Canada: Keep waiting for Airpods as hearing aid

Anyone who is interested in Apple's hearing aid function for the Airpods Pro 2 last autumn must not live in Canada. In the second largest country on earth with its almost 41 million inhabitants, the function was still not unlocked, although itself Afghanistan, Guam or the Marshal Islands – and 103 other countries and regions – have access. The function is also active in the EU, where Apple is increasingly regulated. But Canada has very special requirements for technical medical devices, such as classifying the Airpods Pro 2 with the function. Apple now hopes to get the difficulties in dialogue with the authorities out of the world.

From province to province

According to one Report of the newspaper Toronto Star The Airpods-Pro-2 hearing aid is still not active due to differences between the Canadian federal states-called provinces. A simple software update that retrofits such functions becomes a problem. In Ontario, the law regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA) is responsible. This says that hearing aids always need a recipe from a doctor or a hearing aid acoustician. “If Airpods Pro 2 in Ontario are sold as hearing aid, this would have to be done as part of the requirements (this law).”

In other Canadian provinces, the rules again look different. Ultimately, Apple has to work on each individual. According to the Toronto Star, the group is already on it. In addition to the function as hearing aid, the Airpods Pro 2 also provide a hearing testing that is also not approved in Canada. Here, too, Apple has to stick to the regulations in Canada. The hearing test function is currently activated in 114 countries and regions. Canada has a total of ten provinces and three territories, each with its own legislation in different areas.

“Over-the-counter” product

A few years ago, Apple would also have got into trouble in the USA. However, the responsible registration authority, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), changed its rules in 2022 to allow so-called over-the-counter hearts. These can now be purchased by each person from the age of 18 without a prescription. The idea was to make hearing aids cheaper overall.

It is not yet clear when hearing aid and hearing test for the Airpods Pro 2 – both free functions for retrofitting – are released in Canada. Other features of the plugs and other Apple products in the area of ​​listening, including hearing protection function and display of the ambient volume including warning, are released in Canada. Apple will soon also plan to implement live translations for the Airpods Pro 2.