The Apple Hearing Study, a collaboration between the University of Michigan and Apple, is a study of over 160,000 consented participants in the United States. Since 2019, results from this study have enabled novel scientific insights into noise exposure, tinnitus, and hearing loss in adults....
The study reinforces known links between noise exposure and hearing loss at population scale; clinicians should continue counseling patients on hearing protection, but await full peer-reviewed publication before altering specific screening or treatment protocols.
With over 160,000 participants, this is one of the largest real-world hearing health datasets ever assembled, potentially reshaping public health guidance on noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus prevalence.
- 01Collaboration between University of Michigan and Apple enrolled 160,000+ participants since 2019.
- 02Study tracks real-world noise exposure, tinnitus, and hearing loss patterns.
- 03Data collected passively via Apple devices, enabling large-scale longitudinal monitoring.
- 04Findings highlight practical value of consumer-grade hearing features in public health surveillance.
- 05Results may inform future guidance on noise exposure thresholds and hearing aid adoption.
The Apple Hearing Study enrolled over 160,000 participants.
studysupportedConsumer hearing test and hearing aid features on Apple devices are clinically meaningful for detecting hearing loss.
studypartially supported- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Sample size
- 160,000
- Population
- General adult population enrolled via Apple devices in the United States since 2019
- Intervention
- Passive monitoring of noise exposure, tinnitus, and hearing loss via Apple Watch and iPhone
Primary outcomes
Prevalence and patterns of noise exposure; Tinnitus occurrence and characteristics; Hearing loss detection rates