Apple unveiled the iPhone 16 launch day About revolutionary health features in the field of sleep and hearing health that will be available on Apple Watch and AirPods Pro 2. Providing users with useful and effective ways to support their sleep and hearing health, regarding health conditions that affect billions of people around the world.
Another new health feature is sleep apnea notifications, which will be available on the Apple Watch and uses a new and innovative measure of breathing disorders, adding to the many ways the watch acts as a smart guardian that watches over users’ health.
Apple also delivers the world’s first integrated hearing health experience with AirPods Pro featuring noise cancellation, clinically validated hearing testing, and over-the-counter hearing aids. The new, innovative software-based hearing aids make it easier and more affordable for users to get hearing aids.
The hearing test and hearing aid features are expected to receive global health authority approval for marketing soon and will be available this fall in more than 100 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany and Japan.
Powerful capabilities to detect signs of sleep apnea
There is no doubt that sleep is an important area of health because it affects a person’s overall physical and mental health. Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which breathing stops for moments during sleep, preventing the body from getting enough oxygen. It is estimated that this condition affects more than a billion people worldwide, but in many cases it is often undiagnosed. If left untreated, this condition can have significant health consequences over time, including an increased risk of high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart problems.
The new Apple Watch introduces a new “Breathing Disorders” measurement that uses an accelerometer to detect small wrist movements associated with interruptions in normal breathing patterns during sleep. Apple Watch will analyze breathing disorder data every 30 days and notify users if their data shows consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea so they can talk to their doctor about what to do next, including potential diagnosis and treatment paths.
Given the importance of overall sleep quality, breathing disorders can also be used to assess sleep comfort, as breathing disorders can be affected by a number of factors including medications, sleeping position, and more. Users can view their nighttime breathing disorder data in the Seha app, which is categorized as high or low, and can view data over a period of one month, six months, or a full year.
For deeper conversations with healthcare providers, users can export a PDF that shows when sleep apnea may have occurred, three months of breathing disorder data, and additional information. Educational articles are also available within the Health app to help users learn more about sleep apnea.
The sleep apnea notification algorithm was developed using advanced machine learning and a large dataset of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests, and then validated in a clinical study of unprecedented scale in sleep apnea technology. Every participant identified by the algorithm in the clinical validation study had at least mild sleep apnea.
The world's first integrated hearing health experience
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide suffer from hearing loss. Research has also shown that hearing loss has an impact on a person’s overall well-being, including dementia and social isolation.
To help users better understand their hearing health, Apple offers an integrated experience focused on prevention, awareness, and assistance.
protection
One in three people are regularly exposed to high levels of environmental noise that can affect their hearing, according to the Apple Hearing Study, a large-scale public research study conducted virtually in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the World Health Organization. This can include common scenarios like riding the subway during commute, mowing the lawn at home, attending a sporting event, and more.
To help users block out loud environmental noise while preserving the nature of the sounds they’re listening to, AirPods Pro comes with noise reduction. The ear tips help reduce passive noise while the H2 chip helps reduce louder, more intermittent noise 48 times per second. Noise reduction is automatically enabled for different listening modes, so it’s useful in a variety of noisy environments.
awareness
Hearing loss typically gets progressively worse over time, and many people don’t realize they may have the condition. Eighty percent of adults in the United States haven’t had a hearing test in the past five years, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. To give users more insight into their hearing health, Apple is offering an easy, clinical-grade hearing test based on a standardized clinical approach called pure tone audiometry that users can take on their own using AirPods Pro and a compatible iPhone or iPad.
Users can take the easy test in about five minutes from the comfort of their own home. The Hearing Test feature leverages advanced acoustic science and provides users with an interactive experience. When users complete the test, they will see an easy-to-understand summary of results, including a number representing the degree of hearing loss in each ear, a classification, and relevant recommendations. The results, which include an audiogram, are stored privately and securely in the Health app and can be shared with a healthcare provider for deeper conversations.
The hearing test is based on lessons learned from the Apple Hearing Study, was developed using extensive real-world data, and then validated against the pure tone audiometry standard, the industry's leading clinical standard.
Support
Understanding hearing loss is a crucial step to getting the help you need, which can often be difficult to access due to cost and accessibility. Global research shows that hearing loss often goes untreated. The Apple Hearing Study found that 75 percent of people diagnosed with hearing loss did not receive the support they needed.
AirPods Pro 2 brings an innovative, over-the-counter hearing aid to people with mild to moderate hearing loss. This new feature seamlessly transforms AirPods Pro into a medical-grade hearing aid using a personalized hearing profile from the Hearing Test feature. Once set up, the feature enables personalized dynamic adjustments that amplify the sounds around you in real time, helping you better engage in conversations and stay connected to the people and environment around you. Thanks to the incredible sound quality of AirPods Pro, a user’s personalized hearing profile is automatically applied to music, movies, games and phone calls across all their devices without having to adjust any settings. Users can also set up their hearing aid using a hearing chart created by a hearing health professional.
The hearing aid feature was clinically validated in a randomized, controlled study that evaluated the perceived benefit of the feature and its personalized settings compared to setting with the help of an audiologist.
After a hearing test, a user’s hearing profile can also help personalize the AirPods Pro listening experience for more people, including those with no or mild hearing loss who can still benefit from specific adjustments to individual sound frequencies. To help deliver the best listening experience, an all-new Hearing Assist feature amplifies certain parts of speech on a phone call or an instrument within a music clip to help more people.
These features build on Apple’s existing hearing health tools. For example, Apple Watch users can use the Noise app to enable notifications when environmental noise levels are impacting their hearing health. iPhone users can set a limit on headphone volume by turning on the Noise Reduction feature and dragging the slider to their preferred decibel level. Apple also offers additional accessibility features for users to customize settings to meet their hearing needs.
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