costco to discuss/ adjust them last week and the guy says I have an appointment in three weeks to adjust them. Come back then. Wrong answer. (Jerk.)

Having read about all the OTC hearing aid developments, I left the Hearing Department and walked over to Electronics and bought a pair of Apple EarPod Pro 2s on the spot. (Costco has a no questions asked return policy of 180 days on the hearing aids and 90 on the Ear Pods.)

I got home and downloaded the Mimi Hearing Test app on my iPhone which resulted in test results which are virtually identical to the professional test. (The EarPods allow you to download the audiogram to automatically adjust the EQ for your loss.

Unlike the Philips, the EarPods sound absolutely fantastic - as good or better than most IEMs I've used. I realize that the Philips domes don't seal the ear canal which would really diminish the low frequency response but they still sound shrill and tinny.

The active noise canceling feature on the EarPods is simply unbelievable. Yesterday, I attended an air show and decided to take my new EarPods along with my standard, 3M WorkTune hearing protectors. I never put the 3M's on once: the EarPods happily silenced a bunch of F18s like they were miles away.

Though impressive, the EarPods aren't perfect:

- the large silicone tips are a little too small for me and I'm having a tough time finding an XL for complete ear seal/ isolation. (Has anyone found a source XL tips for EarPods?)

- the battery life is o.k. - perhaps four to six hours which is probably fine for most users but not ideal for someone who might want to use these as hearing aids. (The Philips batteries appear to last all day with ease.)

- Apple ecosystem integration is fantastic. I can switch from iPhone to iPad and the EarPods switch over seamlessly. This is the best BlueTooth integration I've ever seen;

- Ironically, the Apple software is far from perfect. Instead of having everything in one place, the EarPod software adjustments are all over - in the Control Panel, in Settings, in Accessibility. The Philips software is no where near as extensive or flexible as Apple's (perhaps to be expected) but it's dead simple to use.

Apple promises to deliver new software this Fall (but I'm wondering if they will simply buy out the Mimi software and that will be their big announcement.

- Appearance. I could care less about wearing hearing aids (I'm in my mid sixties and have officially reached, "old fart" status. Ironically, I'd rather be seen wearing hearing aids than EarPods since it's far more age appropriate! (I don't want to be one of those old guys walking around everywhere sporting a set of EarPods, particularly in a business meeting, dinner party or worse yet a cocktail party or a funeral.)

- Price - the EarPods were $200 vs $1500 for the Philips.

Am I the lone ASR member facing this challenge? I look forward to hearing your experiences!

You are not the only one. Hearing aids are for improving speech comprehension, not for music.

 

[HomoSapiensWannaBe]

I'm making the same hearing aid comparison, though I don't have the Airpods Pro 2 yet.

First, I got a pair of Jabra Enhance Select 500 for $1845 with three year warranty and support program. They are very small, and worked well for speech improvement, but I could never get the right and left ear to match.

I have more hearing loss in my right ear, coupled with high-pitched tinnitus in both ears.

When I discovered Costco has essentially the same hearing aids in their Jabra Select Pro 20 model, I decided to get a hearing test in their sound booth. Interestingly, when I sent the audiogram to Jabra, they didn't even want to try implementing it, suggesting I'd be better off using an audiologist. Note that I'm about 90db down in my right ear for high frequencies.

About this time, I became aware of the upcoming Philips 9050, which I now am using. I returned the Jabra for a refund.

My specialist at Costco has been very helpful. I have my third appt for fine tuning in a couple of days. In the initial appt., he toned down the brightness and reduced to overall gain boost by about 20db. This made them seem more natural. I still usually lower the gain a button push or two when I first put them in.

When I first began using the Philips 9050, I noticed the same phasey/oscillation/warble that the Jabra had on constant mid to upper frequencies, but even more with the Philips. This is especially noticeable with sustained tones like my own whistling or listening to high pitched voices, flutes, etc.

