Searching hearing aid information for a friend who is trialing a $8K hearing aid, I ran into articles and videos about using Apple Air Pod Pros as hearing aids and that some Audiogon forum posters were doing just that.
Whether $250 Air Pods plus a phone and an App (to set them up), can effectively replace significantly more costly hearing aids, now, or in the future, is the question.
However, now that wireless, noise canceling ear pod technology is upon us, those electronics and parts that provide great frequency responses, could I assume be modified to compete with the niche hearing manufacturers and marketers, turning that closed system into a DIY market for some old-age related, hearing impaired individuals. This would be much like the prescription eyeglass business. In that, one can get an eyeglass prescription from their eye doctor -- like one could get an audiogram printout from their ENT -- and use it to order eyeglasses on the internet, which I have done.
Removing the hearing aid seller from the mix would be much like removing the home automation installer & equipment seller from the Smart Home mix. In this case $1,000's of dollars can be deducted from middlemen and their hardware, who did nothing more than installing and tweaking the product that was formerly only available from them (not by the homeowner from the manufacturer). Hence, the crazy mark-ups that both manufacturers and re-sellers could make, because the market was a niche, low volume one and as such, a closed and non-competitive one. Consider the volume sales of $250 Air Pod like (hearing aid) devices and an App and voila, the hearing aid market niche business, could well be shattered in the coming years. Hopefully for the hearing impaired and their wallets, that will be the case.
At any rate, if anyone is considering hearing aids to improve their audio room enjoyment, a first step, might be to research using Apple Air Pod Pro's for that purpose.
Apple Air Pod Pros as Hearing Aids (Youtube video 1)
Apple Air Pod Pros as Hearing Aids (YouTube video 2)
Apple Air Pod Pros - Hearing Aid Review
