With iOS 18.1 (and a corresponding AirPods firmware update), you can use your AirPods Pro 2 to take a “clinical-grade” hearing test, then potentially use them as over-the-counter hearing aids or simply adjust the playback multimedia. to match your hearing loss.
This is a fantastic new feature that we recommend everyone use. Hearing loss is much more common than most people think, and even if you don’t have significant hearing loss or don’t want to use your AirPods 2 as hearing aids.
What you will need
To run the hearing test and use your AirPods Pro 2 as hearing aids (or simply adjust media playback based on your hearing profile), you’ll need three things:
- An iPhone running iOS 18.1 or later
- AirPods Pro 2 (either Lightning or USB-C version)
- AirPods Pro 2 updated with firmware 7B19 or later
The latter could be tricky. There’s no way to force an upgrade to the new firmware, but it will install automatically when the AirPods are in their case and charging. However, getting the latest firmware can take hours or even days.
To check your firmware version, open your AirPods Pro 2 case, then go to the Settings app on your iPhone, select your connected AirPods (near the top), scroll down all the options until About section, and look at the Version double. You can also find this information in General > About > [name of your AirPods].
Foundry
How to test your hearing with AirPods
Start by putting your AirPods Pro 2 in your ears, then open Settings. Tap your AirPods (at the top of the Settings page) and find the Hearing Health section. You will see options for Hearing protection, Hearing aidAnd Take a hearing test. Tap on it to get started.
Before you begin, several screens will outline the process for you and ask you to make sure your AirPods Pro 2 are secure in your ears and fit properly (they’ll go through the fit test to be sure). You will also want to be in a quiet environment to take the test.
Foundry
The test lasts approximately five minutes. You will hear a series of tones of varying intensities and frequencies, each beeping three times. Simply tap the large moving circle in the middle of the screen when you hear a tone. Your left ear will be tested on its own, then your right ear.
Foundry
There will be times when you won’t hear anything at all for several seconds at a time. The tones are meant to play at different intervals, so you can’t game the system by simply tapping the screen every few seconds. Don’t worry if about 10 seconds pass without a sound, just take your time and don’t try to “win”: it’s not a game and there is no high score, and try to Anticipate the tones and get a better score. the result will do nothing other than create an inaccurate model of your hearing.
Once this is done, you will get a result showing the hearing loss in your left and right ears over a wide frequency range. It’s common to lose high-frequency hearing as you age, but this test primarily looks at how much hearing loss you have in the speaking range between about 90 Hz and 300 Hz.
These results will be stored in the Health application where you will find them in the Hearing category.
Foundry
How to adjust your hearing options on AirPods
Once you have had a hearing test, the Hearing aid The menu will offer you many options. Apple will only suggest turning on the hearing aid if you have mild to moderate hearing loss in speech frequencies, but not if you are losing hearing in high frequencies.
In a case like mine, where my hearing is good for speaking but starts to fade in high frequencies, Apple will suggest enabling Media Assist. This will change the volume of different frequencies across the spectrum to match your hearing results exactly, restoring the exact frequencies you might have trouble hearing individually for each ear. It is active when playing music, videos, making calls or using FaceTime.
The difference can be dramatic! Start listening to music, then return to this Settings menu to switch Media support Turn it on and off to see what difference it makes.
If you activate the hearing aid, you will have some options to set in the Adjustments menu. You can change the sound boost level, adjust the amount of noise reduction to apply, enable conversation enhancement, and more.
Foundry
The hearing protection feature is enabled by default whenever you use Transparency, Adaptive, or Noise Cancellation modes. It reduces loud noises by 25 to 30 dB in Noise Cancellation or Adaptive Audio modes (losing some effectiveness for low-volume sounds in Adaptive mode) and can reduce noise above 100 dB by 11 to 18 dB in Transparency mode. It doesn’t handle very sudden noises like fireworks or gunshots, so be aware that it’s more about reducing loud, sustained noises like a loud rock concert or a motorcycle engine.
