Apple’s Hearing Test just validated that I’m a terrible listener but at least my hearing’s okay
It’s been forty or more years since I took a real audio test, but I still remember being a kid, wearing bulky headphones, and raising my hand when I heard a tone. Back then, I had perfect hearing. I wondered what Apple’s new clinical-grade, over-the-counter hearing test would be like, especially when enabled through its tiny Apple AirPods Pro 2 Bluetooth earbuds.
It was not without trepidation that I undertook this test. Studies show that more than a third of the people in my age range typically suffer a 25decible (dB) or greater hearing loss. My family has been complaining for years that I have terrible hearing. I argue it’s “tunnel hearing”, meaning I hear what I’m focused on and tend to shut out everything else. My concern was that Apple’s Hearing Test would prove that I have, perhaps, significant hearing loss.
If there could be a silver lining in that potential news, it’s that the same AirPods Pro 2 headphones I was using to run the test could now act as an over-the-counter grade hearing aid. In other words, I could hide my possible hearing loss behind a pair of very useful AirPods and let people assume I’m listening to my favorite podcast.
Back in September, Apple walked me through the basic hearing test process, but it was not a real test. It was brief; the results were canned and did not apply to my hearing.
Apple’s real AirPods Pro 2 hearing test is somewhat more involved and longer. If you’re planning to try it, you’ll need an iPhone running at least iOS 18.
