While the most recent AirPods 4 disclosed at Apple’s Glowtime event didn’t really impress us, another audio-related announcement did: the Hearing Health AirPods Pros update. Apple announced at its last event that it is two years old AirPods Pro 2 receive three hearing health characteristics.

First, they can double as hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. Second, they now have a loud noise reduction function, which, as the name suggests, reduces exceptionally loud and harsh noise (at a concert, for example) by a notch, so that your ears don’t suffer damages. Third, you can take a hearing test on your iPhone and add its results to the iOS Health app. The test will inform you of your hearing status and automatically allow hearing aids to appear if you think you need them.

Prerequisites for AirPods Pro 2 hearing health features

To access the hearing health features on AirPods Pro 2, you should have the latest iOS version, iOS 18.1. This shouldn’t be a problem unless you’re using an iPhone released before the iPhone XR. Every iPhone released after the second- and third-generation iPhone XR and iPhone SE is compatible with iOS 18.1.

The AirPods Pro 2 you bought two years ago are good to run the new hearing health features. Apple has not made any changes to the product; it simply gave AirPods Pro 2 2022 the functionality in a firmware update. Firmware updates are automatic, so there’s not much to do there. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because it requires no effort on your part, and it’s bad because if it doesn’t work, you can’t force an update.

Troubleshooting tips

Apple promised that the firmware update will happen automatically, as it always does, and that we won’t have to do anything. But here are some troubleshooting tips that might help. First, make sure you’re active iOS 18.1. You can do this in Settings > General > About > iOS Version. If you see an older version, go to Settings > General > Software Update to update it.

The latest AirPods firmware update that facilitates all hearing health features is 7B19. To check if you are using this version, go to Settings > AirPods option at the top > scroll down until you see Firmware and then check the number. If you see that the buds haven’t updated automatically, connect them to a charger while connected to Wi-Fi. That should help update the firmware.

If that doesn’t work, hard resetting your AirPods is another option. To do this, dock both in the case, wait 30 seconds and open the lid. Next, press and hold the pairing button on the back of the case for 15 seconds until you see the tiny LED light on the front of the case flash amber and then turn white. The restart is done as soon as the light turns white.

Sometimes your version is set to the latest, but there are other small updates that need approval. It took me a while to access the hearing health features because both iOS and firmware were up to date, but there were a few pending updates that I had to confirm manually. Be sure to carefully check the Software Update page; no work needed there.

How to do the hearing test

If you’ve successfully prepared your phone and AirPods for the hearing test, you should see the features in Settings > AirPods Pro > just below the toggle options for noise control modes. Tap “Take a hearing test” and follow the instructions. The test should take about 10 minutes and you must be in a quiet environment throughout the test. Make sure you follow this rule, because eight minutes into my test, I had to start over because it detected the sound of the cereal packet on my breakfast tray. When I tried to take the test again another day, the preschoolers in the playground right next to my house were loud enough to upset the Test Gods again. So, I moved to my bed for a while and covered myself with a big blanket throughout the test to drown out the sound of those damn babies.

The test starts with a short and simple questionnaire and guides you through the next steps, which include checking the fit of the AirPods to see if they’re comfortable enough. When the test starts, you have to tap the screen whenever you hear a sound. It will test both of your ears individually and let you know when the test is complete.

How to read the results

The results are displayed as a graph and the respective dBHL (hearing level in decibels) for each ear, along with a short commentary for those who don’t know what to do with those numbers. I got “Little to No Loss” for both ears (thankfully), along with 6dBHL for the left ear and 5dBHL for the right. You can click on “Show details” to find out how dBHLS works.

If your hearing is good, the results page will say “No changes required”. If it indicates mild to severe hearing loss, it will allow you to use the hearing aid features. You can also go to Settings > AirPods Pro > Hearing Assist to turn on hearing aid and media assist features. The former will double your AirPods as hearing aids to enhance the voices and sounds around you, while the media assist will make adjustments to improve the clarity of music, videos and calls.

The third hearing health feature, Hearing Protection, will be automatically enabled as part of the update, but you can check it again in Settings > AirPods Pro > Hearing Protection > Loud Sound Reduction.

You can take a new test whenever you want, and your iPhone will automatically use that data to check whether it needs to turn on hearing aid features for you.