Headphone safety - reducing volume to a Bluetooth speaker

They are not quite right. It is the way that iphone monitors all BT devices as though they are airpods.

If you use a bluetooth device with low amplification and you need to crank the phone volume to max, then the headphone reports which are now in the Health app will trigger the 7day warning.

If your bt device has its own amplifier you should try to increase that while keeping iphone volume midway.

Look in Health app, tap browse, then tap Hearing, then Headphone audio levels then scroll to bottom and Show All Data

For each day you can see a report.

Here is one for my hifi with BT docking device. Because the sensitivity is low the phone was cranked up to a level which in actual phones would be 92dB but in reality nothing like it.

There’s no way to disable it with ios 14. They really didn’t think that one through. I’m at an event using Bluetooth speakers when suddenly nobody can hear what’s happening. It’s an awful feature that should have a disable option.

I had a similar discussion with a BT speaker user and the 7 day analysis notifications cannot be turned off

and it seems neither can the volume reduction.

It amazes me that not too many people seem to care about this. I guess most people got so used to crappy mp3 quality they don't even know anymore what decent audio should sound like. Oh well...

I don't have airpods, with my iPhone SE (gen1) I'm using wired Sennheiser headphones, this phone still had a minijack output.

The actual output level of the headphones also depends on the impedance of the headphone speakers. Not all headphones have the same dB SPL output with the same signal voltage level in dB(U). Apple probably calibrates for their own pods, but not for other brands...

Regardless, to answer your question: when you do not use the limiter function, (i.e. you just reduce the volume slider), listening to your airpods at low levels (like 75dB /80dB) should not be impacted by the new limitations, this is the same as before iOS 14.2. So if you're satisfied with these levels, this should not be an issue for you.

However, if you do use the limiter slider (Reduce Loud Sounds setting), I'm not so sure if the sound quality isn't impacted. It is possible that this setting introduces some degree of audible distortion to the signal, soft limiters usually do. I think I hear a difference with the slider on, but I might be biased (being angry at this limiter). It should be measured to know for sure.

What I am talking about in my previous post, is when you amplify this weak signal. That's when the noisefloor comes into play. Apple is plain wrong in assuming everybody is listening to Apple earbuds all the time. Before 14.2, there was no limitation, and you could send your signal "hot" (max output level) to your soundsystem amp (car/home/boombox/...), at full dynamic range. With this new health limiter, you're forced to feed a weak undynamic 80dB signal to your amp circuits. In doing so, you're actually also amplifying the noise floor of the phone, in order to reach the same dB SPL (sound pressure level) with your soundsystem. End result is same perceived "loudness" (dB SPL) but with severely reduced dynamics.

As far as I understand, World Health Organisation only did recommendations that were never enacted into laws, so I'm confident that Android phones will indeed feature hearing protection implementation, but optional.

Apparently Apple didn't receive too much complaints to give us an option switch in 14.3 update, so my hopes are down they will give it to us in any future update.

As a professional sound/light technician, I most certainly understand your point, many people suffer from tinnitus and permanent hearing loss. Warnings are a good thing indeed, and I do support that. Just like warnings on tobacco products and alcohol. With the latter, everyone has a choise to use them anyway, knowing the risks. So why should headphone usage be treated differently? People who want to consume their music loud, will find a way, one way or another. In my opinion, these warnings should be optional, and "on" by default.

My biggest concern is: not everyone uses their digital music player with headphones, that's a reality that cannot be ignored. In that usage situation, the dynamic range of iPhones is severely handicapped from 14.2 onwards, it is unacceptable for me.

Having good quality audio was a key selling point for me, the reason I chose an iPhone SE (the only small phone with a decent internal DAC). Taking away the full dynamic range, after I purchased their product, is not a smart move, disrespectful to me as a customer. The arrogance Apple displays here, with their patronizing attitude of knowing what's best for the users, is next-level. I've been using many macs for 20 years now, it saddens me to see which direction Apple is going now... Also with the T2 chips preventing the basic "right to repair" by yourself or 3rd parties.

I have the same problem (headphone safety turning down bluetooth speakers, and no option to turn off the safety feature). I raised it via apple support. The told me it was nothing to do with apple and that I had to contact the manufacturer of the bluetooth device for them to fix the phone's behaviour (how?)

I tend to agree. It is not intuitive because that slider simply makes it easier to break the 7 day limits.

I think the iphone 7 day monitor uses these limits which I got to in the health app. It is the Health app that controls all of this.

I think it could work if you turned it *down* to 75 dB and rely on the bluetooth device’s amplifier (if it has one)

I am assuming the setting you can turn off is instantaneous, but the 7 day one is cumulative. Doesn’t help if you are already deaf but I haven’t been affected yet.

The last guy I responded to rode a motorcycle with some sort of BT speaker in it, but also wore earplugs.

I also ride a motorcycle with ear plugs in and speakers in my helmet and this stupid new feature is extremely annoying. With ear plugs and sound from the bike it is not easy to hear the music anyway but now the volume goes so low I can’t hear incoming phone calls or music. Apple have seriously not thought this through

I posted my screen above, however I'm not sure about what happens in 7 days, since I don't use my headphones that much, and certainly not that loud. I'll have to ask my son if he has experienced that, since he will use his a lot when in his office. I share that when I get a response.

OK thanks ChrisJ4203, sorry I missed the detail. Looks like regional rules are different which is extremely annoying, plus BT speakers appear as headphones which is obviously a wrong application.

It has not nagged me yet either.

I have put in my feedback anyway!

I am also trying to find the EU or WHO directive without success. The 2013 EU directive was never mandatory and was user overridable.

14.3 was in beta long before anyone noticed this. Maybe give it some time. Nobody here knew it was happening.

Also check the proposed droid phone hasn’t implement this too.

BTW, Are you saying listening to airpods at 75dB or 80dB is electrically noisy? Just asking, because I cannot always hear distortion as I damaged my hearing in the 70’s with head phones. Too much hiss in my head now.

Interesting. So the Settings I indicated don't really do anything? I wonder why they are there is they get overridden?