Long story short, this is the feedback control circuit interpreting these pitches as feedback and trying to override. On my second appt., I told the specialist I suspected the feedback control was causing this after having read about the issue online (a common complaint with many hearing aids). However, he dinked around with various settings for almost an hour, not solving it, finally calling Philips to ask. They suggested turning off the feedback control circuit, which immediately solved the problem. However, he only applied it the the "General" (#1) program, which I didn't notice until I got home. On my next visit, I will have him turn off feedback control for all 4 programs, and have him reset the EQ curve, which I think he modified trying to solve the warble. I think he reduced the higher frequency boost, among other changes. We were originally using the frequency compensation/shift on my right ear, but turned that off, too. By the way, my hearing aids are not feeding back with the feedback control off, unless I loosely cup my hand over my ear in certain noisy situations.

Meanwhile, I am very intrigued with the Air Pods Pro 2 "Hearing Health" solution, as these appear to solve hearing issues the Philips don't, such as hearing protection in noisy environments, high fidelity music streaming and listening to loud music via the transparency mode which should apply my hearing loss adjustment. Plus, they are so much less expensive.

I don't use an iPhone, and I'm now asking friends who might have an iPhone 11 or more recent they aren't using anymore that I can have or buy cheap, so I can run iOS 18 with the upcoming hearing health suite to control the Air Pods Pro 2. I'll just use Bluetooth and Wireless to setup the phone as a controller, and put my favorite Folder Pro music app on it to stream music. I use a Pixel Pro 7, so if in a year or so, Google hasn't responded with a comparable hearing solution, I may change to Apple for my phone.

Okay, so if the Apple solution is a good as I hope, do I keep the Philips? Probably, if the Philips 9050 speech enhancements are better than the Apple solution as I expect. Plus, the Philips have over a 24 hour battery life. On the other hand, for the difference in price (not including a new phone), I can buy two pairs of Air Pods Pro 2 and switch them out in the charging case when the battery gets depleted in one pair.

Finally, a VERY important issue is whether the Air Pods Pro 2 and their sealed tips will cause occlusion (blocking) of my ear canal, resulting in my voice sounding boomy. The Philips eartips are vented and don't do this. The other problem with occlusion is getting a loud thump every time I take a step, which happens when I wear normal sealing earplugs. I tried and returned the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds when they first came out because of this problem, which was made even more intense due to their excellent noise cancelling system making everything so quiet. Interestingly, their older, wired QuietComfort 20 earbuds don't cause occlusion because they sit more loosely at the ear canal opening and are held in place with silicon "wings".

I'm excited about new transducer devices such as from xMems, that can be programmed to open/close an exterior vent depending on listening mode. When this is available, and widely used, perhaps then we'll have a hearing health solution that works in all situations, and doesn't cause occlusion when engaged in speech or walking/hiking.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

I'm making the same hearing aid comparison, though I don't have the Airpods Pro 2 yet.

First, I got a pair of Jabra Enhance Select 500 for $1845 with three year warranty and support program. They are very small, and worked well for speech improvement, but I could never get the right and left ear to match.

I have more hearing loss in my right ear, coupled with high-pitched tinnitus in both ears.

When I discovered Costco has essentially the same hearing aids in their Jabra Select Pro 20 model, I decided to get a hearing test in their sound booth. Interestingly, when I sent the audiogram to Jabra, they didn't even want to try implementing it, suggesting I'd be better off using an audiologist. Note that I'm about 90db down in my right ear for high frequencies.

About this time, I became aware of the upcoming Philips 9050, which I now am using. I returned the Jabra for a refund.

My specialist at Costco has been very helpful. I have my third appt for fine tuning in a couple of days. In the initial appt., he toned down the brightness and reduced to overall gain boost by about 20db. This made them seem more natural. I still usually lower the gain a button push or two when I first put them in.

When I first began using the Philips 9050, I noticed the same phasey/oscillation/warble that the Jabra had on constant mid to upper frequencies, but even more with the Philips. This is especially noticeable with sustained tones like my own whistling or listening to high pitched voices, flutes, etc.

Long story short, this is the feedback control circuit interpreting these pitches as feedback and trying to override. On my second appt., I told the specialist I suspected the feedback control was causing this after having read about the issue online (a common complaint with many hearing aids). However, he dinked around with various settings for almost an hour, not solving it, finally calling Philips to ask. They suggested turning off the feedback control circuit, which immediately solved the problem. However, he only applied it the the "General" (#1) program, which I didn't notice until I got home. On my next visit, I will have him turn off feedback control for all 4 programs, and have him reset the EQ curve, which I think he modified trying to solve the warble. I think he reduced the higher frequency boost, among other changes. We were originally using the frequency compensation/shift on my right ear, but turned that off, too. By the way, my hearing aids are not feeding back with the feedback control off, unless I loosely cup my hand over my ear in certain noisy situations.

