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FDA approves Apple AirPods Pro 2 to be used as hearing aids
Apple AirPods Pro 2 can soon be used as hearing aids, after they received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance, in what experts call a game changer for the hearing aid market.
The FDA on Thursday authorized a piece of software called Hearing Aid Feature (HAF) that will allow Apple AirPods Pro 2 ear buds and other compatible Apple AirPods Pro devices to function as hearing aids when paired with an iOS 18-compatible iPhone or iPad. It’s the first time the FDA has authorized an over-the-counter hearing aid software, the agency said.
iOS 18, the software through which HAF will be available is set to arrive by October, Apple previously said.
The new HAF is for the estimated 30 million Americans who suffer from mild to moderate hearing loss, due to “aging, exposure to loud noises, certain medical conditions, and other factors,” the FDA said. The application will also feature a hearing test, the results of which are used to customize the volume, tone and balance settings that are built into hearing aid.
“Hearing loss is a significant public health issue impacting millions of Americans,” Michelle Tarver, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement Thursday. “Today’s marketing authorization of an over-the-counter hearing aid software on a widely used consumer audio product is another step that advances the availability, accessibility and acceptability of hearing support for adults with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.”
In October 2022, the FDA established over-the-counter hearing aid regulations allowing consumers to purchase the devices in stores, versus at a physician’s office, making it easier for many to access the assistive devices at a lower price point.
Apple AirPods Pro 2 retail for $249, which is far less than the thousands of dollars other models of OTC hearing aids can cost.
Otolaryngologists hope Apple’s foray into the hearing aid market will compel more people who suffer from hearing loss to seek out assistance. The devices could also help reduce the stigma around hearing aids, given how ubiquitous ear buds including Apple AirPods are among all populations, including those who don’t suffer from hearing loss.
“The price point is well below some of the other OTC quality products, and the fact that it’s so mainstream — we know that when you design something for all, it helps people with hearing loss,” Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America, told CBS MoneyWatch. “With Apple coming in, and the way Apple does things with a big splash, it really draws attention to hearing health and treating hearing loss, which is part of overall health.”
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says workers at seven Amazon facilities will begin a strike Thursday morning in an effort by the union to pressure the e-commerce giant for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.
The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized walkouts in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a Dec. 15 deadline the union set for contract negotiations. Amazon says it doesn’t expect any impact on its operations during what the union calls the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.
The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs in its warehouses and corporate offices.
Amazon is ranked No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list of the nation’s largest companies.
At a warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, thousands of workers who voted for the Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and have since affiliated with the Teamsters. At the other facilities, employees – including many delivery drivers – have unionized with them by demonstrating majority support but without holding government-administered elections.
The strikes happening Thursday are taking place at an Amazon warehouse in San Francisco and six delivery stations in southern California, New York City, Atlanta and the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement. Amazon workers at the other facilities are “prepared to join” them, the union said.
“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” he said.
The Seattle-based online retailer has been seeking to re-do the election that led to the union victory at the warehouse on Staten Island, which the Teamsters now represent. In the process, the company has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board.
Meanwhile, Amazon says the delivery drivers, which the Teamsters have organized for more than a year, aren’t its employees. Under its business model, the drivers work for third-party businesses, called Delivery Service Partners, who drop off millions of packages to customers everyday.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.“
The Teamsters have argued Amazon essentially controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as an employer.
Some U.S. labor regulators have sided with the union in filings made before the NLRB. In September, Amazon boosted pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.
NEW YORK — The Teamsters union is launching a strike against Amazon at numerous locations across the country, including in Maspeth, Queens.
The Teamsters are calling it the largest strike against Amazon in United States history, and it’s set to begin at 6 a.m. Thursday. In addition to New York City, workers will be joining picket lines in Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Illinois.
In a video announcement released Wednesday night, workers voiced their frustrations.
“Us being strike ready means we’re fed up, and Amazon is clearly ignoring us and we want to be heard,” one worker says in the video.
“It’s really exciting. We’re taking steps for ourselves to win better conditions, better benefits, better wages,” another worker in the video says.
The union says it represents about 10,000 Amazon employees and that Amazon ignored a deadline to come to the table and negotiate. The $2 trillion company doesn’t pay employees enough to make ends meet, the union asserts.
At the height of the holiday season, many are wondering what this means for packages currently in transit.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said, “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”
Amazon says Teamsters are misleading the public
An Amazon spokesperson says the Teamsters are misleading the public and do not represent any Amazon employees, despite any claims.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
An Amazon representative says the company doesn’t expect operations to be impacted.
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