With active noise-canceling and solid sound quality, Apple AirPods Pro are some of the best earbuds you can pair with your iPhone, but they can do a lot more than deliver great sound. No matter your age, it's important to do what you can to slow or prevent hearing loss, and AirPods Pro may actually be able to help with that. AirPods Pro 2 and 3 models have built-in hearing test and hearing aid features that are worth looking into, whether you think you're experiencing hearing loss or not.
The hearing test feature arrived in October 2024 along with iOS 18.1. It's touted by Apple as a "clinical-grade" test and can be completed in as little as five minutes. Given that commercially available health devices like heart rate monitors can vary widely in how effective they are, there's good reason to doubt just how good the AirPods Pro's hearing test could actually be. While it's no replacement for seeing an audiologist, the evidence shows that Apple's hearing test can deliver accurate results under the right conditions.
To even release the hearing test and hearing aid features, Apple had to receive FDA authorization. That process involved a clinical study of the hearing aid features specifically, but the hearing test has also been the subject of studies after release. A 2026 study by an international team of researchers published in Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery found that the AirPods Pro showed "clinically acceptable accuracy and reliability" when compared against a standard audiometry test. The study also pointed out that Apple's hearing test is much faster and easier to perform than an in-office exam, which could lead to more people actually taking their hearing health seriously.
However, that doesn't mean your AirPods Pro hearing health tools can substitute for a doctor's visit. Apple's hearing test is considered a valid screening tool, but it can't provide a diagnosis — only a doctor can do that. It's also a much more limited screening than a doctor can provide. The AirPods Pro hearing test is based on "pure-tone audiometry", which measures how clearly you perceive different sound frequencies. A visit to the audiologist would include additional tests to measure bone conduction and eardrum health, which give a fuller picture of your hearing and can tell you the cause of hearing loss. It's also important to note that studies so far have been small, so while their results are compelling, they're still limited.
Getting an accurate reading from the AirPods Pro also means taking the hearing test under the right conditions. The AirPods need to form a complete seal in your ears, and finding ear tips that fit properly can sometimes be difficult. You also need to take the test in a quiet environment without a lot of background noise. The test itself will alert you if it detects too much noise around you or a poor in-ear fit, but taking a test at a doctor's office will always be more reliable.
The AirPods Pro test is intended only to screen for normal hearing loss of the kind that everyone experiences to some degree as we age. If your hearing suddenly gets worse, you have ear pain or hearing is worse in one ear than the other, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. That makes Apple's hearing test a great place to start before you're experiencing hearing loss symptoms, not a solution once they appear.
