These Smartphone Audio Settings Could Save Your Hearing (If You Use Headphones)

Equipping yourself with the right pair of headphones (which may require knowing which headphone brands to avoid) can make a major difference in your enjoyment of music, movies, games, and other audio-heavy experiences. However, while it may be tempting to push your headphones to their limits in terms of volume, it’s important to keep in mind that listening to headphones at too high a volume can damage your hearing. Fortunately, depending on the types of headphones and devices you use, you can often make adjustments to a smartphone’s settings to guard against these potentially harmful effects.

For example, you may be using Apple devices. If so, you can open the Settings app and select Sounds & Haptics if you’re using an iPhone, or just Sounds on an iPad. Select Headphone Security and enable headphone notifications. With this feature enabled, your device will send notifications when it detects that your listening habits could be putting your hearing at risk. If you want an extra level of protection, you can also enable Reduce Loud Sound. This feature allows you to set an upper limit on the decibel level for this device. If you listen to sound above this decibel level, the function automatically reduces the headphone volume.

If your favorite earbuds are the Google Pixel Buds Pro, Pixel Buds Pro 2, and Pixel Buds 2a, you can apply the hearing wellness features to control volume levels, providing many of the same benefits that Apple products offer their users. In particular, this feature allows you to review your listening habits to determine when you are about to overexpose your ears to dangerous volume levels.

How you enable the feature may vary depending on your device. With a Pixel phone using Android 10+, you can open Settings and tap Connected devices, then select Settings with the name of your paired Pixel Buds. For other Android devices, you can open the Pixel Buds app. Once you’ve followed these steps, tap Hearing Wellbeing. Now you’ll have access to essential information about how the way you listen to sound through your Pixel Buds can affect your hearing. After enabling Hearing Wellbeing, you can also enable volume level notifications.

Enabling these features and notifications is simple. The benefits of such an approach, however, can be substantial. While listening to your music out loud can be fun, it’s not fun enough to be worth sacrificing your hearing. In the meantime, if you prefer to optimize your listening experience by choosing the right hardware, consider looking for quality audiophile headphones or reasons to choose wired headphones over Bluetooth. With the right equipment, you may not feel the need to compensate by increasing the volume.