Live Listen: This is how you turn AirPods into a hearing aid

Since iOS 12, the AirPods have a useful new function: with the Live Listen function you can turn the earplugs into a hearing aid. We show you how it works.

This is how you activate the AirPods hearing aid function

With Live Listen, Apple is taking another great step in the field of Accessibility. With Live Listen you can turn the wireless earbuds into a hearing aid using the microphone of a paired iPhone or iPad.

Live Listen: This is how you turn AirPods into a hearing aid

Once you have enabled the function via the steps below, you can activate it very quickly via the Control Center on an iPhone or iPad.

  1. Open the Settings app;
  2. Tap ‘Control panel’;
  3. Choose ‘Adjust controls’;
  4. Tap the green plus sign for ‘Hear’.

Now when you open the Control Center, you can tap the earpiece to activate Live Listen. A frame will now appear on the screen, in which you can see which device is connected and how much sound is being received. With the volume buttons of the iPhone or iPad you can increase or decrease the volume.

That’s how it comes in handy

This is useful for people with hearing problems in many ways. For example, you can place the iPhone with someone you are talking to, so that the AirPods amplify the sound of his or her voice.

Another tip is to place the iPhone near a TV, so that you can hear the sound without opening the volume all the way. This is useful, for example, if you watch TV with people who do not have a hearing problem, and for whom a lower volume is enough.

Live Listen can also sometimes be a useful aid for people without hearing problems. For example, put your iPhone in your sleeping child’s room and use the AirPods as a baby monitor if you don’t have one available. Live Listen is available for all devices that support iOS 12.

Want to know more about accessibility?

  • Apple trains Siri to better understand people with speech impediments (26-2)
  • Accessibility: Adjust iPhone text size and use bold text (10-1)
  • People with a disability about their iPhone: “you are missing out on potential customers” (22-10-2020)
  • Accessibility in iOS 14: 5 new features for people with disabilities (7/13/2020)
  • Are you color blind? This way you turn on color filters on your iPhone, iPad and Mac (2/6/2020)

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