The AirPods may get new functions for your hearing, similar to hearing aids. Some features are already available, but they are not yet approved by health authorities. So that may change. 
Most people will use the AirPods to listen to music or watch movies and series. But Apple's earbuds do more than just listen to audio. Conversation Boost already helps you to understand someone better and with Live Listen your iPhone picks up the sound and sends it to your AirPods. You can therefore use all your AirPods as a kind of hearing aid, but Apple would like to go further. Mark Gurman writes in his latest newsletter that Apple is working on more health and hearing functions for the AirPods.
‘More hearing functions for AirPods’
It has been rumored for years that Apple is working on more health features for the AirPods. For example, future AirPods could measure your heart rate and temperature through your ear. There was also talk earlier about being able to use the AirPods as a hearing aid, partly due to the new charging case of the AirPods Pro 2. Before this model was unveiled, it was suggested that there would be a microphone in the charging case that picks up the sound and sends it to forward the AirPods. So it has not come to that, but Mark Gurman is hopeful that new hearing functions for the AirPods are on the way.
He thinks Apple will upgrade the AirPods “in the next two years to become a health tool with the ability to receive hearing data or something similar”. Apple would also like to get FDA approval for this, so it concerns more serious health functions. For example, FDA approval has already been given for the ECG function of the Apple Watch and is necessary for such medical advice. The AirPods could therefore function more as a replacement for a hearing aid. There are already so-called MFi hearing aids. These are more traditional hearing aids that you can pair with your iPhone.
See also 
How Made for iPhone Hearing Aids Work: Streaming Audio and More
iPhone has made hearing aids work got a lot more features. You can pair your hearing aid with your iPhone and control the settings. But even without a hearing aid there are functions that make you hear better.
The disadvantage of AirPods as a hearing aid is that they are visible devices, while there are many very small hearing aids that you hardly notice and are intended for long-term use. In any case, health seems to be a logical step for the AirPods, especially since there is less to innovate in terms of audio functions. Are there any health features you would like to see in the AirPods? Let us know in the comments.