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iOS 26 Adds New AirPods Pro Hearing Protection Setting in Some Countries

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iOS 26 adds a new Hearing Protection setting for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 in some countries across Europe and the Middle East, such as Belgium, Czechia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates.

iphone 17 airpods purple
Specifically, there is a new "EN 352 Protection" setting in these countries. When this setting is turned on, Apple's website says the Hearing Protection feature on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 complies with the European hearing protection standard EN 352, by limiting the maximum volume level of media playback to 82 dBA.

When a set of AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3 are paired to an iPhone, this new setting can be turned on or off in the Settings app, by tapping on your AirPods, selecting Hearing Protection, and adjusting the "EN 352 Protection" toggle switch.

It is unclear if Apple was required to introduce this setting, or added it voluntarily.

iOS 26 will be released to the general public on Monday, September 15. AirPods Pro 3 are available to pre-order now, and launch on Friday, September 19.

With the overall Hearing Protection feature, AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 can help protect your hearing in loud environments, by reducing your exposure to loud sounds.

The new setting was discovered by MacRumors contributors Aaron Perris and Steve Moser.

Related Roundups: AirPods Pro 3, iOS 26, iPadOS 26
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Pro (Neutral)
Related Forums: AirPods, iOS 26

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Top Rated Comments

star-affinity Avatar
star-affinity
9 months ago
Let me tell you that you don’t want hearing issues due to overexposure to sound.

It is difficult to comprehend how this can be since normally you don’t think about your ears nor your hearing – it’s just there.

But there are symptoms to be had such as tinnitus, hearing-loss, hyperacusis and pain hyperacusis, crawling and burning sensations in the ears and dysacusis etc. Symptoms that can truly effect the quality of life and prevent you from using your ears and listening to music like you used to. It can affect your sleep, and your cognitive abilities. Quality of life being severely affected.

So many symptoms and the ears in humans are pretty bad at healing, unfortunately.

Hoping for future cures.
Until then, be aware and don’t take your hearing and ear health for granted!

https://hearinghealthfoundation.org/keeplistening
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
Ries
9 months ago

Apple's website says the Hearing Protection feature on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 complies with the European hearing protection standard EN 352, by limiting the maximum volume level of media playback to 82 dBA.

Ugh! Someone please DELETE the European Union.
You might think this is an non issue, but once you get old and your hearing starts crapping out, you wish you hadn't disabled that setting.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ntombi Avatar
Ntombi
8 months ago



But there are symptoms to be had such as tinnitus, hearing-loss, hyperacusis and pain hyperacusis, crawling and burning sensations in the ears and dysacusis etc. Symptoms that can truly effect the quality of life and prevent you from using your ears and listening to music like you used to. It can affect your sleep, and your cognitive abilities. Quality of life being severely affected.

So many symptoms and the ears in humans are pretty bad at healing, unfortunately.


I recently had tinnitus as a med side effect, and even though it was intermittent and apparently classified as mild, it was incredibly annoying and distracting. I am really lucky that it has basically gone away now that I’m done with that round of meds. Eight months was quite enough, thank you.

I also have friends and family members with lifestyle related serious hearing loss, and it is really hard and also expensive to address! The even worse thing is that if you don’t address it, you’re at a much higher risk of developing dementia.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
L
Little Boy Blue
8 months ago
This should help limit the amount of damage younger people do to their hearing. Hearing loss is annoying and tinnitus is no fun at all.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
iGeek2014
9 months ago

Are these additional settings tied to the hardware itself, or is it just determined by the region settings on your iPhone? Anyone know?
That’s a good question.

In the UK here and it’s not currently available - switched some settings to United States but Hearing Protection didn’t appear, even after a reboot.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
svish
9 months ago
Good to know about the change. Reason for this implementation should most probably be to comply with local regulations.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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