Tim Hardwick
If you're concerned about hearing loss and own an AirPods Pro 2, Apple is introducing a new, easy-to-use clinical hearing test in iOS 18.1. Here's everything you need to know about checking your hearing health with this new feature.
Please note that Apple's hearing test feature is not available in all regions, likely due to differences in regulatory laws. Apple maintains a list of regions and territories where the test is available on its website. If your location isn't listed, you can still take the test – see the last section of this article for details.
What you need
- AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware
- iPhone or iPad running iOS/iPadOS 18.1 or later
- Quiet environment
- About 5 minutes of uninterrupted time
To test your hearing, you need to listen to the full spectrum of tones at different, sometimes very low, volumes. For this reason, it is important to take the test in a quiet environment for the entire test duration, without interrupted noise, people talking, or loud air conditioning or fans nearby.
Taking the Test
Make sure your AirPods Pro 2 are sufficiently charged before taking the test.
- Put your AirPods Pro 2 in your ears.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Tap the name of your AirPods Pro at the top of Settings.
- Under Hearing Health, tap Take a Hearing Test.
- Answer preliminary questions about your age and recent exposure to loud noise.
- Take a seal test to make sure your ear tips fit snugly.
- When the test starts, tap the screen each time you hear a tone.
- Take the test for both ears (the test will automatically switch to the other side).
Interpreting your results
The test measures your hearing in dBHL (decibel hearing level) and provides an easy-to-read classification:
- Up to 25 dBHL: Little or no hearing loss – you can easily hear normal conversation
- 26–40 dBHL: Mild hearing loss – you can hear normal speech at close range
- 41–60 dBHL: Moderate hearing loss – requires raising your voice to understand speech
- 61–80 dBHL: Severe hearing loss – only hears very loud speech or shouting
Click Show Details to see a frequency-based breakdown of your hearing ability. This graph shows how well you hear different frequencies, from low (250 Hz) to high (8 kHz). This detailed view can help identify specific types of hearing loss and is the same format that audiologists use, making it easy to share with health care providers.
You can access your test results at any time in the Health app. Tap Browse ➝ Hearing, then tap Hearing test results to view your history. To share your results with your healthcare provider, tap Export PDF at the bottom, or tap the Share button to email or save your audiogram.
After the test
You can use your test results to unlock additional features and settings for your AirPods Pro 2, including Media Assist mode and your hearing aid.
Media Assist
If mild to moderate hearing loss is detected, you can turn on Media Assist to optimize sound for your hearing profile:
- Go to Settings ➝ Your AirPods Pro
- Scroll down to Hearing Health
- Tap Media Assist.
- Turn on Media Assist.
- Select Use hearing test results to apply the latest test results, or Custom to manually adjust settings.
Media Assist automatically adjusts music, videos, and calls to enhance frequencies that are difficult for you to hear.
Hearing Aid Mode
Your AirPods Pro 2 can function as basic hearing aids, amplifying conversations and the sounds around you. You can turn this feature on in the Settings app under Accessibility ➝ Hearing Devices.
Keep in mind that the Hearing Aid feature is not available in all areas. Apple maintains a list of regions and territories where this feature may be available.
Take a hearing test in unsupported regions
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, Apple's hearing test feature isn't available in all regions and territories at the time of this writing, but that doesn't mean you can't take the test.
Instead, you can use the following deep link to access the test directly 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'll 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 launch the shortcut on your device to take the test.
Once you take the test using this method, your results will be available in the Health app. Just keep in mind that you won't be able to access Apple's other hearing health features, like Media Assist and Hearing Test, unless they're officially available in your region.
Related review: AirPods ProBuyer's guide: AirPods Pro (neutral)Related forum: AirPods91 comments
