Can I Hear You Now?
“Can you hear me now” was a sentence from a series of memorable ads for cell phones and the unreliability of reception. Hearing is a critical aspect of human communication. Poor hearing can be socially isolating, but it doesn’t have to be.

After sitting for several months, I recently bought Apple’s new Airpods Pro. They are wireless devices that stick in your ears. Don’t stop reading just yet! They’re very remarkable in many ways. They are the most comfortable stick in your ear things I’ve tried with a clean sound, selectable level ambient sound and many other features you can find out. (Full Disclosure: I am not compensated in any way for naming this product that I bought.)
I think Apple is moving into the hearing aid arena. The new Airpods Pro position the company to produce the first high tech cool looking and highly visible hearing aids. They have overcome the stigma having some people think you have golf tees hanging out your ears, at least for most people.
These Airpods Pro have one new feature that gives us a glimpse into the future. It has a microphone on the outside to pick up ambient sound. When activated, you listen to the world around you, as if there was nothing in your ear at all. Electronically ambient sound is moved from the outside to the inside of your ear, using the speaker that produces music, podcasts and telephone calls. Now you can control the volume.

Now combine that technology with Apple’s “Listen” technology. I won’t go to details how to activate. The basic premise is this. If you’re with a group of people, place your phone on the table in the middle, activate “Listen,” and with your Airpods Pro in your ear, you can hear the conversation as clear as a bell. On a fun note, you can also leave to go to the washroom, shut the door and still listen to the conversation as if you at the table. A bit freaky, I know.

So the essential phase is covered. Now it’s only a matter of software upgrades. I forecast such updates will allow you to do this in a noisy bar while the software works at cutting down all the white noise around you. If your hearing has changed over the years, and some of the high notes are lost, this software will be able to increase those notes and make hearing much fulfilling.

Christmas is coming up. Why not surprise your loved ones or good friends with the suggestion that you’d like to have a pair of Airpods Pro this year?
And they fit nicely into that little pocket watch pocket on your jeans!

For more info about issues of hearing loss:

Check out more info at Canadian Hard of Hearing Association

Glenn Walmsley