The AirPods 4 weren't the only thing we were looking forward to in AirPods land after Apple's Glowtime event last month — there were also the new hearing health features coming to AirPods Pro 2. Now, weeks later, they're finally available on your pair with a firmware update that brings the features to the wider public.
Well, almost. In order to use the new hearing health features, your iPhone needs to be updated to iOS 18.1. The keener-eyed amongst you might notice that the iPhone update needed for the features isn't actually here yet, with a likely arrival date of Monday, October 28th. Once that software is installed, the hearing health features will be ready to go.
What's coming?
The hearing health features bring some exciting new ways that your AirPods can monitor, and in fact actively help, your hearing health. The first is Hearing Test, which will use some very clever audio programming and the AirPods sensors to test your hearing. It's more involved than the traditional "listen to the beeps and click the button when you can't hear them anymore" that you might have seen on other headphones. It will give you a picture of your hearing ability, and the health of the inner workings of your ears. The results will also be used to fine-tune the audio of the AirPods, so that you get the best sound possible.
The second is perhaps the most exciting. It turns the AirPods into a pair of FDA-approved hearing aids, which will help users who are hard of hearing to hear more of the world around them. We put this feature to the test, and it's remarkable how well it works.
The third feature is the hearing protection feature, which will measure the sounds from the outside world and keep their volume lower to help your ears. it will also adjust media volume levels to make sure they're not too loud, so that you're not exposed to super loud sounds.
Unfortunately, you won't be able to use the updates until the iOS 18.1 rollout that's coming soon. Make sure you're keeping all your Apple devices updated to get all the latest features, like hearing health additions and Apple intelligence.
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