Can Denon Perl Pro True Earbuds be used as hearing aids?

• AAT is the headline feature. Instead of asking you to tap when you hear a tone, the earbuds play tones and record otoacoustic emissions with in-ear microphones. The Denon Headphones app then builds a hearing profile that lifts the frequencies you hear less well.
• It came from Nura, the Australian start-up Masimo bought; the PerL Pro are essentially a reworked NuraTrue Pro. After a fit check, the measurement itself takes about a minute. AAT has not been shown to be a diagnostic hearing test.

• Social Mode is Denon's name for transparency. External microphones pass surrounding sound through so you can talk or hear traffic without removing the earbuds.
• What Hi-Fi liked how natural it sounds, while Loud and Wireless found it lets through very little of other people's voices compared with rivals. Either way, it does not apply your hearing profile to the outside world.

• On top of the AAT profile, the app offers a five-band equalizer and an Immersion slider that adds or removes bass. Up to three hearing profiles can be stored, so family members can each measure their own ears.
• This level of personalization can make music clearer for listeners who struggle with certain frequencies. It is still not equivalent to professionally programmed hearing-loss compensation.

• The PerL Pro use eight microphones in total. Adaptive ANC adjusts its strength to the surrounding noise and to how well the earbuds seal in your ears.
• Noise cancelling is designed for listening comfort, not for treating hearing loss. Lower background noise can, however, let you listen at lower volumes.

• High-gain mode raises the maximum volume by 6 dB. It helps people who find the earbuds too quiet, but it also increases the risk of noise exposure.
• The EU volume limiter does the opposite and caps output. Both are toggles in the app's settings; neither can prevent or reverse existing hearing loss.

• Reviewers consistently describe a large, obvious difference between Denon's default sound and the personalized profile; What Hi-Fi calls it very obvious in A/B switching. Several reviewers say the default tuning sounds bland and that the PerL Pro only reach their best after AAT.
• That improvement applies to what you listen to: music, podcasts, video and calls. None of the major reviews describe the PerL Pro as improving face-to-face conversation, and the earbuds have no hearing-aid or conversation-boost mode.

• AAT evaluates how each ear responds to sound and creates a personalized profile, which you can fine-tune with the five-band EQ and Immersion slider.
• The profile applies to audio playback. Social Mode simply passes outside sound through; it does not amplify the frequencies your profile shows you are missing. In practice, the PerL Pro can make music and calls clearer without compensating for hearing loss in everyday conversation.

• Speech in the room: Social Mode is natural but subtle, and one reviewer found it lets through little of other people's voices.
• Fit and comfort: the large disc-shaped buds are a daunting fit for smaller ears, according to TechRadar; a poor seal also affects the AAT result.
• Repeatability: TechRadar ran two AAT tests four days apart and got noticeably different profiles.
• No hearing-aid amplification: there is no frequency-specific amplification of surrounding sound.

On the positive side, owners and reviewers like how much the profile changes the sound and how customizable the touch controls are.

• AAT is not a clinical assessment: it personalizes playback but cannot diagnose hearing loss or replace audiometry.
• Social Mode is not hearing-aid amplification: it passes sound through without frequency-specific gain.
• Limited speech enhancement: calls can sound clearer, but there is no feature for face-to-face conversation in noisy places.
• High-gain mode is just volume: +6 dB of overall output is not targeted compensation, and higher volume raises noise-exposure risk.
• No professional programming: the earbuds cannot be fitted or adjusted by a hearing care professional.
• No hearing-aid authorization: the PerL Pro are not FDA-authorized OTC hearing aids.

The PerL Pro connect to phones, tablets and computers over Bluetooth 5.3 and automatically choose the best codec the source supports:

• aptX Lossless: CD-quality 16-bit/44.1 kHz, on Snapdragon Sound phones or a compatible dongle
• aptX Adaptive: up to 24-bit/96 kHz
• aptX Classic, AAC and SBC for everything else, including iPhones (AAC)

There is no LDAC. Multipoint keeps two devices connected at once, and the earbuds remember up to eight paired devices.

• AAT measures how your inner ear responds to tones and builds a profile in the Denon Headphones app. The profile is stored on the earbuds and applied to everything you play, with the five-band EQ and Immersion slider layered on top.
• AAT is designed for sound customization, not for medical assessment or treatment.

• Adaptive ANC listens through the microphones and generates opposing sound waves. It scales its strength to the noise around you, sound leaking past the tips and how tightly the earbuds fit.
• Social Mode works the other way: external microphones pass surrounding sound into the earbuds. It does not provide personalized, frequency-specific amplification.
• Dirac Virtuo spatial audio widens ordinary stereo so it sounds more like studio monitors. It works with any Bluetooth source but has no head tracking.

• The flat outer face of each earbud is a touch button. Tap, double-tap, triple-tap and tap-and-hold can each be assigned to playback, volume, transparency, spatial audio, voice assistant, EQ or Immersion.
• A Performance mode keeps multipoint, ANC/Social Mode and spatial audio on; Low Power mode turns them off to stretch battery life. Denon rates the earbuds at about 8 hours per charge (measured in Low Power mode) and 24 hours with the case, which charges over USB-C or Qi wireless pads.

• Earbuds with medium tips and wings attached
• Four sizes of silicone ear tips (five tip options in total with the fitted pair) plus one pair of foam tips
• Two sizes of wing attachments; the earbuds can also be worn without wings
• Charging case and USB-A to USB-C cable (white model: USB-C to USB-C cable with a C-to-A adapter, plus spare black tips)

Several reviewers say a better seal transforms both comfort and the AAT result. Owners often switch to memory-foam tips, and RecordingNOW recommends third-party options such as SpinFit Omni (3.7 mm nozzle). Re-run AAT after changing tips.

• Size: About 73 × 35 × 32 mm
• Weight with earbuds: About 55.5 g
• Indicators: 3 RGB LEDs (left, case, right)
• Display / touch controls: None
• Charging: USB-C (about 1 h) and Qi wireless (about 2 h)
• Recharges: About 3 full earbud charges (24 h total)
• Colors: Black, white

• Device (soft) reset: hold the touch buttons on both earbuds for 10 seconds. Hold one side for 10 seconds to reset only that earbud.
• Factory reset: in the Denon Headphones app, go to Settings and choose Perform factory reset. This deletes your hearing profiles, so you'll need to run AAT again.

1. Clean the charging contacts on the earbud and inside the case with a dry, soft cloth.
2. Seat the earbud firmly and close the lid; open it to check the LED for that side.
3. Charge the case with the Denon cable, try another USB port or wall charger, and use a powered hub if you charge from one.
4. Reset the affected earbud (hold its touch button for 10 seconds), then both.
5. Update the firmware in the app (Settings > Software update).
6. If the LED still shows no charging, contact Denon support; the earbuds carry a one-year limited warranty in the US.

If one side sounds quieter, clean earwax from the mesh, re-check the tip seal and re-run AAT, since the profile is set per ear.