Samsung Galaxy Buds FDA clears hearing aid feature for launch in Q4

Samsung announced on August 11 that its Hearing Aid feature for the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The clearance allows the earbuds to function as an over-the-counter hearing aid for adults aged 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss.

The feature is paired with a new self-administered Hearing Test, which Samsung describes as using clinical-grade, pure-tone audiometry. Users can initiate the test from the Galaxy Buds settings menu on a compatible Galaxy phone. The process takes approximately five minutes and assesses hearing in each ear, generating an audiogram that categorizes results as normal or within one of four stages of hearing loss: mild, moderate, severe, or profound.

Based on the results of this test, the Hearing Aid feature personalizes sound amplification to the user's specific hearing profile. It is designed to boost sounds that users may have difficulty hearing, such as high frequencies, surrounding whispers, and distant voices. The feature also incorporates advanced audio processing typically found in premium hearing aids, including noise elimination and beamforming to...