Apple AirPods Pro 3 Review

Apple AirPods Pro 3 combine capable noise-cancelling earbuds with hearing-aid functionality at just $199 per pair. They use Apple’s FDA-authorized “Hearing Aid feature” to provide personalized, frequency-specific amplification based on the user’s hearing profile, with real-time processing designed to improve audibility and speech clarity.

I spent many hours testing the AirPods Pro 3 as hearing aids, comparing them to other hearing aids I’ve reviewed in the past. We also had them tested at the independent HearAdvisor acoustic lab to see how their performance compared with 100+ other hearing aids tested by the lab.

AirPods Pro 3 Build, Design, and Comfort

The AirPods Pro 3 look very similar to the Pro 2. The size, shape, and feel of both the earbuds and their charging cases are almost identical.

The AirPods Pro 3 (and their MagSafe USB-C case) are rated IP57. Apple states that they "are dust, sweat, and water resistant for non-water sports and exercise."

The AirPods Pro 3 come with foam-infused ear tips. While the new tips do provide improved sound reduction (vs traditional tips) when worn properly, I struggled to keep them in my ear. I frequently had to re-insert them in my ears, which led to mild discomfort during longer uses. Many other users reported similar issues online, some even experiencing abrasions in their ear canals and bleeding, a side-effect of wearing AirPods Pro 3 that briefly trended as #bloodgate. I didn’t suffer any injuries myself, but the discomfort was noticeable.

AirPods Pro 3 Battery Life

The AirPods Pro 3 offer up to 10 hours of battery life per charge in transparency mode with the hearing aid feature. Apple separately advertises up to eight hours with active noise cancelling enabled.

Apple’s 10-hour use test wasn’t pushing the devices hard either; amplification was set to only 50% and no streamed audio was used. Even if you do get the full 10 hours, that’s still a far cry from the 24+ hours you’d get from most rechargeable hearing aids in 2026. If you need hearing support from morning to night with the AirPods, plan for charging breaks.

Setting Up and Controlling the AirPods Pro 3

Apple’s Hearing Aid feature is intended for adults 18 and older with perceived mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Setup requires a compatible iPhone or iPad with current software and AirPods firmware, and availability varies by country. You can use Apple’s Hearing Test or an audiogram from your hearing care professional.

Apple nails the “it just works” experience for pairing. Open the case and your phone recognizes your buds instantly.

For first-time setup, wear your connected AirPods and open:

Settings > Your AirPods > Hearing Assistance > Set Up Hearing Assistance

... then follow the prompts. Once Hearing Aid is enabled, its controls are under Hearing Assistance > Adjustments. Apple’s setup guide walks through both steps.

For quicker access to tone and noise settings, open Control Center and tap the Hearing control, then Hearing Assistance. Amplification also has its own control when you press and hold the volume slider. Your phone’s volume buttons adjust media volume, not hearing-aid amplification.

If you’re using noise cancellation on a flight and want hearing assistance afterward, switch to Transparency mode. You can press and hold an AirPod stem to switch listening modes; make sure Transparency is included among your selected modes. You can also choose it in Control Center by pressing and holding the volume slider and tapping the listening-mode button. Hearing Aid amplifies your surroundings only in Transparency mode.

Those shortcuts help, even though I found the split between listening modes and hearing adjustments confusing.

Once you’re in, the controls are useful. You have volume control or amplification. There’s left-right ear balance and a darker-brighter tone control, which shifts emphasis towards either bass or speech clarity. There’s also ambient noise reduction and conversation boost.

Together, these controls are powerful and effective, but access and discoverability could be much better. Apple treats AirPods primarily as earbuds, which is fair, but the hearing aid features feel like a hidden corner rather than a user-friendly experience for those accessing this accessibility feature. That’s a real shame because once set up right, AirPods Pro 3 can be surprisingly capable as hearing aids.

How the AirPods Pro 3 Perform as Hearing Aids

At around $199, AirPods Pro 3 cost much less than most traditional hearing aids, but can they actually improve speech clarity? Results from HearAdvisor say “yes”—mostly.

The Testing Process

HearAdvisor ran multiple lab tests and evaluated the AirPods Pro 3 as both hearing aids and earbuds through their standard methodology. These include industry-standard measures and predictive models that estimate real-world performance. Here is what they found.

The Good and the Bad

Out of the box (“initial fit”) performance wasn’t great. The lab simulated a typical mild-to-moderate hearing loss setup with conversation boost and ambient noise reduction active. The AirPods Pro 3 actually scored slightly worse than the AirPods Pro 2, which was previously tested by the lab.

Tweaking Ambient Noise Reduction

Here’s where things get really interesting. The setting that made the biggest difference was ambient noise reduction. This was the biggest surprise in my hands-on review.

Now, you might think that turning up ambient noise reduction would help reduce unwanted noise and make speech easier to hear. Don't feel bad. I thought the same thing. It turns out that ambient noise reduction actually reduces all sound, including speech. It makes the listening experience more comfortable, sure, but at the direct cost of hearing the voices you want to hear.

When I reduced ambient noise reduction to the lowest possible setting, amplification increased, speech clarity improved, and AirPods Pro 3 delivered far better performance. This was confirmed in HearAdvisor lab testing. In fact, with this one change, AirPods reached levels that rival the better OTC devices and even rubbed shoulders with the audio performance of prescription hearing aids.

HOT TIP: If you’re using your AirPods Pro 3 as hearing aids and need more clarity, turn ambient noise reduction down.

My AirPods Pro 3 Verdict

So are AirPods Pro 3 actually capable OTC hearing aids? Yes, based on my wear tests and HearAdvisor’s performance testing, they absolutely can be. But getting them setup to work effectively takes a bit of work. If in doubt, try lowering the ambient noise reduction!