Samsung's Hearing Aid feature for the Galaxy Buds received FDA clearance in the US earlier this year. The company has now secured medical device approval in South Korea from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). Both the Hearing Test and Hearing Aid features will arrive on the Galaxy Buds4 Pro and Buds3 Pro via a software update, with the Korean rollout scheduled to begin in early 2027. Availability for US users remains unspecified despite the earlier FDA approval.
The Hearing Test utilizes clinical-grade pure-tone air conduction audiometry, playing single tones at various frequencies to determine the quietest audible sound per ear. Results are categorized into seven levels—normal, slight, mild, moderate, moderately severe, severe, and profound—generating a personalized audiogram. The Hearing Aid feature then amplifies specific sounds based on this audiogram, employing the NAL-NL2 prescription formula from Australia's National Acoustic Laboratories. This functionality targets adults aged 18 and over with mild to moderate hearing loss, allowing self-tuning without specialist assistance. Hearing test results and noise exposure insights integrate into the Samsung Health app.
Samsung's Digital Health team head, Park Heon-soo, stated that integrating these features directly into the Galaxy Buds broadens access to hearing support. This development follows the 2020 introduction of personal sound amplification on the Galaxy Buds+ and 2021 clinical testing confirming its effectiveness in everyday conversations for those with hearing loss.
Source: GSMArena · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing