Just keep in mind that noise cancellation is not a safe method to attenuate ear-damaging noises. It’s not a replacement for real plugs or full size protection.
this post was submitted on 23 Nov 2023
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I just can’t get used to it.
If you are referring to the comply foam tips, please do not think that they are “noise reduction” or “hearing protection” tips. Yes, they get a better seal than the stock tips, but they are absolutely not ear protection devices, and arguably would be worse than going unprotected due to the false sense of confidence.
Hearing protection is a serious, serious deal - any damage, no matter how small, is permanent and will never heal. It’s also cumulative, so it will build up over time if you’re in loud environments. Earbuds are not protective devices, and noise cancellation is not protection. Noise cancellation filters out sounds that you don’t want to hear, but they absolutely do not do anything to the high energy pressure waves that cause hearing damage and permanent loss. If you work in a noisy environment (sustained sounds over 90dB) there are all kinds of great hearing protection devices that also have Bluetooth connectivity - sure, the sound quality might not be as good as AirPods, but I’ll take that for a short amount of time vs not actually being able to hear for the rest of my life. Look at brands like Walker and 3M. Net/net if it’s not explicitly labeled as hearing protection you might as well just have nothing in your ears.
Source: firearms enthusiast, woodworker and aficionado of other noisy hobbies who will have his ears go “RRRREEEEEEEE” and say “What?” a lot because he was stupid about ear pro when he was younger.
Noise cancellation filters out sounds that you don’t want to hear, but they absolutely do not do anything to the high energy pressure waves that cause hearing damage and permanent loss.
Is that right? I mean, a 20db reduction is a 20db reduction regardless of whether it's done through passively dampening the pressure wave or actively cancelling it electronically, right?
There’s a great article from The Hearing Review. TL;DR it actively reduces the signal reaching your eardrums and provides a noticeable level of hearing protection.
It confuses me when people really do mean well, and this guy just doesnt want op to fuck his ears, but don't actually research what they're saying so it's just wrong lol.
I’m a woodworker and adaptive mode is huge when I’m running my bigger machines for a long time. It doesn’t eliminate the sound completely but it is a huge reduction and it’s less cumbersome than wearing bulky earmuffs.
I have tinnitus and it’s allowed me to enjoy concerts without the muffled sound of earplugs. As a huge music guy, I would have paid for these if that was the only thing they do.
And why tf do the airpod maxes not have it…
You just convinced me to give it a go.
I’m confused, what do you mean it still allows contextual sound in?
I tried adaptive mode and found it drains the battery of my AirPod Pros a lot faster. Have others experienced this too?
Works as advertised
Oh nice, didn’t know about that function. Thank you!
It gets better the more you use them in the same environments. There’s something predicative about them that I don’t know how it’s doing it, but I use my everywhere, no exception. At this point, I have no need to take them out unless I’m asleep. It’s a fantastic algorithm that has some type of ML built in, because I’ve loved them since the feature was released in beta, but is is continually getting better to the point where I rarely, if ever, have to adjust my volume anymore.
Wow. I just got the pro 2 after having the pro 1 for the past three years. I work as a trim carpenter so I’m always cutting stuff but also trying to talk to my boss. I had no idea that I had the adaptive mode on, I just thought it was transparency like on the first gen. What a game changer! I’m so excited now, I noticed things were better with the second gen, but this was an upgrade I should have done long ago! Thanks for bringing this up!
It's amazing for walking and commuting
slightly hear things coming your way or interacting really close to you while removing all the shit hawks from far away
Did the same thing talking to a customer near some diesel motors going full tilt, for which I had toggled to what I thought was transparency before I approached. I was wondering if he was hard of hearing; had no idea what I was saying but I could hear him fine. I finish up and remove an AirPod as I’m walking away and get shocked by how loud it suddenly is. Turns out I was talking about 40db too inappropriately.
So the foam tips are interesting. I originally thought they were nothing special… just a different material which some people might like better than silicone. (There have long been foam and silicone options for in ear headphones)
I’m wondering if the foam actually gives you better sound isolation though? (The theory being that the sound attenuation through the foam is greater than a single flap of silicone.
Anyways, yes… the most annoying thing about transparency mode is turning on a faucet to wash your hands! God damn it’s annoying!
Adaptive mode fixes that quicker than turning on noise cancellation would take me. Within a second or so of the faucet being on, it takes the edge off.
Do not use AirPods in place of proper hearing protection gear. You can cause permanent damage to yourself.
I love it. I wish the Maxes had it too, I wear mine for 12+ hours a day due to sensory issues and having Adaptive Mode on them would be legitimately life changing for me. I like my Pros but the tiny batteries die way too fast. Hopefully when the Maxes get refreshed...eventually.