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iOS 18.2: Take a Hearing Test With AirPods Pro 2

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Apr 12, 2001
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If you're concerned about hearing loss and own AirPods Pro 2, Apple's latest iPhone and iPad software offers a convenient new clinical-grade Hearing Test that's easy to use. Here's everything you need to know about checking your hearing health with this new feature.

airpods-pro-voice-isolation.jpg

Apple on December 11 released iOS 18.2, which expands the Hearing Test feature on the AirPods Pro 2 to nine additional countries, including Cyprus, Czechia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. The feature first launched in the U.S. and select other countries in late October with iOS 18.1.

Note that Apple's Hearing Test feature is not available in all regions due to differing regulatory laws. Apple maintains a list on its website of regions and territories where the test is available. If your location isn't on the list, you can still take the test – see the last section of this article for details.

What You Need

  • AirPods Pro 2 updated with the latest firmware
  • iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 18.1 or later
  • A quiet environment
  • About 5 minutes of uninterrupted time

The Hearing Test requires that you listen for a comprehensive range of tones at different and sometimes very low volumes. For this reason, it's important to take the test in a quiet environment for the full duration of the test, free from intermittent noise, people talking, or loud air conditioning or fan systems nearby.

Taking the Hearing Test

Make sure your AirPods Pro 2 are sufficiently charged before taking the test.
  1. Put your AirPods Pro 2 in your ears.
  2. Open Settings on your iPhone.
  3. Tap your AirPods Pro name at the top of Settings.
  4. Under "Hearing Health," tap Take a Hearing Test.
    take-hearing-test-settings.jpg

    Answer the preliminary questions about your age and recent loud noise exposure.
  5. Follow the fit test to ensure your ear tips create a proper seal.
  6. When the test begins, tap the screen each time you hear a tone.
  7. Complete the test for both ears (the test will automatically switch sides).
    airpods-hearing-test.jpg

Understanding Your Results

The test measures your hearing in dBHL (decibel hearing level) and provides an easy-to-read classification:

  • Up to 25 dBHL: Little to no hearing loss - can hear normal conversation easily
  • 26-40 dBHL: Mild hearing loss - can hear normal speech at close range
  • 41-60 dBHL: Moderate hearing loss - requires raised voices to understand speech
  • 61-80 dBHL: Severe hearing loss - can only hear very loud speech or shouting
Tap "Show Details" to see a frequency-by-frequency breakdown of your hearing ability. This graph shows how well you hear different pitches, from low (250 Hz) to high (8 kHz). This detailed view can help identify specific types of hearing loss and is the same format audiologists use, making it easy to share with healthcare providers.

hearing-test-results.jpeg

You can access your test results anytime in the Health app. Tap Browse ➝ Hearing, then tap Hearing Test Results to view your history. To share your results with healthcare providers, tap Export PDF at the bottom, or tap the Share button to email or save the audiogram.

After the Test

The results of your test can be used to unlock additional AirPods Pro 2 features and options including Media Assist and Hearing Aid mode.

Media Assist

If mild to moderate hearing loss is detected, you can enable Media Assist to optimize audio for your hearing profile:
  1. Go to Settings ➝ your AirPods Pro
  2. Scroll down to Hearing Health
  3. Tap Media Assist.
  4. Toggle Media Assist on.
  5. Choose Use Hearing Test Results to apply your recent test data, or Custom Setup to manually adjust settings.
Media Assist will then automatically adjust music, videos, and calls to enhance frequencies you have trouble hearing.

Hearing Aid Mode

airpods-pro-2-hearing-aids.jpg

Your AirPods Pro 2 can function as basic hearing aids, amplifying conversations and environmental sounds. You can enable this feature in the Settings app under Accessibility ➝ Hearing Devices.

Bear in mind that the Hearing Aid feature isn't available everywhere. Apple maintains a list of regions and territories in which the feature can be accessed.

