watchOS 6 – How the Apple Watch protects your hearing

The Apple Watch has evolved steadily over the years and has become indispensable to many users. With watchOS 6, additional useful features have been added – one of which is for the ear.Â

watchOS 6 and iOS 13 are just a few weeks away from being released to the public, and both updates include new features that you might not have even known you needed.

The Apple Watch should enrich our lives in the field of health. It should ensure that their wearer pays more attention to their own well-being and accordingly does something for it – such as Apple’s vision. Under watchOS 6, the Apple Watch not only gains new features but also becomes more independent of the iPhone itself. But today we want to address ambient noise and here comes the new application “noise” into play. Although watchOS 6 has been available to most watch owners since September, it does not seem to be familiar to everyone today.

Apple explains the application as follows:

Noise – The Apple Watch can check the noise levels in your environment and notify you if they may affect your hearing. 

Apple

How the app “sounds” works ?

But how exactly does it work? Basically it is very simple. Once the app is activated, your Apple Watch can continuously measure your ambient noise with the built-in microphone. But privacy is top priority. Although the measurement takes place continuously in the background, no noise is recorded itself – only the measurement results are documented. Accordingly, confidential discussions remain confidential. 

The configurable values ​​at a glance 

Of course, the “Noise” app can be configured exactly like any other feature. In the “Noise wave” area, a decibel value can be set. If this is exceeded, the user receives a warning in the form of a message. The function is described as follows:

Receive a notification when the average noise level reaches or exceeds 90 decibels for 3 minutes.

Apple

The 90 decibels serve as an example. Users can choose between 80, 85, 90, 95 or 100 decibels. Each value has a so-called daily limit. These limits are set by Apple, according to the World Health Organization. Here’s an example: for example, a WHO user should not be exposed to more than 90 decibels of ambient noise for more than 30 minutes a day – otherwise this would permanently damage hearing.

Here is the list:

• 80 decibels – Limit: 5 hours 30 minutes / day
• 85 decibels – limit: 1 hr 45 mins / day
• 90 decibels – limit: 30 min. / Day
• 95 decibels – limit: 10 min. / Day
• 100 decibels – limit: 3 min. / Day

Many will say, “oh come on, I should notice if it’s too loud” – but that’s the point. Often the noise level is underestimated. All the more advantageous is the new feature – you may also consider it as a small reminder. 

So you can set up the “Noise” app on your Apple Watch

The setup of the “sounds” app is pretty much easy like so much Apple. Users can set up the feature via their Apple Watch or optionally via the iPhone. Open the settings on your Apple Watch and navigate to the “Noise” section. Now you can activate the item “ambient noise measurement”. In the section “Noise announcement” you set the reference value.Â

If you want to measure the level in real time, open the “Noise” app on your Apple Watch. Here you can track the actual real-time value of your ambient sounds. Cool, right ?!

So you can set up the “Noise” app on your iPhone

However, if you want to set it up on your iPhone, you can do that via the Apple Watch application. Open the app and navigate to the menu item “Noise”. Now you can enable or disable the feature and set the desired value.Â

For some, the feature may be uninteresting, but the added value is noteworthy. After all, a small hint can not hurt, especially when it comes to your own health. By the way – if you have concerns about the battery life, I can reassure you. I hardly notice a difference on my Apple Watch Series 4 (44mm) with LTE. Did you activate the feature on your watch? Let me know the answer in our survey – many thanks for your participation.Â

Note – This application is only available on WatchOS 6 on the Apple Watch Series 4 or later. Older models are not supported.

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