I’ve been using AirPods Pro as hearing protection for years

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

With nan motorboat of iOS 18.1 imminent, Apple is astir to officially admit nan AirPods Pro’s proceeding protection capabilities. And each I tin opportunity is this: What took truthful long?

For 7 years, I rode a Harley-Davidson touring motorcycle pinch aftermarket pipes and a high-flow aerial intake — modifications that made it a batch louder than erstwhile it rolled disconnected nan assembly line. On astir motorcycles it’s upwind sound and not nan sound of your motorcycle that poses nan top consequence to your hearing. Not truthful pinch my Harley.

I ne'er measured its level successful decibels, but it was large capable that connected nan days I didn’t usage earplugs, I knowledgeable immoderate residual ringing aft conscionable 30 minutes of riding.

Then 1 day, I tried utilizing my AirPods Pro alternatively of earplugs. I’d been wowed by their awesome progressive sound cancellation successful different scenarios, truthful I figured why not?

In truth, I was motivated by nan expertise to perceive to euphony while I rode. The motorcycle had its ain stereo strategy — but why adhd yet different furniture of large sound extracurricular my helmet erstwhile I could get measurement amended sound from inside?

I was perfectly stunned by really good nan AirPods Pro tamed nan Harley’s exhaust and motor sound. It’s not an exaggeration to opportunity that it felt for illustration it reduced nan sound by half — possibly more. They offered a greater simplification of sound than immoderate of nan earplugs I had utilized until that point.

At nan clip I questioned if I was simply trading proceeding harm I was alert of for harm that was being caused inaudibly. However, an audiologist I said to erstwhile I was researching noise-induced proceeding nonaccomplishment (NIHL) reassured maine that nan physics of anti-noise (the enactment of canceling an incoming sound activity pinch 1 that is its full opposite) does so trim nan decibels our ears are exposed to.

Historically, Apple hasn’t published immoderate stats to backmost up what my ears were telling me. It relies alternatively connected generalized trading language, e.g., AirPods Pro 2: “Up to 2x much Active Noise Cancellation compared pinch AirPods Pro (1st generation).”

However, erstwhile The Wirecutter put nan AirPods Pro (and respective starring proceeding protection alternatives) to nan trial successful 2023, they discovered that ANC mode connected Apple’s buds tin trim 105dB sounds by 23dB. That’s capable to bring these different dangerously precocious levels down to 82dB. To put that into perspective, it’s nan quality betwixt being capable to safely perceive for little than 5 minutes and being capable to do truthful for up to 40 hours.

With iOS 18, Apple is now consenting to people immoderate actual numbers for nan AirPods Pro 2’s ANC capabilities, and The Verge has a published a awesome preview of what to expect.

Apple/The Verge

My Harley is gone. I traded it successful astatine nan extremity of nan 2024 play for a overmuch quieter Honda. But I’ll proceed utilizing my AirPods Pro erstwhile I ride. Some things are worthy keeping — for illustration my hearing.