Meanwhile, I am very intrigued with the Air Pods Pro 2 "Hearing Health" solution, as these appear to solve hearing issues the Philips don't, such as hearing protection in noisy environments, high fidelity music streaming and listening to loud music via the transparency mode which should apply my hearing loss adjustment. Plus, they are so much less expensive.

I don't use an iPhone, and I'm now asking friends who might have an iPhone 11 or more recent they aren't using anymore that I can have or buy cheap, so I can run iOS 18 with the upcoming hearing health suite to control the Air Pods Pro 2. I'll just use Bluetooth and Wireless to setup the phone as a controller, and put my favorite Folder Pro music app on it to stream music. I use a Pixel Pro 7, so if in a year or so, Google hasn't responded with a comparable hearing solution, I may change to Apple for my phone.

Okay, so if the Apple solution is a good as I hope, do I keep the Philips? Probably, if the Philips 9050 speech enhancements are better than the Apple solution as I expect. Plus, the Philips have over a 24 hour battery life. On the other hand, for the difference in price (not including a new phone), I can buy two pairs of Air Pods Pro 2 and switch them out in the charging case when the battery gets depleted in one pair.

Finally, a VERY important issue is whether the Air Pods Pro 2 and their sealed tips will cause occlusion (blocking) of my ear canal, resulting in my voice sounding boomy. The Philips eartips are vented and don't do this. The other problem with occlusion is getting a loud thump every time I take a step, which happens when I wear normal sealing earplugs. I tried and returned the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds when they first came out because of this problem, which was made even more intense due to their excellent noise cancelling system making everything so quiet. Interestingly, their older, wired QuietComfort 20 earbuds don't cause occlusion because they sit more loosely at the ear canal opening and are held in place with silicon "wings".

I'm excited about new transducer devices such as from xMems, that can be programmed to open/close an exterior vent depending on listening mode. When this is available, and widely used, perhaps then we'll have a hearing health solution that works in all situations, and doesn't cause occlusion when engaged in speech or walking/hiking.

The airpod pros don't make your own voice boomy. There is also no pressure in the ears and no bumping noise when walking.
I use them when driving, talking and when running. Some of the best money I have ever spent.

 

[HomoSapiensWannaBe]

The airpod pros don't make your own voice boomy. There is also no pressure in the ears and no bumping noise when walking.
I use them when driving, talking and when running. Some of the best money I have ever spent.

Thanks! Good to know.

 

[TheWalkman]

Wannabe,

Just back from my, “tune-up ” at Costco. Big difference!

When I saw my speech pathologist friend the other day and told her that I had gotten hearing aids, she was excited until I told her that I’d gone to Costco. Her response was, “Oh No!’ When I asked her why that reaction, she said that a lot of their technicians have only basic licensure and aren’t trained like a full audiologist is. (Essentially, you get what you pay for.)

So I went back today, I talked to the guy at the front desk about how I wasn’t completely happy, and he made sure that the tuneup was performed by one of the supervisors in the hearing department. This guy seemed knowledgeable and really listened to my frustrations and issues. When I explained to him the situation that the hearing aids were sounding very tinny and unnatural (and VERY low fidelity by ASR standards), he completely recalibrated them, and they are sounding much better.

I really sensed that he appreciated my hi-fi background- “you’re speaking my language!” - and seemed interested in my comparisons and comments about the EarPod Pros.

He gave me all the options on the Phillips app (the first tech didn’t even want me use the app) which is nice. Though the app is nowhere near sophisticated as the Apple AirPod suite, it’s dead simple to use and gives you a couple of different equalizations.

He also told me that he had dialed back the high frequency response, and that it will start kicking in over the next few weeks, giving my brain a chance to adjust to the new equalization.

My take away from today is that the technician you deal with at Costco makes a big difference as well as the fact that these hearing aids really are designed to improve speech and do not put fidelity ausio into that equation.

