My air pods pro bought on Feb 2020 also got problem.

Went last month for speaker issue (the recorded voice is bad but hearing is ok) with slightly crackling sound on left side, but the girl warned me that I need to pay RM 100 if found out there's no issue with the 3 conditions for free repair.

Then one month later, the crackling sound got worse and it hurts my left ear. Trying to switch between transparency mode to active noise cancellation but must do it when the airpods are in my ears... so the loud crackling sound hurt my left ear again and again...wondering if I should see doctor... a bit painful though...

Asked the Switch service centre if they perform preliminary test but she said no free test... once sent for diagnosis, need to pay RM 100 if the problem is not under Apple coverage program...

But if the problem is really crackling or static sound, then they will repair for me... dunno if they will only repair crackling sound and ignore the mic recording problem or repair all... feel like they are so money-oriented...