Apple AirPods New Hearing Features: Health Innovation with Hidden EMF Risks

In October, Apple announced that its Apple AirPods Pro 2 wireless earbuds will have the capability to become an FDA-approved hearing aid with a simple software update. This is a massive health innovation from a tech company that will allow adults with mild to moderate hearing loss to be able to use a pair of wireless earbuds to improve their hearing. According to the FDA, that’s about 30 million Americans.

“After you take a hearing test, your AirPods Pros are transformed into a personalized hearing aid, boosting the specific sounds you need in real time, like parts of speech, or elements within your environment,” said Sumbul Desai, Apple’s vice president of health.

In this WaveBlock™ blog post, we will get into all the details of Apple’s Hearing Health update. However, we will also talk about something that Apple AirPods Pro 2 users may not know about — the EMF radiation risks of wearing wireless earbuds for extended periods of time. 

WaveBlock™ was founded by a dad who was concerned about his kids using wireless earbuds, like Apple AirPods Pros, for long periods of time while they were doing school on Zoom during the pandemic. WaveBlock™ founder, Ben Salem, found some shocking information. Tech devices like laptops, cell phones, tablets, and wireless earbuds emit EMF radiation in order to function properly. With earbuds, that radiation is being emitted dangerously close to your skull and brain, making it even more concerning. Furthermore, children are even more susceptible to the negative effects of EMF radiation than adults due to their body composition. It’s the reason some countries have banned the use of WiFi in nurseries and kindergarten classrooms.

The team at WaveBlock™ isn’t trying to scare you into never using your favorite tech devices again. Our goal, from day one, has been to create EMF radiation protection stickers that allow you to use your products in a safer way. WaveBlock™ has created lab tested and patented stickers that decrease your EMF radiation exposure while allowing your tech to perform at 100% capability.

When the WaveBlock™ team heard about Apple’s new hearing health innovation, we were excited! However, we hope that we can spread the word about adding our EMF protection stickers to people’s Apple AirPods Pro 2, so that they can use this sound boost with far less radiation exposure. Our stickers reduce an astounding 87.5% of EMF radiation coming off your AIrPods Pro 2 earbuds.

Apple’s launch comes on the heels of a recent FDA change for hearing health. In 2022, the FDA allowed a new market for over-the-counter hearing aids. Previously, any hearing aids required a prescription after a full hearing test from a licensed audiologist. The over-the-counter hearing aid change was so important due to the significant cost cut. A prescription hearing aid goes for thousands of dollars, whereas over-the-counter options are typically in the hundreds. 

What is the Apple AirPods Pro 2 new hearing aid feature?

Apple CEO Tim Cook has long been talking about and unveiling health features into Apple products. Think about the way the Apple Watches can help you track your heart rate or sleep. Now, his wireless earbuds will help improve and protect hearing health. 

“What is really cool about Apple now saying their AirPods can be over-the-counter hearing aids, is we’re seeing that technology innovation at a price point and in a product that’s very mainstream,” said Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America.

With a simple software update, your Airpods Pro 2 can allow you to perform a hearing test, shield your ears from excessive noise, and enhance sound around you. These features were cleared by the FDA. According to the agency, the hearing test was evaluated in a study where 118 participants got “comparable results” to a professional fitting. The hearing exam was also cleared by a De Novo process that regulates new medical devices that don’t have a clear predicate device.

How Does the Apple AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Health Update Work?

This WaveBlock™ blog is NOT meant to deter you from enjoying your AirPods Pro 2. So, let’s learn more about how to take advantage of this new update.

In order to take advantage of Apple’s Hearing Health update, you need a pair of AirPods Pro headphones and an iPhone or iPad. This update brings about three main features: a hearing test, hearing aid functionality, and active hearing protection. All features are free to use when devices are updated to iOS 18.1.

The hearing test saves people time, effort, and money. Apple also hopes that it encourages people to test their hearing more often. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 80% of adults have not had their hearing checked in the last five years. Apple boasts that the test was scientifically valid and based on data collected from noise detection apps and a study of 160,000 subjects that began five years ago.

Now, you can test your hearing with your Apple AirPods Pro 2s! The hearing test takes five minutes. When the test is complete, users will see a results summary that includes a number to represent hearing loss in each ear, a classification, and recommendations. The audiogram will be stored privately in the Health app, but can be shared with healthcare providers.

