As previously reported in January, the AirPods Pro 2 can now be used as hearing aids in the United Kingdom, having now received government approval for over-the-counter hearing aid devices.AirPods Pro 2 can address mild to moderate hearing loss. With an iPhone and AirPods Pro, users can perform a hearing test, and apply their hearing profile to their earbuds for continuous hearing correction. This functionality is all available as a free software update.In a statement, Apple says it is delighted to bring an end-to-end hearing health experience to its United Kingdom users.The Hearing Test is conducted by wearing a pair of AirPod Pro earbuds in your ears, and following the instructions on the connected iPhone. The test takes about five minutes to complete, and generates a report including a number representing detected hearing loss for each ear. Users can then simply apply that hearing profile to use their AirPods as a hearing aid. The audiogram is also saved in the Health app, if you want to have further discussions with a health professional. The hearing aid feature primarily helps you hear outside environment sounds, such as making it easier to hear what other people are saying. Additionally, the hearing profile is automatically applied when listening to music, movies, and other media on your Apple device.Even if you dont have hearing loss right now, Loud Sound Reduction can mitigate the impact of loud environmental sounds and help prevent damage. Loud Sound Reduction is enabled automatically, independent of the other Hearing Health features. These Hearing Health features are exclusively available with AirPods Pro 2, which were released in late 2022. First-generation AirPods Pro and AirPods 4, as well as AirPods Max and the entire Beats lineup, do not support it.Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel