{"id":151098,"date":"2021-01-09T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-09T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears\/"},"modified":"2021-01-09T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2021-01-09T08:00:00","slug":"why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why Do Noise Canceling Headphones Hurt My Ears?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3b7302288c6\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3b7302288c6\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears\/#ANC_Headphones_Listen_to_External_Noises_and_Cancel_Them_Out\" >ANC Headphones Listen to External Noises and Cancel Them Out<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears\/#Why_Do_My_Ears_Feel_%E2%80%9CPressure%E2%80%9D_On_an_Airplane\" >Why Do My Ears Feel \u201cPressure\u201d On an Airplane?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears\/#ANC_Headphones_Dont_Put_%E2%80%9CPressure%E2%80%9D_On_Your_Ears\" >ANC Headphones Don\u2019t Put \u201cPressure\u201d On Your Ears<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-do-noise-canceling-headphones-hurt-my-ears\/#Some_People_Arent_Built_for_ANC_Headphones\" >Some People Aren\u2019t Built for ANC Headphones<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Why Do Noise Canceling Headphones Hurt My Ears?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_423997\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-423997 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/1-1.png\" alt=\"A lady peels off her noise canceling headphones and grimaces from the pain.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/young-lady-disturbed-by-loud-music-58523110?src=library\" data-credittext=\"Gang Liu\/Shutterstock\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/young-lady-disturbed-by-loud-music-58523110?src=library\">Gang Liu\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Does your new pair of noise-canceling headphones put a painful feeling of \u201cpressure\u201d on your ears? It turns out that your mind is playing tricks on you.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last decade, noise-canceling headphones have become more common, more affordable, and more effective. But as headphones become better at filtering out external sounds, more and more people complain that they cause ear pain, headaches, and a feeling of inner-ear \u201cpressure.\u201d These complaints date back <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2009\/12\/03\/technology\/personaltech\/03pogue.html\">further than 2009<\/a>, so why hasn\u2019t this issue been resolved yet? Well, first, we have to understand how noise-canceling headphones work.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ANC_Headphones_Listen_to_External_Noises_and_Cancel_Them_Out\"><\/span>ANC Headphones Listen to External Noises and Cancel Them Out<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, active noise canceling (or ANC) headphones don\u2019t block out noise by physically shielding your ear from external sound waves. They aren\u2019t like fluffy shooter\u2019s earmuffs; they\u2019re just small pieces of plastic. So how do ANC headphones cancel out sound?<\/p>\n<p>Like light, sound <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>s through the air in \u201cwaves.\u201d And just as different frequencies of light are recognized as different colors, different frequencies of sound are perceived as different pitches.<\/p>\n<p>The thing is, sound is a \u201cpressure wave.\u201d Unlike light, sound is capable of moving through solid objects, like walls, water, and a plastic pair of headphones. Low-frequency sound waves are especially good at moving through solid objects (think of a bass drum), but high-frequency sounds (like the nasty sound of a CRT TV) aren\u2019t that great at moving through objects.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_424006\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-424006 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/4-1.png\" alt=\"A diagram showing how noise cancellation works\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Wikipedia\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Active_noise_control\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Active_noise_control\">Wikipedia<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>So, ANC headphones aim to eliminate low-frequency sounds. They do this by monitoring your noise environment with a built-in microphone, identifying the frequencies of said noises, and blasting your ears with an anti-noise wave that cancels out the unwanted external sounds.<\/p>\n<p>This sounds complicated, but it\u2019s easy to understand. An anti-noise wave is basically a mirror version of the sound that your headphones are trying to eliminate. It\u2019s the same frequency (pitch) of the unwanted noise, but with a reversed polarity (again, a mirror version). When two sounds with opposite polarities meet one another, they\u2019re both canceled out. It\u2019s weird, but that\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Do_My_Ears_Feel_%E2%80%9CPressure%E2%80%9D_On_an_Airplane\"><\/span>Why Do My Ears Feel \u201cPressure\u201d On an Airplane?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Okay, so ANC headphones cancel noise by pumping an anti-noise wave into your ears. But why do they hurt people\u2019s ears and cause headaches?<\/p>\n<p>Most people describe the feeling of ANC headphones as a sort of \u201cpressure\u201d on the ears, like the changes in atmospheric pressure from ascending in an airplane or diving deep into the ocean. So, it\u2019s important to understand how air pressure works (and its relationship with sound perception) before we try to figure out why ANC headphones put \u201cpressure\u201d on your ears.