The Decibel Monitor
The Apple Watch features an integrated environmental Noise app. By default, the watch uses its internal microphone to constantly sample the ambient audio in your surroundings. If it detects that you are in an environment exceeding 90 decibels (such as a rock concert, a construction site, or a busy subway) for more than three minutes, the watch will aggressively vibrate and display a full-screen “Loud Environment” notification warning you about potential hearing damage. While this is an excellent health feature for occasional use, if you actually work in construction or at a concert venue, the watch will spam your wrist with warnings all day long. You must disable the background audio monitor.
How to Turn Off Noise Notifications
You can completely deactivate the decibel monitoring engine via the Noise settings.
- Open the Settings app directly on your Apple Watch (the grey gear icon).
- Scroll down the main list and tap on Noise.
- Tap on Environmental Sound Measurements.
- Toggle the master switch labeled Measure Sounds to the Off position (the green background will disappear).
A Silent Microphone
The change is instantaneous. The Apple Watch will completely power down the background decibel monitoring process. The internal microphone will stop sampling your environment, which also provides a slight boost to your daily battery life. You will never again receive a “Loud Environment” warning, regardless of how deafening your surroundings become.