One thing that convinced me I needed help with my hearing was setting my AirPods Pro to match my audiogram. I hadn’t realised I could do this until I started to research hearing loss, and it has allowed me to hear some of my favourite music, that had started to sound ‘muddy’, as I used to enjoy it.
If you have an iPhone and Apple earbuds/headphones you can use the Accessibility - AirPods - Audio Accessibility Settings - Headphone Accommodations - Custom Audio Setup to match the output to your audiogram. It made a massive difference to what I heard, convinced me I need hearing aids, and made me hope that, when they arrive, my system will sound as good as it previously did.
One tip - you must have your AirPods in your ears to be able to access this setting.
It says you can upload an audiogram by file or photo. I tried, but ended up inputting the figures myself. It didn’t take long, and was worth every second.
Hope this shows you how it works. Obviously you input the figures from your audiogram for left then right ears in the final screen. It makes a huge difference to the sound.
I think you’re right, that it only works with Apple headphones.
If you’re using an audiologist’s audiogram, I think you’ll be fine. I’m sure Apple is way too cautious to add a feature that could damage people and invite litigation.