In the latest edition of our series on the future of hearing health, RNID spoke with Dr Sumbul Desai, Vice President of Health at Apple.
Crystal Rolfe, RNID’s Director of Strategy, discussed Apple’s new Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features available to people with Apple AirPods Pro 2, and the pivotal role of technology in shaping a more inclusive, user-friendly approach to hearing care.
Approximately 8 million people could benefit from hearing aids in the UK but only 2 million have them. This is despite the fact that good quality hearing aids are available for free on the NHS to all who need them.
In January, the Government made an announcement that hearing aids could be sold over the counter, in shops or pharmacies, in certain circumstances in the UK. At RNID, we believe there is a real opportunity to explore how over-the-counter hearing aids, including the new Hearing Aid feature on Apple AirPods Pro 2, could encourage people to seek help for their hearing health sooner.
Crystal: How can technology improve experiences in hearing healthcare?
Sumbul: At Apple, we’re excited to have made a clinically validated hearing test accessible to millions of people. We know that many people may not be able or may be hesitant about going to see a professional to get their hearing tested.
AirPods Pro 2 have the capability to test hearing with an iPhone or iPad, meaning more people can now test their hearing from the comfort of their own home. If someone has mild to moderate hearing loss, they can also switch on Apple’s Hearing Aid feature at the touch of a button.
Something that’s really important for us is that our health features are simple and intuitive. It’s essential that they can be used by people who are tech savvy and those who maybe aren’t as confident. All good technology should enable everyone to use it effectively, independent of technological fluency.
Ultimately, technology has to help people. We spent time validating both the Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features against gold standards to ensure they work and are accurate. We’re confident that our Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features will help people.
Crystal: How could over-the-counter hearing aids motivate people to look after their hearing health?
Sumbul: Our hope is that more people accessing the Apple Hearing Test will self-fit with the Hearing Aid feature quicker than they may have otherwise. This potentially serves as a stepping stone to getting people the help they need in this space.
These devices could be ideal for people who might feel self-conscious about traditional hearing aids. The brilliant thing about AirPods is that people are used to seeing other people wearing them, meaning they may be more confident to wear them too.
Another way AirPods Pro 2 could help motivate people is by enabling them to repeat the Hearing Test and track their hearing over time. We know that for most people hearing deteriorates over time, and a lot of people accept that it’s due to ageing, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
If we take a step back and think about it, hearing aids restore our connections to the world, to loved ones, and to society. We’re excited that our Hearing Aid feature on AirPods Pro 2 could give people that extra motivation to restore these connections sooner.
Crystal: There are times when people getting an over-the-counter hearing aid will need to see a hearing health expert. How can organisations like Apple and those across the hearing sector work together to ensure that happens?
Sumbul: One of our core philosophies at Apple is to augment health care providers and not replace them. So, as well as thinking about how the user interacts with our hearing health features, we’ve also thought about how a hearing health professional might interact with them. We’ve thought a lot about how we can make our health features helpful to professionals.
An example of this the Apple hearing test, you could show your results to your healthcare provider to help get the conversation started. This gives the healthcare provider more information about your hearing health and could help guide a consultation more effectively.
Crystal: What future hearing health technology innovations are you most excited about?
Sumbul: Right now, we’re really excited that we’re democratising access to hearing care and hearing aids through AirPods Pro 2.
At Apple it’s really important that the science drives us, and we spend a lot of time focusing on the accuracy of our health tools. It was essential for us to ensure that our hearing health features were clinically validated and accurate, which is why we carried out our hearing health study.
We also really like to hear from customers for ideas, so with time we may find that a certain feature or aspect of the hearing aid feature could steer our next development.
Hearing health is a really important area for us. So we’ll continue to dig to see what we can learn and where we might have impact in hearing health technology.
When to seek professional support
The release of the Apple Hearing Aid feature has the potential to make a huge difference and could encourage millions to seek support for their hearing.
There are many instances where seeing a hearing health professional is important. An audiologist can carry out a full diagnostic hearing assessment, ensure hearing aids are programmed correctly and check for any underlying health conditions.
Share your idea
Over-the-counter hearing aids are just one example of how technology could support the future of hearing healthcare in the UK.
We’ve been inspired to hear ideas from people with hearing loss, healthcare professionals, academics, and technology experts.
As the national charity we believe that by working in collaboration to test and develop solutions with people who are deaf, have hearing loss, and tinnitus, we can make the future better for hearing health.
If you have an idea for the future of hearing healthcare, let us know by emailing [email protected].