I was born with some hearing challenges, nothing too bad.. enough for the hearing test in elementary school to flag it and to suggest I don't sit in the back of

I was born with some hearing challenges, nothing too bad.. enough for the hearing test in elementary school to flag it and to suggest I don't sit in the back of the class, but thats about it. As i've aged I've noticed more issues. Hearing in louder spaces can be challenging, etc. What I would consider fairly normal age-based hearing loss, coupled with a bit of a hearing issue from birth and probably bolstered by a youth spent going to a lot of concerts and clubs. My father has hearing aids and has had them since he was probably in his mid 60s, I'm just pushing 50.... ...but to my point, Apple recently released their 'kinda hearing aid' tech (from what I can tell just a custom EQ and passthrough for the mics in the airpods).. and man it's fucking great. I'm probably not ready yet for 'real hearing aids' and they are so fucking expensive to boot.. but having this 'half measure' has been really useful for me.