I think I’m going to keep my AirPod Pro2s and use them for streaming, music, etc., but from a day-to-day standpoint, I am much happier with the Phillips hearing aids now that they have been, apparently, properly adjusted.

Your mileage may vary!

 

[nathan]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We are all going to be facing these kinds of choices sooner or later.

 

[TunaBug]

My hearing loss started in my early teens. I didn't wear hearing aids for another four years, and although I forget a lot of stuff from four decades ago I can remember that day clearly. Nothing can prepare you for the first time you wear hearing aids. They may be "correcting" things, but a different way of describing it is that they are changing what you hear, and familiar things will no longer be familiar. Since so much is experienced intuitively they'll seem downright wrong, and it can be frustrating. That first night, eating dinner with just parents and two siblings was a cacophony of noise of overbearing clanging of utensils, the emotions started at frustration and ended up at anger.

I'm glad you ended up finding success with the AirPods. I've been incredibly excited with OTC hearing aids and the fact that they have opened up the market to tech companies instead of stodgy old school companies who innovate of decades instead of months.

Unfortunately OTC hearing aids are only allowed in the US for mild or moderate loss. The scale actually runs mild, moderate, severe, profound, and mine is profound so I'm left out of that, but I'm still optimistic that advances pushed quickly by Apple and others will trickle down to what I wear.

I'll add that it's important to find an audiologist that you get along with, and to plan on multiple visits in the first few weeks just help get things dialed in. That's if you're experienced with them; it's even more important for your first pair. I've been very happy with the audiologists at my local Costco, but that is of course something that will vary by person, not by company.

For speech the hearing aids don't merely have an EQ curve: that curve is being adjusted on the fly constantly as the aids try to guess what is and isn't speech. They need to respond quickly, so they're making those choices within single-digit milliseconds, so things are bouncing constantly. My hearing aids have a separate program for music which I use for music and anything else I think I don't want them varying the EQ for. And within that they're incredibly adjustable and it takes experience.

As I said, I'm happy for you that you found happiness with the Apples. If you ever get to the point of "what's next" then you might consider, though, that the original hearing aids might have been presenting something more toward what you need, and perhaps the Apples erred on the side of closer to what you're used to.

For those who are wondering: My hearing is officially about 96dB down from 1500hz and up, so quite deaf from 1500-20k. From a practical standpoint, I cannot hear consonants. I hear vowels, and differentiate words by the attack/decay speeds of those vowels, the movement of lips, and I'm massively helped if I know the subject since that drastically reduces the vocabulary. And even though the dancing EQ curves benefit me, what really helps is the newer technology of "frequency compression" where they effectively move sounds down one or more octaves into something I can hear. This tech is so much better than what I started with in the 80s.

 

[Sir Sanders Zingmore]

Any thoughts on how others might react to you wearing what look like earbuds while you are talking to them? By that I mean, if I’m in a conversation with someone wearing hearing aids, if I can even see them (some are pretty discreet), I know what they are for.
But I think it would be a bit disconcerting to talk to someone wearing EarPods - I guess my feeling might be that the conversation wasn’t important enough for them to bother taking the pods out.
Maybe that’s a “me problem” and it will become more common over time anyway.

 

[vertumno]

Any thoughts on how others might react to you wearing what look like earbuds while you are talking to them? By that I mean, if I’m in a conversation with someone wearing hearing aids, if I can even see them (some are pretty discreet), I know what they are for.
But I think it would be a bit disconcerting to talk to someone wearing EarPods - I guess my feeling might be that the conversation wasn’t important enough for them to bother taking the pods out.
Maybe that’s a “me problem” and it will become more common over time anyway.

I don’t wear any of those devices and I understand your point, but personally I like the design of something like the AirPods a lot better than hearing aids.

 

[nathan]

Eventually I suspect people will get used to the notion that AirPods don't necessarily mean one is drowning out the world or otherwise cutting oneself off.

For now, there is an interim phase where some acknowledgement is needed on both sides. Example:

The wearer can "touch" the AirPod as if to engage transparency mode/appear to be turning down the volume or turning it off, as a way to say "I know you see AirPods in my ears; I am adjusting them so we can interact" even if one isn't really making any changes.

