Test Your Hearing at Home with AirPods Pro

Did you know that you can now use your AirPods Pro along with your iPhone to conduct your very own hearing health check at home to find out what your hearing is like? As long as you’ve got your AirPods in—yep, I’ve got mine on—you can jump straight into the Settings app and then select your AirPods from the list of options at the top.

From here, as long as you’re running iOS 18.2 or later and your AirPods are up to date, you’ll see an option that says Take a Hearing Test. This process begins by asking you three short questions to confirm your age, current health (such as if you have a cold or sinus infection), and whether you’ve been anywhere loud recently that might influence your hearing.

Once you’ve answered these questions, the AirPods will check your environment to ensure it’s quiet enough for the test. You’ll want to do this in the quietest space possible so you can clearly hear all the tones. Next, you’ll be guided to ensure your AirPods are inserted correctly and fit snugly, ensuring no sound leaks in or out.

Then, the AirPods will run a quick sound detection test to make sure their microphones can’t detect any sound leakage. You’ll hear a noise like this, and once that’s finished, you can move to the next step.

Before beginning the hearing test, the system will enable Do Not Disturb mode to prevent messages, phone calls, or any other interruptions. Then, you’ll get a demo of the sound you’ll be listening for during the test—a three-pulse tone like this. This tone will be played at different volumes, pitches, and frequencies to assess all aspects of your hearing.

When ready, you can tap Start Test. The test lasts roughly 5 minutes, during which you’ll tap on the screen whenever you hear a tone in either ear. (The tones will sound quieter in the actual test than in this demo.) There may be moments of silence, which is normal, but if you’re like me, you’ll find yourself concentrating really hard. Just remember to breathe—holding your breath isn’t necessary!

Through the magic of editing, we’ll skip to the end. Once the test is complete, tap Show Results to find out what the iPhone has determined about your hearing. For me, it reports no significant hearing loss—great news! You can explore this data further if you like, and if you’re planning to visit an audiologist, this could serve as a useful starting point for their testing.

Finally, your hearing data is automatically saved in the Health app, allowing you to track how your hearing changes over time. Running this test every few months or even annually could provide valuable insights into your hearing health.

And that’s it for this video! If you’d like more iPhone tips and tricks, please subscribe down below, and I’ll see you next time.