Taking the AirPods Pro hearing test
When Apple launched new phones and other hardware in September, I said on a couple of podcasts that the AirPods Pro’s forthcoming hearing aid tech was the most important item on that day’s bill of fare. And finally, this week, the release of iOS 18.1 and updated AirPods Pro firmware brought the promised hearing test functionality to my AirPods Pro, along with the promise of software tuning to meet any hearing loss the test found.
Of course, all of it seems to have been eclipsed by the multi-day rollout of a bunch of new Mac computers. Still, somewhere between ordering a new Mac Mini and showing my coworkers the updated iMac colors, I took the AirPods Pro hearing test—along with a family member who has a longstanding hearing loss.
Is something wrong?
I’ve suspected for a few months that I’d lost a few frequencies in my left ear for age-related reasons. I don’t seem to hear as much detail from a big Sonos speaker in the kitchen, when I’m facing the other way, in the living room. I have some tinnitus, too, which is relatively new. Meanwhile, I’ve been spending a lot of time with a family member whose hearing has never been the greatest due to a number of childhood infections. So we both took Apple’s hearing test.
Once you’ve installed iOS 18.1, the test is offered by the AirPods Pro configuration screen. First, iOS runs a version of the AirPods Pro fit test, which I don’t think I’ve ever taken before. When I got my ‘pods, I just chose the smallest ear tips in the box.
Sure enough, I passed the fit test, and it was on to the hearing check. You’re tested one ear at a time, touching the screen anytime you hear a tone. Meanwhile, the image onscreen throbs in a way that convinced me that I should be hearing something, whether I did or not. I’m sure I tapped once or twice when I thought I was something was happening, but was not.
Hearing upgrade?
When the test for both ears was completed, I got the verdict: little to no hearing loss. iOS did offer to tune my earbud so that media listening would be the best it could be for me—sure, why not? Music did sound noticeably better with Media Assist. It felt like a nice qualitative improvement. A podcast I listened to sounded as though they had slightly more high frequencies. Nice, but the improvement in music listening was greater for me.
My family member, who is not a power user by any means, had been gifted a pair of AirPods Pro precisely because of the hearing evaluation and assistance features. Her test showed mild hearing loss, and she was offered the chance to set up her AirPods Pro as hearing aids. (Despite the ruling, she believes her hearing loss is more than mild.)
She wore her AirPods at home and in the car throughout the day. She has worn hearing aids before, and says that like those devices, AirPods Pro sometimes accentuate sounds she doesn’t want to hear, like the noise of paper being crumpled. Overall, her take is that everyday sounds are sharper in tone. She said she wasn’t able to lower the required volume of her kitchen television as she had hoped. She also noted that AirPods Pro need to be charged during the day. While that process is quick, she perceives the buds’ battery life as a limitation versus other hearing aids.
For my part, it’s tough to tell if AirPods Pro have made listening to media mind-blowingly better. It’s good, though. Your mileage will almost certainly vary. It’s also worth pointing out that you can retake the AirPods Pro hearing test at any time. That might offer some peace of mind if you’re worried about the trajectory of your hearing.
[Shelly Brisbin is a radio producer and author of the book iOS Access for All. She's the host of Lions, Towers & Shields, a podcast about classic movies, on The Incomparable network.]
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