AirPods Pro (gen1) ANC quality loss

Has anyone else noticed the AirPod Pro (gen1) ANC is much less effective than it used to be? Issue is not wax buildup, clean my ears 1-2x a day and the AirPods weekly(don't have waxy ears, just force of habit). Heard there was a firmware release from Apple that intentionally degraded the ANC effectiveness, which seems heinous from a consumer perspective.

Apple, if this is the case, why has a product feature been degraded post-purchase? These feature effectiveness levels should NEVER be degraded for a product once it is purchased.