The Hearing Test feature has finally arrived on AirPods in the UK.
There’s a very useful feature now available on some AirPods and it’s definitely worth checking out if you often play your music too loud or spend every weekend at deafeningly loud gigs. Apple has just confirmed that its ‘Hearing Test’ upgrade is rolling out to earbud users in Britain with this function able to check for any hearing issues and offer an insight into the health of your ears.
As long as you have the latest AirPods Pro 2 and have downloaded Apple’s iOS 18.2 software onto your iPhone you should find the Hearing Test in your Settings. Just pop your AirPods in your ears and goto Settings > AirPods Pro > Take a Hearing Test.
Once completed you’ll get a score for each ear along with recommendations on how to stop things from getting worse. The test takes around 5 minutes with simple instructions guiding you through each step of the process. If you’ve ever had a hearing test at the doctor, it’s very similar with the AirPods letting out different tones and bleeps – you then tap your iPhone’s screen to say you’ve heard it.
It’s thought that around 1.5 billion people around the world now live with hearing loss and keeping an eye on things can make sure your ears don’t deteriorate faster than they need to.
For those already suffering from issues, Apple has also launched a new Hearing Aid function for AirPods which helps people with with mild to moderate hearing loss hear sounds more clearly.
Apple says this function is powered by advanced computational audio and the H2 chip with the Hearing Aid feature boosting frequencies so sounds are clearer and more vibrant to your ears. It also uses machine learning to make real-time adjustments as you go about your day.
Sadly, that function is still awaiting approval from UK health officials but Apple says it is working hard to bring it to British AirPods owners in the future.
Hearing Test is available now though.
Fancy giving it a try? Hearing Test is supported on AirPods Pro 2 with the latest firmware paired with a compatible iPhone or iPad with iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2 and later, and is intended for people 18 years or older.