Apple has announced a number of hearing health updates to the AirPods Pro 2, including a new “clinical-grade” hearing aid feature for users with mild to moderate hearing loss. The iPhone maker says the hearing aid feature is still awaiting FDA approval, but expects approval from the agency along with other regulators “soon.”

When enabled, the over-the-counter hearing aid amplifies certain sounds in real time, such as speech and other ambient noise. This update also includes a new clinically validated hearing test feature that can help detect hearing loss. According to Apple, the test requires both the AirPods Pro 2 and a compatible iOS 18 iPhone or iPad and can be completed in less than five minutes.

The interactive test requires users to listen to sounds at different frequencies and then follow on-screen instructions to tap their iPhone screen accordingly. The results, which include an audiogram and a number representing the hearing loss for each ear, can be viewed in the iPhone Health app. It then creates a customized hearing profile that is automatically applied when users listen to audio files such as music, podcasts and calls.

Apple is also introducing a passive hearing protection mode that automatically reduces noise in loud environments such as concerts. The feature is always on, with Apple pointing out that one in three people are regularly exposed to loud environments that can damage their hearing.

The new hearing aid and hearing testing features on AirPods Pro 2 are expected to launch this fall as a free software update in over 100 countries and regions, including the United States, Japan and Germany.