If you’ve ever been investigating the Sounds and Haptics menu on your iPhone then you likely encountered a confusing setting. That setting might have made you wonder what is reduce loud sounds on iPhone 13?
The headphone audio on your iPhone can get pretty loud, potentially to the point where it starts to damage hearing.
Modern headphone audio is capable of getting quite loud, often with really loud headphone audio being as loud (or even louder than) as an ambulance siren.
One way that Apple is trying to let people combat this is with the Reduce Loud Sounds feature. This is meant to control volume levels coming through headphones, and will automatically reduce loud sounds in an attempt to prevent potential hearing damage or hearing loss.
You can find the option to reduce loud sound on an iPhone if you open the Settings app, tap Sounds & Haptics, select Headphone Safety, then enable Reduce Loud Sounds.
With that setting enabled on your device, you can use your headphones safely, knowing that your iPhone won’t allow any noises to come through that are louder than the decibel level you select.
How to Reduce Loud iPhone 13 Sounds
- Open Settings.
- Choose Sounds & Haptics.
- Select Headphone Safety.
- Tap Reduce Loud Sounds.
Our guide continues below with more information on an iPhone feature called Reduce Loud Sounds, including pictures of these steps.
How to Set a Maximum Volume for Headphones on an iPhone (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 13 in the iOS 15.3.1 operating system.
This will also work on other iOS devices like the iPhone 11 or the iPhone 13 Pro Max when they are using iOS 15.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone 13.
Step 2: Touch the Sounds & Haptics option on the settings menu.
Step 3: Tap Headphone Safety near the top of the screen.
It’s in the Headphone Audio section, above the Ringer and Alerts section where you can adjust the volume of phone call notifications.
Step 4: Tap the button to the right of Reduce Loud Sounds to enable it.
You will notice a slight pause in the audio if you are currently listening to music through headphones.
Our tutorial continues below with more information on how to set a maximum volume level on your iPhone for when you are wearing headphones.
More Information on How to Reduce Loud Sounds Level for Audio Played Over Headphones on an iPhone
Hopefully our tutorial above has helped to answer the question of what is reduce loud sounds on iPhone 13.
Once you open the Headphone Safety menu you will see a Headphone Notifications option at the top of the screen, with the phrase “Last 6 Months” and a number next to it.
This indicates the number of times in the previous 6 months that you iPhone has exceeded the recommended 7-day limit for audio levels, and that it sent you a notification about it.
Once you enable the Reduce Loud Sounds option you will see a decibels slider with a decibel level below it. You can adjust this so that the iPhone automatically reduces any sound that is over a set decibel level. These options are:
- 75 decibels – as loud as a vacuum cleaner
- 80 decibels – as loud as a noisy restaurant
- 85 decibels – as loud as heavy city traffic
- 90 decibels – as loud as a motorcycle
- 95 decibels – as loud as a car horn
- 100 decibels – as loud as an ambulance siren
The lower maximum decibel level options can seem pretty low when you are using your AirPods, Beats headphones, or other headphones, so you may feel comfortable allowing more direct noise.
While enabling this reduce loud sounds option will enable your iPhone to analyze headphone audio as it’s coming through your headphones, you will find other options for your AirPods y going to Settings > Bluetooth > then tapping on the i to the right of the AirPods. There you can adjust phone noise cancellation, tap actions, microphone settings, and more. For example, you can use noise cancellation with one AirPod, if you want.
If you want to adjust the call volume for phone calls then you will be able to do that with the volume buttons on the side of the device while a call is in progress.
As we mentioned above, this step by step walkthrough also applied to other iPhone device models, as well as other Apple products like the iPod Touch and the iPad.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing technology how-to articles and tutorials for over a decade. He has extensive experience in information technology both in small business and as a consultant.
His articles have appeared on dozens of websites and been read millions of times.
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