The hearing aid functionality allows your AirPods Pros to boost frequencies and produce clearer sound by making real-time adjustments based on your surroundings. This feature is helpful for those without hearing loss, too!

Active hearing protection keeps you safe from loud environments. Your AirPods Pro earbuds reduce sound in environments as loud as 110 dBA. This feature works on all available listening modes. The silicone eartips also help to provide passive noise reduction.

Do Apple AirPods Pro 2 Emit EMF Radiation?

Yes. Apple AirPods Pro 2 do emit EMF Radiation. So does any other Bluetooth capable tech device. That’s where WaveBlock™ comes into the picture. The WaveBlock™ team wants you to be able to take advantage of these amazing innovations. However, it’s important that users understand the risks.

If people using the Apple AirPods Pro 2 for hearing health plan to wear them for long periods, that means those people are being exposed to long hours of EMF radiation very close to their brain and skull.

These wireless earbuds are incredible. However, while they are sleek and simple, they need a lot of power to work. In order to communicate with each other (right and left) and connect to your other devices, AirPods essentially function as mini computers. Your AirPods emit radiation by sending signals to each other through your head whenever they are on, not just when you are listening to music or on a call. That means unless they are completely off, your AirPods are sending out and receiving signals that are exposing you to low levels of radiation. That radiation is typically around 2.4GHz per pod. 

Now is that intensely a high amount of radiation? No. It’s not nearly the same as standing near a microwave. However, a microwave isn’t going inside your ear and into your body.

Have you ever noticed that you get headaches or brain fog when you have wireless earbuds in for a long period of time? It’s one of the many negative health effects related to long-term exposure to EMF radiation. Many WaveBlock™ customers come to us and tell us that using our stickers has significantly decreased their EMF sensitivity. Other health risks related to long-term EMF exposure include fertility issues, tissue damage, fatigue, cell damage, and even cancer.

The conversation around EMF radiation is a new and murky one. Tech companies don’t want you to know or focus on the fact that their devices can expose you to radiation. However, you’ll find that all Apple products do have warnings in the very fine print of their manuals. As the research grows, scientists and doctors have become more concerned about EMF radiation. In fact, a group of lawyers recently filed a federal class-action lawsuit against both Apple and Samsung for selling phones that were tested to be over the federal exposure limit for radiation.

By using WaveBlock™ stickers with your Apple AirPods Pro 2, you can use the new hearing health update in a much safer way. This gives you peace of mind - in more ways than one - when using your wireless earbuds.

Can Apple AirPods Pro Replace Prescription Hearing Aids?

While this update from Apple is certainly incredible, it’s important to note a couple of limitations. For those truly looking to use their AirPods Pros as a hearing aid, the battery is a major factor. AirPods Pros last about six hours at a time, which doesn’t make them practical for all-day usage like other hearing aids do. 

It’s also important to remember that having your AirPods Pros in for hours at a time exposes you to long-term EMF radiation. If you want to use your AirPods Pros for Hearing Health, we highly recommend making sure you are using WaveBlock™ EMF protection stickers to reduce your exposure.

The Hearing Health features are also marketed for those with mild to moderate hearing loss. People with severe hearing loss should still seek medical advice and care from an audiologist. They are also not meant for children under 18 with hearing loss.

Because of these limitations, it’s unlikely that Apple’s update will make traditional hearing aids or even more advanced over-the-counter hearing aids obsolete anytime soon.

Is AirPods Pros Update Putting Your Health at Risk? How to Protect Yourself from EMF Radiation

The WaveBlock™ team understands that this is a massive tech innovation from Apple. Hearing loss often goes untreated and this can be a huge help for many people. We are also so glad that we can provide AirPods Pro 2 users with the only patented EMF protection device so that they can use their wireless earbuds with less health and safety risk.

WaveBlock™ is proud to be at the forefront of innovation for EMF protection and we always pride ourselves on our affordability, quality, and transparency. Our website proudly displays all of our lab testing from FCC-accredited labs so that you can see just how thoroughly our products have been tested.

Our WaveBlock™ protection stickers are also available in bundles so that you can get better protection for your cell phones, tablets, and laptops, too! If you have any questions about how our products work, want to learn more about EMF radiation, or anything else, we encourage you to reach out to the WaveBlock™ team.