I won't speak for everyone but my $1,500 hearing aides are terrible Bluetooth earbuds. Music streamed from my phone is full of static and I end up going back to my trusty wired headphones.
If the AirPods work as hearing aides I'm never going back.
I have a set of the Pro 2s. The noise cancellation and adaptive listening is really great, but the damn things will not stay in my ears no matter what tip I use or how I orient the things in my ear.
Talking, chewing gum, and even just leaning my head back is enough to make the things fall out.
I really wanted to like these things as I have terrible hearing, and the assistive hearing on these is already pretty nice, but they don't do me any good if they won't stay in my ears.
I haven't had this issue with any other earbud I've ever owned.
Do yourself a favor and try a pair out first before you buy, if you can.
EDIT: I am very open to specific recommendations on 3rd-party eartips for these things.
I like the Comply foam tips. You can buy the "assorted" pack in different sizes, and use whichever ones fit best.
Both ears need not use the same size tips btw, you can mix and match sizes as many people do. You can also use different tips in summer vs winter for better comfort due to thermal expansion.
I just bought some, thanks. Also happy to have black tips instead of the white ones that Apple is so stubborn about.
After a year the white tips get this embarrassing nicotine yellow color that would be completely unavoidable had Apple offered any other tip color than white.
Yeah, neither are my girlfriend's. But I sweat heavily in them multiple times a daily doing exercise and even wear them to bed. And my ear wax might have special yellowing properties. Either way, nothing that goes in my orifice that could be seen by other people needs to be white.
Don't get me started on the transparent plastic anti-snore nostril dilators.
How is the buttplug industry more accommodating with its color offering than Apple?
Hmm, maybe ill try these. I bought some air pods, but could only use them if totally still, which defeated the point. Then i see everyone jogging with them and i can't even sucessfully walk to the kitchen for a snack.
I've tried these and, at least for me, they are worse than the silicon ones that came with the AirPods. A while ago I heard of someone getting (molded?) ones from their ENT. I might have to look into that.
> but the damn things will not stay in my ears no matter what tip I use
Look at third-party tips. There's no set of 3 tips that can work for everyone, but with third-party tips you're much more likely to find some that work.
It's not just the tips, but the stem and overall shape can be problematic too. EarPods and AirPods hang off the ears by protrusions on ears called tragus and antitragus, and the triangular cavity behind it, but that part can be just wide open hemisphere for some people. Maybe ethnicity has a role in it. If those are, the earphones become cantilevered on ear canals with most of its mass unsupported and just follows Newtonian physics.
And tbh, I have this problem. Most circular shaped earphones are complete non-issue for me, many TWS models included, but not Apple earphones. Supposedly they offer SoTA performances in many domains, so it's kind of sad that I don't get to buy them myself or recommend to anyone unless they change it back to more commonly used shapes.
Yup, my friend has some of these that were custom made based on his ears. They seem to be much much better for him as a result. I don't believe they were inexpensive though, at least what he had made.
As I recall it was a couple hundred bucks for the ear pieces plus the cost of the AirPods. So, yea, probably around the same price as MSRP AirPods Max.
I'm a runner and I'd have no hope of keeping those airpod pros in my ears if it weren't for the airpod hooks that I have. There's a variety of inexpensive ones on Amazon that you can try out. I've had good luck with the ones that nestle inside my ear.
Not the GP but I use these[1] and they work great for workouts. They look pretty much the same on various amazon stores, temu, aliexpress, etc so I'd just get whatever is cheapest if I lose mine. I've also tried over ear hooks for the AirPods Pro but I wear glasses and it's an awkward fit.
This particular iteration doesn't seem to be available anymore - but there are many copy cats. The silicone is usually flexible enough to provide support integrity without being too irritating.
Are you sure you aren't just using tips that are too large?
I've used AirPod Pros for the past ~3-4 years and have spent hundreds of hours walking, running, and biking with them. They have never once come out or even become loose, though I do use the smallest size tip.
Not the person you're replying to but I tried all 3 sets of standard tips as well smaller 3rd party tips and none of them sat in my ears well enough while doing any kind of moving around (or gum chewing) so I ended up giving them to a friend and going back to the standard AirPods because I've never had a problem with them staying in my ears. What's weird is that before AirPods came out my standard earbuds were the Panasonic ErgoFit ones and those always stayed in my ears no problem with the smallest set of tips.
it's a fair question - I tried using all three sets of tips. I settled on the smallest size, but even they won't stay in. I find myself wishing they were a little longer.
I’ve had great luck with Comply. The Apple tips are worthless for me, but Comply tips solve the problem.
The only problem is they last long enough that I can never remember what size I ended up using, so I have to buy a sampler kit instead of my preferred size.
With you on this one. The Pro's just never fit my ears. I tried all sorts of tips. Foam, silicon, even the ones that fit "into" the ear curve fail and leads to a really inconsistent experience.
The regular AirPods work well ENOUGH for me that when I walk I don't need anything to keep them in, but running would be an absolute no go. And I feel like they never actually "stay put" in the ear even when walking. I always have to push them in again.
Will try these new ones, but most likely will fall back to my usual AirPods.
I figured they needed a bit of friction to not move around in my ears. Two small patches (dots) of bandaid material solved the problem. (From the end with the sticky back, not the center). Works great. If you place them right they won't be visible when you wear them. Roughly $0.
There are also silicone wraps for sale that achieve the same effect.
I don't like the foam tips, what works better are silicon sleeves for each AirPods or grippy pads that you can tape on. You don't have to take either off when putting them back in their case.
This is what I do. The foam tips wear out faster, but as mentioned fit and noise isolation are superior. I've also noticed that some brands of foam tips interfere with charging the AirPods. You've got to sort of jam them down into the case to get contact. But that has been very size / brand specific.
Curious as a future patient. How long do the prescribed hearing aids lost? I don't know when the AirPods came but I have used only 2 generations and with a price tag of 200-250 odd, I don't mind replacing every 2-3 years, just trying to see comparison with the medical industry (whether we pay or the insurance pays)
In the US clinical hearing aids cost 2,000 to 7000$ for a pair (half that if you need one) + whatever the audiologist charges. Like a lot of medical expenses you can drop that significantly with over the counter options available for under 1,000$.
That said, hearing loss varies quite a bit and high end devices have meaningful benefits in terms of customization.
My dad’s were in the 2k range and are expected to be good for about three years. Not that they don’t last longer- just that all the features like Bluetooth should last for three years.
Yes, bluetooth in hearing aids is great for answering the phone, but it's disappointing for music. It's not really what hearing aids are for.
But I expect that we will still be switching between hearing aids and AirPods because they are different enough problems that they need different hardware. AirPod battery life isn't good enough and using them when talking to people is off-putting; it's a social signal you're not listening or don't want to be bothered.
If the AirPods work as hearing aides I'm never going back.