The Short Version
AirPods Pro 2 received FDA clearance as a hearing aid, turning the $249 earbuds into a medical device for roughly 30 million Americans.
The FDA just made AirPods Pro 2 a medical device, and the hearing aid industry, which has spent decades selling $3,000 devices to people who mostly go without, now faces a $249 competitor that 30 million Americans already own. You do not need to convince someone to buy a product they bought two years ago for music. The head nod and shake controls are a small detail that matters more for older or less tech-comfortable users than any spec sheet will tell you.