Samsung is developing a new application called Hearapy that would turn its Galaxy Buds lineup into something far more ambitious than premium earbuds for music and calls. The app, spotted in early development by Android Authority, appears designed to offer hearing enhancement, tinnitus relief, and cognitive exercises — all delivered through hardware millions of consumers already own.
The implications are significant. If Samsung can pull this off and secure the necessary regulatory approvals, it would position the company at the center of a rapidly expanding market for over-the-counter hearing health technology. A market that barely existed three years ago.
According to Android Authority’s analysis of an early APK (Android application package), the Hearapy app contains references to multiple features: a hearing test, hearing aid functionality, tinnitus management through sound therapy, and cognitive training exercises. The app appears tightly integrated with Samsung’s broader health platform, Galaxy Health, and would likely require compatible Galaxy Buds hardware to function.
This isn’t Samsung’s first foray into hearing assistance. The company already received FDA clearance for an over-the-counter hearing aid feature on the Galaxy Buds3 Pro in late 2024, making it one of the first major consumer electronics companies to do so. But Hearapy suggests Samsung is thinking bigger — not just about amplification, but about a comprehensive hearing health platform delivered through consumer earbuds.
The OTC Hearing Aid Gold Rush
The timing here matters enormously. In August 2022, the FDA finalized a rule creating a new category of over-the-counter hearing aids, removing the requirement for medical exams, prescriptions, and audiologist fittings for adults with mild to moderate hearing loss. That single regulatory change unlocked a market that the Consumer Technology Association has estimated could reach tens of millions of Americans.
Apple moved first. In September 2024, the company announced hearing aid functionality and a clinical-grade hearing test for AirPods Pro 2, receiving its own FDA authorization. The feature rolled out with iOS 18.1 and was widely covered as a landmark moment for consumer health technology. Samsung followed shortly after with its Galaxy Buds3 Pro clearance.
But there’s a critical difference in what Samsung appears to be building with Hearapy. Apple’s implementation focuses on hearing amplification and a diagnostic test. Samsung’s app, based on the code strings uncovered by Android Authority, goes further — incorporating tinnitus sound therapy and cognitive exercises alongside the core hearing aid features. That’s a more holistic approach to hearing health, and one that could differentiate Samsung’s offering in a market where the hardware capabilities are increasingly similar.
Tinnitus alone affects roughly 25 million American adults, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. There is no cure. Management typically involves sound therapy — using external sounds to mask or distract from the phantom ringing. Delivering that therapy through earbuds a person already wears daily is a logical application, and one that existing tinnitus apps from companies like Resound and Widex have explored, though typically tied to traditional hearing aids costing thousands of dollars.
The cognitive training component is perhaps the most intriguing — and the most speculative. Research has increasingly linked untreated hearing loss to cognitive decline and dementia risk. A landmark 2023 study published in The Lancet found that hearing aid use was associated with a 48% reduction in cognitive decline over three years among at-risk older adults. Samsung appears to be betting that consumers will want cognitive exercises bundled alongside their hearing tools, though it remains unclear how clinically validated any such features would be at launch.
What the Code Reveals — and What It Doesn’t
Android Authority’s Assemble Debug tool pulled apart an early version of the Hearapy APK, revealing several key details. The app references a “hearing test” flow, a “hearing aid” mode, “tinnitus” management features, and “cognitive” training modules. It also contains strings suggesting integration with Samsung Health and compatibility checks for specific Galaxy Buds models.
What the code doesn’t reveal is equally important. There’s no indication of which Galaxy Buds models beyond the Buds3 Pro might be supported. No timeline for release. No clarity on whether features like the hearing test would require separate FDA authorization or fall under Samsung’s existing clearance. And no information about whether the cognitive training exercises are based on peer-reviewed research or are more general brain-training activities of the sort that have drawn skepticism from neuroscientists in other contexts.
Samsung has not publicly commented on Hearapy.
