Apple's AirPods Pro hearing health features

I'm not a father at this point in my life but one of my small fears is that the sound of a baby crying would cause me a headache very quickly (based on my experience on airplanes) and that I would struggle to be a more present father because of it.

Has anybody tried a slight volume reduction adjustment with AirPods, or maybe one of those special earplugs that just make things quieter and noticed any difference in their parenting?

Yes! I’ve used Etymotic Research’s concert/motorcycle earplugs for a few years now but there are a few others on the market for mild noise reduction. It’s roughly a 10 dB reduction and makes a lot of loud sounds more tolerable (including toddler temper tantrums) while also still being able to have conversations. I keep a pair in every bag and find them pretty helpful in loud restaurants and bars. I keep my AirPods as a backup, sometimes with some brown and pink noise (slightly lower pitch than white noise).