Apple Products to Help Identify Sleep Apnea and Hearing Loss

Apple first integrated health features into its smartwatches by adding electrocardiogram support but it has now expanded on these features by introducing modifications to its smartwatch and earphones that will allow users to identify sleep irregularities, indicating sleep apnea, and auditory issues potentially leading to hearing loss through a machine learning algorithm.

The Apple watch is fitted with an accelerometer that can monitor small movements at the wrist commonly associated with disrupted respiratory function during sleep.

The software was first trained on clinical-grade sleep apnea tests and then validated in a clinical study. It collects the user’s data over 30 days, after which it analyzes the information to help identify moderate-to-severe sleep apnea. If the user demonstrates consistent signs of the illness, the watch sends out a notification. In the clinical study, every participant identified by the software was diagnosed with at least mild sleep apnea.

Additionally, data collected by the watch can be exported and shared with healthcare professionals for easier diagnosis and treatment. Through the Health app on their watches, users can also assess their nightly breathing disturbances and view data on sleep quality. 

Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, from the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center for Sleep, commented that through the reliable identification of abnormal breathing patterns during sleep, this feature should help bring more cases of sleep apnea to light, an illness that, according to him, is often left undiagnosed.

Apple has stated that it will also be making modifications to its AirPods Pro earbuds to include active hearing protection. This new feature is designed to offer protection against loud environmental noise. The H2 chips are specifically intended to reduce loud, intermittent noise, while the ear tips help provide passive noise reduction.

To give users more insight into their hearing abilities, hearing tests have also been made part of the modifications, operating along the same lines as the pure-tone audiometry approach, which is a clinical standard. By connecting their AirPods to an iPad or iPhone, users can take this test themselves. Like with the sleep apnea software, results are recorded, and an audiogram of the test results is saved privately and securely in the Health app.

To assist users with mild to moderate hearing loss, an OTC hearing aid feature has been introduced, which can transform the earphones into a medical-grade device.

However, before either of these new resources can be brought to consumers, Apple requires regulatory approvals, which it does not yet have. Despite this, the company is confident that, within this month or later this fall, they will receive the go-ahead. Once that happens, Apple plans to roll out these new features globally, reaching at least 150 different countries.