How To Ensure Your iPhone Headphone Levels Aren't Damaging Your Ears
iPhone users can enable a setting to monitor the volume levels on a pair of connected headphones, ensuring their ears aren't damaged over time.
iPhone users who listen to music at high volumes on a pair of connected earbuds can damage their hearing over time, but Apple provides a way to track audio levels. iPhones, when paired with excellent quality headphones, can be an audiophile's best friend. Listening to music on the go at high volume levels can be enjoyable and immersive, especially when sound is funneled directly into the ear canal, effectively blocking out undesirable external noise.
In an effort to curb potential hearing problems among its massive user base, Apple has made updates to its products that foster better listening habits. The AirPods Pro and AirPods Max — two of Apple's wireless Bluetooth earbuds — come equipped with active noise cancellation features that both heighten and control audio quality. The iPhone also comes with several settings that users can enable to help them monitor their headphone usage manually as they listen on the device, and make sure audio levels aren't disastrously high.
iPhone users can quickly check their headphone audio levels through the Control Center. To enable this feature, go to Settings then tap Control Center. Make sure Hearing is listed under Included Controls. If it isn't, find it under More Controls and tap on the '+' icon next to it. With headphones connected and enabled, play some audio and open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen. Finally, tap Hearing (ear icon). The audio levels of the headphones should be displayed on the Headphone Level meter in decibels (dB). The potential for extreme hearing damage can be delayed if listening is maintained below a recommended level of 80 dB for a maximum of 40 hours total within a seven-day timeframe.
Additional statistics connected to an iPhone user's headphone usage over time can also be analyzed through the Health app. After launching Health, tap Browse at the bottom-right corner of the screen then choose Hearing. Tap Headphone Audio Levels. On this page, users can view exposure levels (in dB) over a time period by tapping the tabs at the top of the screen. The timespan displayed can be changed by swiping the graph left or right. To view a line representing a user's average exposure, tap Exposure.
To see even more audio-related numbers, tap Show More Data. Hit Daily Average to see a graph of a user's average exposure, then Range to find out the current high and low audio range. Users can filter data by headphones often used with the iPhone — under Filter by Headphone Type, highlight one of the listed devices to preview data associated with it.
iPhone users should frequently look over their hearing data through the Health app to ensure that their listening habits aren't affecting their ear function negatively. A nifty, easier-to-digest summary of available Headphone Audio Levels data can be studied by tapping Show All next to Highlights. Levels are broken down into daily, weekly, and monthly statistics, all accompanied by a sentence clearly comparing their averages. Additionally, users can also enable headphone notifications to let them know when they need to turn the volume down on their iPhone and switch on the Reduce Loud Sounds feature to set a headphone volume limit manually.
Source: Apple