AirPods and online hearing tests: what is worth knowing

Can the G-Sound self-check be taken with AirPods?

Yes. The check works in the browser and plays tones to each ear separately, so it needs headphones that reach both ears. AirPods are suitable for this, like other headphones.

Three things worth knowing:

• A right and left check. Before the tones, the check plays a tone to a random side and asks you to mark where you heard it. If the headphones are reversed, if the device is in mono mode, or if the tone was not heard, a message explains what to check.
• Loudness set by the reference tone. Set the phone volume by the reference tone at the start of the check, and do not change it until the end.
• The same headphones throughout the check. Changing headphones in the middle changes what reaches the ear.

Sound processing modes. Many headphones have modes that change the sound, such as noise cancellation, transparency mode or personalised sound. We did not find a study that tested how these modes affect a self-check in the browser. To keep the conditions constant, choose one mode and keep it throughout the check, and also the next time you repeat it.

Make sure they sit well in the ear. Apple too, in the instructions for its hearing test, asks you to make sure the earbuds seal the ear well and are clean, and to take the test in a quiet place.

Why do home headphones not give an accurate result?

• A 2020 study (Frontiers in Psychology) notes that different types of headphones can create large differences in the loudness that reaches the ear.
• A 2025 systematic review brought together 12 studies of 15 apps and online tools for hearing tests, and found large variation in their accuracy. According to the researchers, differences in the test setting, the devices and the types of headphones make it difficult to compare the studies (Audiol Res, 2025).

That is why the G-Sound self-check does not show numbers. It records only whether you heard a tone, and at what relative loudness.

What is known about Apple's hearing test?

• What it is. A tone hearing test done with AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3 and a compatible iPhone or iPad. According to Apple, it takes about five minutes, is meant for ages 18 and over, and was validated against pure-tone audiometry. The results, including an audiogram, are saved in the Health app.
• Availability. According to Apple, the hearing test is a regulated health feature, offered only in countries where approval has been received. On Apple's feature availability page, Israel appears in the list of countries for the hearing test feature (checked on 03.11.2026). The list is updated, so it is worth checking it on the page itself.
• The difference from our check. Apple's test works only with certain Apple earbud models, and gives numbers and an audiogram. The G-Sound self-check works in the browser with any headphones, and also includes a questionnaire and a digits-in-noise step, but does not give numbers.

G-Sound is not connected to Apple and does not recommend particular headphones.

What the online test does not do

• It does not turn home headphones, including AirPods, into calibrated equipment.
• It does not show a hearing threshold, numbers or an audiogram.
• It does not determine whether there is hearing loss and does not recommend a hearing aid or headphones.
• It does not replace a test with an audiometer.
• It is not suitable for an urgent situation: sudden hearing loss, ear pain or discharge from the ear are reasons to see a doctor the same day.

And after the self-check?

If the check recommended going further, or you find it hard to hear in everyday life, the next step is a full test. At G-Sound it is carried out by a G-Sound technician with an audiogram, by appointment and nationwide, also at home. What happens in the test: What happens in a hearing test.

More on this topic

• To the self-check (in Hebrew)
• Online hearing test: what it can and cannot tell you
• Online test vs full test
• Home hearing test
• Connecting a hearing aid to a phone

The self-check, and after it the full test. With AirPods or other headphones: to the self-check (in Hebrew). For a full test with an audiogram, also at home: call 055-3333338 or WhatsApp.

Sources

• Apple Newsroom, "Apple introduces groundbreaking health features" (09.09.2024) · checked 03.11.2026
• Apple Support, "Take a Hearing Test with AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3" · checked 03.11.2026
• Apple, Hearing Health Feature Availability (AirPods Pro) · checked 03.11.2026
• Colsman et al., "Evaluation of Accuracy and Reliability of a Mobile Screening Audiometer in Normal Hearing Adults", Frontiers in Psychology, 2020 · checked 03.11.2026
• Hassan, Wiil & Ebrahimi, "The Accuracy of Self-Administered Web- and App-Based Tools for Audiometric Tests: A Systematic Review", Audiol Res 15(3):73, 2025 (PMID 40558412) · checked 03.11.2026 (abstract, via Europe PMC)

English version: 4 November 2026 · Written by the G-Sound editorial team. Original version updated 03.11.2026. The information is general and does not replace a check-up or medical advice.

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