Taking the Hearing Test in Unsupported Regions


As we mentioned at the top of this article, Apple's Hearing Test feature isn't available in all regions and territories at the time of writing this, but that doesn't mean you can't take the test.

Instead, you can use the following deep link to directly access the test in the Health app: x-apple-health://HearingAppPlugin.healthplugin/HearingTest – tap the link or paste it into Safari on your iPhone or iPad and you will be taken straight to the test (thanks to Reddit user Special_Lake240). Alternatively, download this Apple Hearing Test shortcut, grab your AirPods Pro 2, then run the shortcut on your device to take the test.

hearing-test-shortcut.jpg

After taking the test using this method, your results will be available in the Health app. Just bear in mind that you won't be able to access Apple's other hearing health features like Media Assist and Hearing Test unless they are officially available in your region.

Article Link: iOS 18.2: Take a Hearing Test With AirPods Pro 2
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/take-a-hearing-test-with-airpods-pro-2-ios/
Great!

Now, the next step is to cure hearing-loss and other life affecting hearing issues (such as tinnitus, hyperacusis and dysacusis) biologically and neurologically so we can listen and and use our ears normally again, even if some incident within or without our control damages our ears.

hearinghealthfoundation.org

Hearing Health Foundation | Funding Groundbreaking Research for Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

Hearing Health Foundation's (HHF) mission is to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus through groundbreaking research and to promote hearing health. HHF is the largest nonprofit funder of hearing and balance research in the U.S.
hearinghealthfoundation.org hearinghealthfoundation.org
 
  • Like
Reactions: cappo3
The hearing test is an odd one, unlike others I’ve taken.
Typical tests almost have a rhythmic pattern across different frequencies and volumes.
The Apple test has long periods of silence and a smaller number of audible tones. Ordinarily you’d put this down to poor hearing but then it goes and gives you a Slight Hearing Loss diagnosis.

Didn’t feel right at all
 
Updating RN and will really appreciate it. It has helped me with my ADHD and I'm less of a nervous wreck after spending hours in a noisy environment. Problem is people don't understand you can still hear them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wbeasley
It’s so piece how it only tests in transparency mode. Complete opposite of a well preformed professional test.
 
What's the point unless I can use them as hearing aids?

Stop advertising features then only releasing them in the US. I get they are a US company but get a grip Apple.

alchemistmuffin said:
This is only on AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C (with updated H2 chip, meaning those with lightning AirPods Pro 2 are out of luck?)
Click to expand...
Wrong. Done a hearing test on my lightning ones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: wbeasley
Dan From Canada said:
Sadly the test is not available in Canada without a workaround.
Click to expand...
Status Earbuds have a built in eq function that allows me to teak up the high end that I have lost over the years. I bought these because on flights when I used teh noise cancelling function of my apple EarPods the sound is not good because of that loss. I tried the Status ones and they work! I only wanted the ability to have more high end at lower volumes when on a plane watching movies. Otherwise, for everyday use, my 'real' hearing aids are better as they are teased to my specific graph.
 
Good to see that there is an unofficial way to access this outside the supported regions. Easy too. Hopefully Apple makes it officially available in all other regions. Would have been great if the normal AirPods too had support for this feature.
 
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Reactions: mganu
Mine arrived last night - and survived being tossed at the front door. I have them hooked up and they are pretty good. But why won't my phone ring through the pods? My phone vibrates, but won't ring. My prescription bluetooth hearing aids rang through no prob. I have a few special ringtones to id who's calling and tested (and annoyed) some friends by by asking them to give me a call. Even called myself on our landline. Vibrate only. HALP!
 