And the other person can see that action and be comforted that the person they are talking to is hearing them.

 

[ripvw]

I recently picked up a pair of Apple AirPods Pro 2 in hopes of using them for mild hearing aid assistance particularly when trying to hear female voices in person and over the phone. I can report that they are very easy to setup and charge and perform well enough with video sources to be a quiet alternative to late night movie watching while others are asleep. They are not for critical music listening but get the job done otherwise. Looking forward to testing the hearing aid software when it arrives...

AirPods Pro 2

AirPods Pro 2 — Pro-level Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio, and a total hearing health experience.

www.apple.com

 

[nathan]

They are not for critical music listening

Do you mean using them to amplify speakers in the room or using them directly as headphones?

If the latter, did you use the hearing test app, import the audiogram, and use that in Accessibility to adjust the headphone response for your particular hearing profile?

 

[TheWalkman]

I recently picked up a pair of Apple AirPods Pro 2 in hopes of using them for mild hearing aid assistance particularly when trying to hear female voices in person and over the phone. I can report that they are very easy to setup and charge and perform well enough with video sources to be a quiet alternative to late night movie watching while others are asleep. They are not for critical music listening but get the job done otherwise. Looking forward to testing the hearing aid software when it arrives...

AirPods Pro 2

AirPods Pro 2 — Pro-level Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio, and a total hearing health experience.

www.apple.com

Ripvw,

There is a free app you can use today: Mimi Hearing Test.

I downloaded the app, took the test and found that the audiogram closely matched the test results I had from the hearing center.

The EarPod Pros allow you to then upload the test results to equalize the pods. It works flawlessly and with these changes, the EarPods sound fantastic.

 

[kemmler3D]

Lately, I’ve noticed that I was experiencing minor hearing challenges with some high frequency roll-off; sometimes it was hard to make out conversations in loud environments, listening to really thick accents on the radio or in day-to-day interactions, etc.

While having a hot dog at my local Costco a month ago, I thought I’d get my hearing tested. Sure enough, I’m experiencing mild hearing loss above 2k. Bummer. (I had a second test at my Sam's Club a couple of weeks later while having a slice of pizza, not that I was in denial or anything...)

With two bad hearing tests, I did some research (talking to a friend who is a Speech Pathologist (Phd), doing some reading (Consumer Reports, etc.), chatting with friends who wear hearing aids, etc. I decided to order a pair of the new, highly recommended, Philips HearLink 9050’s from Costco.

I understand the Philips are manufactured by Otocon and identical to their products but 1/2 to 1/3 of the Otocon price.

After a week or so of using the Philips hearing aids, I have been very disappointed with them: the sound is very tinny (think transistor radio with no low end); the ear domes weren’t comfortable and felt like they were cutting my ear canals; overall sound quality was meh (coming from an ASR background, perhaps I’m a bit picky).

This was not what I expected the hearing devices to do to, "improve" my hearing.

I stopped by the Costco to discuss/ adjust them last week and the guy says I have an appointment in three weeks to adjust them. Come back then. Wrong answer. (Jerk.)

Having read about all the OTC hearing aid developments, I left the Hearing Department and walked over to Electronics and bought a pair of Apple EarPod Pro 2s on the spot. (Costco has a no questions asked return policy of 180 days on the hearing aids and 90 on the Ear Pods.)

I got home and downloaded the Mimi Hearing Test app on my iPhone which resulted in test results which are virtually identical to the professional test. (The EarPods allow you to download the audiogram to automatically adjust the EQ for your loss.

Unlike the Philips, the EarPods sound absolutely fantastic - as good or better than most IEMs I've used. I realize that the Philips domes don't seal the ear canal which would really diminish the low frequency response but they still sound shrill and tinny.

The active noise canceling feature on the EarPods is simply unbelievable. Yesterday, I attended an air show and decided to take my new EarPods along with my standard, 3M WorkTune hearing protectors. I never put the 3M's on once: the EarPods happily silenced a bunch of F18s like they were miles away.

Though impressive, the EarPods aren't perfect:

- the large silicone tips are a little too small for me and I'm having a tough time finding an XL for complete ear seal/ isolation. (Has anyone found a source XL tips for EarPods?)

