This happens without headphones as well. Any ambient noise on a call triggers silencing that makes conversations almost impossible sometimes. Like my parents are outside and there's a light breeze and 80% of them speaking is muted.
Happens with normal phone microphone, worse with speakerphone, happens with my calls with my Bose headphones and my AirPod Pros.
It's a phone setting, I'd buy a case of beer for anybody who could show me how to turn off the noise suppression completely. It is clearly happening on iOS, not the headphones.
I've definitely experienced the ear-piercing scream of a siren on the other end only to be told by the person I'm talking to that the ambulance is like eight blocks away. I remember that as far back as my LG Chocolate.
But what AirPods are doing is either a dramatic escalation of that or something different altogether. Typically when I encounter this problem, I or the person I'm talking to will hang up and call back without AirPods, using the regular phone mic or speakerphone or whatever, and it will be significantly better if not completely resolved.
Happens with normal phone microphone, worse with speakerphone, happens with my calls with my Bose headphones and my AirPod Pros.
It's a phone setting, I'd buy a case of beer for anybody who could show me how to turn off the noise suppression completely. It is clearly happening on iOS, not the headphones.