But but...after 4 days with useless AirPods 2 Pro. Apple, are you serious? Hearing is a serious issue with me. What a mess. I ordered from Amazon like, Friday Noir. Intent was backup for pricy prescription hearing aids. Over last four days (since they arrived) I have heard my phone ring through them once! And that was solely after an hour at Apple Store and accomplished by a "genius" who couldn't reproduce that "unusual" phenomenon! So useless, so far. Oh and they sent me off after another hour of replacement the Pods - quite a complicated process, transferring Apple Care, etc. Then at home, reinstalled/retested, and realized that phone still was not going to ring through the pods. I am thinking if I just install them as AirPods without hearing aid enhanced stuff that may work? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oh Lordy, if it just WORKED! So back to GONZO $40 buds that DO work, and ring in my ear, and so on. Give me a call Apple, at least I'll hear it ring.
 
Last edited:
DailySlow said:
But but...after 4 days with useless AirPods 2 Pro. Apple, are you serious? Hearing is a serious issue with me. What a mess. I ordered from Amazon like, Friday Noir. Intent was backup for pricy prescription hearing aids. Over last four days (since they arrived) I have heard my phone ring through them once! And that was solely after an hour at Apple Store and accomplished by a "genius" who couldn't reproduce that "unusual" phenomenon! So useless, so far. Oh and they sent me off after another hour of replacement the Pods - quite a complicated process, transferring Apple Care, etc. Then at home, reinstalled/retested, and realized that phone still was not going to ring through the pods. I am thinking if I just install them as AirPods without hearing aid enhanced stuff that may work? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oh Lordy, if it just WORKED! So back to GONZO $40 buds that DO work, and ring in my ear, and so on. Give me. call Apple, at least I'll hear it ring.
Click to expand...
given your tag line of old gear, is it possible that's the issue?

What phone are you pairing these to?

Bluetooth can do weird stuff at times.
My partner's hearing aids drive him nuts when the tv Bluetooth box runs LE and it drops in and out of normal Bluetooth and the Phonak app randomly changes environment without any input. Too much smart stuff, not enough intelligence... :)
 
wbeasley said:
given your tag line of old gear, is it possible that's the issue?

What phone are you pairing these to?

Bluetooth can do weird stuff at times.
My partner's hearing aids drive him nuts when the tv Bluetooth box runs LE and it drops in and out of normal Bluetooth and the Phonak app randomly changes environment without any input. Too much smart stuff, not enough intelligence... :)
Click to expand...
My phone's a twelve. Prescription hearing aids, headphones, a watch, our car, and also what I call no name gonzo ear buds work fine via bluetooth and all run fine right now. I have my second Apple Store appointment today. Frustrating and encouraging at the same time is fact that at Apple Store three days ago - the guy from back of the store DID get my phone to ring from one of the shop phones, loud and clear, and voice was fine. Mission accomplished! So it CAN happen. I shut of AirPods, got ready to go, and tested again. Nope. No ring no audio. Personally IMHO it's something in iOS, a setting, whatever. but it's not the AirPods - they issued me a new pair and nothing's changed.
 
DailySlow said:
My phone's a twelve. Prescription hearing aids, headphones, a watch, our car, and also what I call no name gonzo ear buds work fine via bluetooth and all run fine right now. I have my second Apple Store appointment today. Frustrating and encouraging at the same time is fact that at Apple Store three days ago - the guy from back of the store DID get my phone to ring from one of the shop phones, loud and clear, and voice was fine. Mission accomplished! So it CAN happen. I shut of AirPods, got ready to go, and tested again. Nope. No ring no audio. Personally IMHO it's something in iOS, a setting, whatever. but it's not the AirPods - they issued me a new pair and nothing's changed.
Click to expand...
well if they fixed in instore and then it came back it cant be iOS can it?

even a Setting seems unlikely given you didnt actively reset something.

good luck going back and hopefully they identify it for you. and solve your frustration.
I know how much of an issue these things are from my partner's problems with connections and modes on hearing aids.
he trialed a new Phonak Sphere 90 the other day. Blown away at the background noise reduction. Getting a pair on Friday for longer test. Hopefully they bring back more hearing in noisy environments.
 
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