That silence is typical for features discovered through APK analysis. Companies routinely develop and test features internally that never ship. Code references can persist in applications for months or years before being activated — or quietly removed. So there’s a real possibility that Hearapy, or at least some of its features, may not launch in the form currently visible in the code.
Still, the breadth of what’s been found suggests this is more than an idle experiment. Samsung has already invested heavily in getting FDA clearance for hearing aid functionality. Building a dedicated app to house that feature alongside complementary tools is a natural next step.
The competitive dynamics are worth watching closely. Apple’s hearing health features are integrated directly into its existing Health app and AirPods settings — no separate application required. Samsung’s decision to build a standalone app called Hearapy could signal an intent to create a more distinct, branded health offering. Or it could simply reflect the more fragmented nature of Samsung’s software architecture, where features are often distributed across multiple apps.
Either way, the broader trend is unmistakable. The line between consumer earbuds and medical devices is dissolving. Bose was arguably the pioneer here, receiving FDA clearance for its SoundControl hearing aids back in 2021, though those were purpose-built devices rather than mainstream consumer earbuds. What Apple and Samsung are doing is fundamentally different: they’re adding medical-grade hearing assistance to products people buy primarily for entertainment and communication.
That approach has enormous advantages in adoption. The stigma associated with traditional hearing aids is well documented. Many adults who could benefit from amplification simply refuse to wear a device that marks them as hearing-impaired. Earbuds carry no such stigma. They’re ubiquitous, socially accepted, and already in millions of ears daily. If the hearing aid functionality is good enough — and early reviews of both Apple’s and Samsung’s implementations suggest it is, at least for mild to moderate loss — the addressable market expands dramatically.
It also raises questions. Quality control, for one. Traditional hearing aids are fitted by audiologists who can fine-tune amplification profiles to an individual’s specific hearing loss pattern. OTC devices rely on self-administered hearing tests and algorithmic fitting. For mild loss, that’s generally adequate. For moderate loss, the results are more variable. Adding tinnitus management and cognitive training to the mix increases complexity — and the potential for consumer confusion about what constitutes medical treatment versus wellness content.
Regulatory scrutiny will likely intensify as these features expand. The FDA’s OTC hearing aid rule was deliberately narrow, covering air-conduction devices for adults 18 and older with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. Tinnitus management features might fall outside that framework entirely, potentially requiring separate clearance or careful positioning as wellness tools rather than medical treatments.
Samsung’s track record in health technology is mixed but improving. The company’s Galaxy Watch line has accumulated an impressive array of health sensors, including FDA-cleared electrocardiogram and blood pressure monitoring features (the latter available in select markets). Samsung Health, the company’s flagship health app, has over 500 million downloads. The infrastructure to support a hearing health platform exists. The question is execution.
And execution, in this space, means more than just shipping working software. It means earning trust. Hearing health is personal, often emotional, and historically mediated by clinical professionals. Samsung is asking consumers to trust an app and a pair of earbuds with something that directly affects their ability to communicate, to connect with family, to function in daily life. That’s a higher bar than step counting or sleep tracking.
The company seems aware of this. Its existing hearing aid feature on the Galaxy Buds3 Pro includes a clinically validated hearing test and amplification profiles tuned to the results. If Hearapy builds on that foundation with similarly rigorous tinnitus and cognitive features, it could become a genuinely valuable health tool. If it cuts corners, it risks undermining consumer confidence in OTC hearing technology more broadly.
For now, Hearapy remains a work in progress hidden inside unreleased code. But the direction it points toward — earbuds as comprehensive hearing health devices, not just sound delivery mechanisms — feels inevitable. Samsung, Apple, and eventually others will continue pushing into this space. The winners won’t be determined by who ships first. They’ll be determined by who earns the trust of the roughly 30 million Americans with untreated hearing loss, and the millions more worldwide, who have been waiting for a solution that doesn’t look, feel, or cost like a traditional hearing aid.
The technology is nearly there. The regulation has caught up. Now it’s about the software — and whether Samsung’s Hearapy can deliver on the promise its code already hints at.
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