The Apple Hearing Study, a collaboration with the University of Michigan and involving over 160,000 participants, released new findings on hearing health and AirPods features.

The study shows that increasing hearing loss is strongly linked to lower mobility, underscoring potential physical health benefits from addressing hearing loss with tools like the Hearing Aid Feature.

Among nearly 85,000 participants with clinically normal hearing, about 16% still perceived their hearing as fair or poor, revealing a gap between measured hearing ability and self-perception.

The four-frequency pure tone average (4PTA) correlated with self-reported hearing difficulties even in those considered normal, supporting the use of Apple's Hearing Test Feature to monitor hearing over time.

The authors credit Apple Hearing Study participants for enabling these insights and urge ongoing monitoring and protective actions for hearing health.

A separate analysis of 57,183 participants found that worse hearing was linked to slower walking speed, especially in adults aged 60 and older, indicating a connection between hearing health and physical function.

Readers can visit the University of Michigan’s page for detailed study updates and features.