<\/p>\n<p>Atmospheric pressure (also called air pressure and barometric pressure) is the force extended on a surface by its atmosphere. Gravity from our Earth is constantly pulling atmosphere down, so the air in low altitude climates (the bottom of the ocean) is denser than high altitude climates (a mountaintop or an airplane in flight).<\/p>\n<p>Now, atmospheric density isn\u2019t what causes painful pressure in your ears. That feeling of \u201cpressure\u201d is caused the difference between the air pressure of your inner ears and the air pressure of your environment. If you\u2019re at a high altitude, then the air in your ears wants to escape. If you\u2019re at a low altitude and under a ton of pressure, your inner ears need more air so that they won\u2019t collapse. When you \u201cpop\u201d your ears, you\u2019re just equalizing your in-ear air pressure with the air pressure of your environment, and the feeling of \u201cpressure\u201d goes away.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ANC_Headphones_Dont_Put_%E2%80%9CPressure%E2%80%9D_On_Your_Ears\"><\/span>ANC Headphones Don\u2019t Put \u201cPressure\u201d On Your Ears<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But your brain doesn\u2019t just rely on ear pain and headaches to determine when there\u2019s a change in atmospheric pressure. It also looks at how much your middle ear vibrates.<\/p>\n<p>When you first go up in an airplane, your ear has more air density than your environment. As a result, your inner ear is a bit like a balloon, it\u2019s under a lot of pressure, and it doesn\u2019t vibrate much. This lack of vibration results in decreased low-frequency hearing, so your brain tends to operate under the assumption that a loss in low-frequency hearing indicates a change in atmospheric pressure. (This is also the reason why you can hear better in a plane after popping your ears.)<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_423999\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-423999 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/x2-2.png.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.4rlSB6j59l.jpg\" alt=\"A man enjoying the sweet sound of his noise canceling headphones\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-credittext=\"Kite_rin\/Shutterstock\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/old-man-listening-music-headphones-on-132218999?src=library\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/old-man-listening-music-headphones-on-132218999?src=library\">Kite_rin\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Remember how ANC headphones aim to cancel out low-frequency ambient noises, like the sound of an engine? Sometimes, this can trick your brain into perceiving a change in air pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, your brain isn\u2019t actually receiving any feelings of pain or discomfort. So, it starts to emulate those feelings to encourage you to pop your ears. Since popping your ears doesn\u2019t resolve the lack of low-frequency ambient sound, the sense of pain and pressure can increase until you take off your ANC headphones.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Some_People_Arent_Built_for_ANC_Headphones\"><\/span>Some People Aren\u2019t Built for ANC Headphones<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Some people don\u2019t experience any discomfort while using ANC headphones. Others get used to the feeling over time, but some people can\u2019t get past the sense of \u201cpressure\u201d that ANC headphones can cause.<\/p>\n<p>So, if your brand new pair of ANC headphones are causing a feeling of \u201cpressure,\u201d ear pain, jaw pain, and headaches, then your options for dealing with the situation are minimal. You could use the headphones for about 15 minutes and hope that your brain adjusts, or you could return the headphones and reinvest your money into <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Shure-SE215-CL-Isolating-Earphones-MicroDriver\/dp\/B004PO10E2\/?tag=hotoge-20\">sound isolating earbuds<\/a> or some <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electronic-R-01526\/dp\/B001T7QJ9O\/?tag=hotoge-20\">shooting earmuffs<\/a> to put over put over a regular pair of earbuds.<\/p>\n<p>Just keep in mind that, even if a feeling of pain is \u201cmade up\u201d by your brain, that doesn\u2019t make the pain any less real. If your brain refuses to adjust to a pair of ANC headphones, then you should leave it at that. There\u2019s no reason to torture yourself (or potentially hurt yourself) just for the sake of blocking out ambient noise while you listen to podcasts. <small\/><\/p>\n<p><small>Sources: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@frederic_38110\/air-pressure-and-the-human-ear-f3f3b757a2bf\">The Friedel Chronicles\/Medium<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Active_noise_control\">Wikipedia<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.starkey.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/Ears-feel-plugged-up\">Starkey<\/a><\/small> <small\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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It turns out that your mind is playing tricks on you. Over the last decade, noise-canceling headphones have become more common, more affordable, and more effective. But as headphones&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":151099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/thumbcache\/2\/200\/8f574dd1daa05239627eb7d4ac906d02\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/1-1.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-151098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151098","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151098"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151098\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151098"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151098"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151098"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}