After Apple's Glowtime event last month, the AirPods 4 was not the only thing to look forward to in the AirPods world. A few weeks later, a firmware update added hearing health capabilities to the AirPods Pro 2.

Well, almost. To use the new Hearing Health feature, you must update your iPhone to iOS 18.1. The more discerning among you may have noticed that the iPhone update required for this feature has not actually been done yet. Once that software is installed, the hearing health feature will be ready.

The Hearing Health feature brings several exciting new ways that AirPods can monitor and indeed actively help your hearing health. the first is the Hearing Test, which uses very clever audio programming and the AirPods' sensors to The first is the Hearing Test, which uses very clever audio programming and the AirPods' sensors to test your hearing. It is more complex than the traditional “listen for a beep and click a button when you can't hear it” found in other headphones. This gives us an idea of your hearing and the internal health of your ears. The results are also used to fine-tune the audio in your AirPods to get the best sound possible.

The second, and perhaps the most exciting, turns AirPods into FDA-approved hearing aids, making it easier for deaf users to hear sounds around them. We had a chance to test this feature and were blown away by it.

The third feature is hearing protection, which measures sounds from the outside world and lowers the volume to help your hearing. It also adjusts the volume level of the media so that you are not exposed to extremely loud sounds.

Unfortunately, this update will not be available until iOS 18.1, which will be released soon. Be sure to update all of your Apple devices to get all of the latest features like additional hearing capabilities and Apple intelligence.