Other people have suggested noise cancelling may be a possible source of hearing damage...and I'm just some rando on the Internet, so I have no idea, but I do try and be aware of exposing myself to sustained loud noises.
All I've noticed is that I tend to have the volume at a lower setting with the AirPods Pro with noise cancelling when wearing them out and about. With AirPods I would occasionally max out the volume setting and sometimes wish it would go louder. I noticed similar things with previous, wired headphones. I tend to only use passthrough when I'm in a quiet environment, like at home, and listening for/to someone.
Apple Health shows audio exposure logging going back to Aug of last year. Back then I'm seeing 12-15hrs /wk of 90dB and a Loud! warning flagged (It says WHO recommends 4hrs/wk at 90dB). More recently (after buying the AirPods Pro) its logging 18-23hrs of 67-75dB (WHO recommends 40hrs at 80dB and 127hrs at 75dB). I tend to listen to podcasts. So it's talking instead of anything loud or sustained.
As far as I've seen, the only people who have suggested noise canceling may be a possible source of hearing damage are people who don't understand how sound works. Would love to see a single coherent explanation of how it could be the case from someone who has a clue.
All I've noticed is that I tend to have the volume at a lower setting with the AirPods Pro with noise cancelling when wearing them out and about. With AirPods I would occasionally max out the volume setting and sometimes wish it would go louder. I noticed similar things with previous, wired headphones. I tend to only use passthrough when I'm in a quiet environment, like at home, and listening for/to someone.
Apple Health shows audio exposure logging going back to Aug of last year. Back then I'm seeing 12-15hrs /wk of 90dB and a Loud! warning flagged (It says WHO recommends 4hrs/wk at 90dB). More recently (after buying the AirPods Pro) its logging 18-23hrs of 67-75dB (WHO recommends 40hrs at 80dB and 127hrs at 75dB). I tend to listen to podcasts. So it's talking instead of anything loud or sustained.