- the battery life is o.k. - perhaps four to six hours which is probably fine for most users but not ideal for someone who might want to use these as hearing aids. (The Philips batteries appear to last all day with ease.)

- Apple ecosystem integration is fantastic. I can switch from iPhone to iPad and the EarPods switch over seamlessly. This is the best BlueTooth integration I've ever seen;

- Ironically, the Apple software is far from perfect. Instead of having everything in one place, the EarPod software adjustments are all over - in the Control Panel, in Settings, in Accessibility. The Philips software is no where near as extensive or flexible as Apple's (perhaps to be expected) but it's dead simple to use.

Apple promises to deliver new software this Fall (but I'm wondering if they will simply buy out the Mimi software and that will be their big announcement.

- Appearance. I could care less about wearing hearing aids (I'm in my mid sixties and have officially reached, "old fart" status. Ironically, I'd rather be seen wearing hearing aids than EarPods since it's far more age appropriate! (I don't want to be one of those old guys walking around everywhere sporting a set of EarPods, particularly in a business meeting, dinner party or worse yet a cocktail party or a funeral.)

- Price - the EarPods were $200 vs $1500 for the Philips.

Am I the lone ASR member facing this challenge? I look forward to hearing your experiences!

Having formerly been on the receiving end of complaints about IEMs / earbuds, 9/10 times someone finds earbuds have no bass and are tinny, they have a bad seal. I would just caution anyone reading this thread not to judge the sound quality based on a review from someone that didn't have a good seal.

Not every earphone works for every ear, it's not the fault of the listener or the earbud, oftentimes.

Glad to hear the earpods worked so well, though!

 

[nathan]

Ripvw,

There is a free app you can use today: Mimi Hearing Test.

I downloaded the app, took the test and found that the audiogram closely matched the test results I had from the hearing center.

The EarPod Pros allow you to then upload the test results to equalize the pods. It works flawlessly and with these changes, the EarPods sound fantastic.

View attachment 395954

Yep that app is pretty remarkable....and then uploading the results into the HEALTH app, to do the EQ on the Airpods. Worth pointing out that this functionality is already available for the AirPod Pro first and second gen.

The thing that will new is having the test app inside the Apple system, and having the resultant "correction file" be implemented in a way that the FDA agrees is medically sound.

But for listening to content, the tools are in place today even for the older Air Pod Pros, and it works remarkably well.

 

[isostasy]

This company uses a GRAS system to perform measurements of both OTC and prescription hearing aids: https://www.hearadvisor.com/best-hearing-aids

 

[TheWalkman]

Having formerly been on the receiving end of complaints about IEMs / earbuds, 9/10 times someone finds earbuds have no bass and are tinny, they have a bad seal. I would just caution anyone reading this thread not to judge the sound quality based on a review from someone that didn't have a good seal.

Not every earphone works for every ear, it's not the fault of the listener or the earbud, oftentimes.

Glad to hear the earpods worked so well, though!

Kemmler,

I own half a dozen IEMs and appreciate what a solid seal means to bass response. The Phillips domes on my 9050s are designed specifically not to seal my ear canals. The technician told me that with no low frequency loss, they want to, “preserve my existing hearing.”

As others have also alluded to, it seems that traditional hearing aids are designed for voice clarity, not music sound quality.

The EarPods do seal well and result in great music sound.

 

[kemmler3D]

Kemmler,

I own half a dozen IEMs and appreciate what a solid seal means to bass response. The Phillips domes on my 9050s are designed specifically not to seal my ear canals. The technician told me that with no low frequency loss, they want to, “preserve my existing hearing.”

As others have also alluded to, it seems that traditional hearing aids are designed for voice clarity, not music sound quality.

The EarPods do seal well and result in great music sound.

Aha, that makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

 

[vertumno]

Ripvw,

There is a free app you can use today: Mimi Hearing Test.

I downloaded the app, took the test and found that the audiogram closely matched the test results I had from the hearing center.

Ripvw,

There is a free app you can use today: Mimi Hearing Test.

I downloaded the app, took the test and found that the audiogram closely matched the test results I had from the hearing center.

Were you able to see the actual audiogram? I couldn’t find a way to see it, I could just see the synthetic report