What are headphone volume notifications on iOS & should you use them?

Great headphones and excellent earbuds are ubiquitous in 2023, and they’re more powerful than ever. That’s great for people who love watching media and listening to music on-the-go, but it can be bad news for your hearing. If you listen to headphones for too long at high volumes, you can cause temporary or permanent hearing damage. As part of Apple’s recent sweeping health initiatives, it introduced headphone safety notifications on iPhone and Apple Watch, and you can also find them on the upcoming iOS 17 and watchOS 10 updates.

When Apple detects that you’ve been listening to loud music or media for too long, iOS or watchOS can send you notifications that recommend turning your volume down. If you’re particularly concerned about your hearing, your iPhone or Apple Watch can automatically lower your volume when it exceeds a certain decibel level. Here’s how the little-known Apple Health feature works on iOS and watchOS, and whether you should use it.

What is considered too loud?

Expert opinions vary on how loud your headphone volume should be, but most agree it should be between 60 and 85 decibels. Apple sets this threshold at 80 decibels, so listening to music or audio louder than that will result in headphone volume notifications. Notably, phone calls are excluded from the headphone notifications feature.

How do headphone notifications work?

iOS and watchOS can figure out if your headphones have been loud enough to affect your hearing by determining the decibel level associated with your volume. If your headphone volume exceeds 80 decibels for 40 hours total within the last week, Apple will show you a headphone volume notification. This message recommends you turn down the volume, and will turn down the volume the next time you connect your headphones. However, you will still be free to turn up the volume after the fact. For a more proactive solution, you can turn on the Reduce Loud Sounds feature, which will automatically lower your volume when it exceeds the decibel limit of your choice.

How to turn on Reduce Loud Sounds

If you want to set a decibel limit for your headphone use, you can do so with a few taps in the Settings app on your iPhone.

1. Open the Settings app on iPhone.
2. Tap the Sound & Haptics tab.
3. Press the Headphone Safety tab under the Headphone Audio section.
4. Tap the Reduce Loud Sounds toggle and drag the slider to select your preferred volume limit.

Should you use headphone volume notifications?

This health feature isn’t as flashy as ones like Fall Detection or Crash Detection, but it aims to preserve your hearing, which is extremely important. Headphone volume notifications are turned on by default, and some regions require them to remained turned on in accordance with local laws and regulations. These insights are a good way for you to stay in tune with your hearing health, and leaving them on can’t hurt. Enabling the Reduce Loud Sounds option can be a different story, since having your volume drop automatically can be frustrating at times. However, it’s great that these options exist, even if you don’t use them all the time.