Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 continue to impress with their regular software updates, and the latest feature might be their most impactful yet: Hearing Protection. Introduced in iOS 18.1, this feature quietly protects your hearing — even without you realizing it.
Apple rolled out Hearing Aid, Hearing Test, and Hearing Protection last fall, transforming the three-year-old AirPods Pro 2 into powerful health tools. While the first two features directly benefit users with hearing loss, Hearing Protection is a proactive safety measure for everyone.
The World Health Organization reports that by 2050, 2.5 billion people may have some hearing loss, with over 1 billion young adults at risk from unsafe listening habits.
Apple’s feature directly addresses this issue by automatically reducing dangerous noise levels in real time — across all three noise modes: Transparency, Adaptive, and Noise Cancellation.
- Transparency mode reduces sound by 11–15 dB, keeping you aware of your surroundings while softening harsh noises.
- Adaptive mode cuts 25–29 dB, ideal for environments with fluctuating noise like city traffic.
- Noise Cancellation mode offers 25–30 dB of steady protection for noisy areas like gyms or construction zones.
The feature runs by default, requiring no user action, which makes it especially valuable for preventing gradual hearing damage. It’s already offering peace of mind to users who face regular alerts about high noise levels via the Apple Watch Noise app.
Apple’s health features have increasingly positioned the company as a leader in wearable wellness, and this new layer of hearing protection shows how software can expand the lifespan and utility of existing hardware.
As Apple looks to expand this feature to more models, it could help dramatically reduce preventable hearing loss worldwide — fulfilling CEO Tim Cook’s vision of Apple’s greatest contribution being in health.
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