Someone on Tildes pointed out a contradiction at the end of my “I almost got hit by a car” story, where I say that, since the incident, I started using the Loop Engage, which reduces 16 dB — far less than the noise cancellation on AirPods Pro 2, estimated at 27 dB.
“An 11 dB difference is far greater than it sounds on paper,” I wrote. In that case, the 16 dB reduced by the Loop Engage would also count as a significant reduction.
He’s right. If the point of changing my behavior is to stay as aware as possible of my surroundings, then any reduction in hearing works against that goal.
Since last Thursday 18th, when I read that comment, I’ve been testing walking on the streets at its normal volume. No Loop Engage, no headphones, nothing: bare ears.
As expected, after about two uninterrupted years of walking around with something in my ears dampening the noise, it felt strange. On the other hand, it was less uncomfortable than I expected. Maybe my tolerance has increased over that time?
Someone suggested I use the “Adaptive” mode on AirPods. Since 2023, some models have had this feature, a kind of blend of the original two modes. According to Apple,
Adaptive mode blends Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode together to control the level of noise you hear in your headphones based on the changing noise conditions in your environment. You can customize Adaptive Audio to allow more or less noise.
I’ve always used these headphones in an all-or-nothing way — either with noise cancellation or in transparency mode. Live and learn.
Either way, adaptive mode doesn’t solve the image problem. I’d still be the kind of person who looks distracted by their headphones.
That image problem intensified on Friday 19th. During halftime of the Brazil vs. Haiti match in the football World Cup, I was surprised to see Vinícius Jr. on TV, dancing confidently in a noisy city, yet sealed off from the sonic chaos thanks to his AirPods Pro™ 3 with “the world’s best in-ear active noise cancellation,” in an Apple ad. What can I say…?