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Sometimes I wonder about electronic noise cancellation. On most of the headphones and earbuds I've tried it on, it's felt like having cotton rammed into my ears

Sometimes I wonder about electronic noise cancellation. On most of the headphones and earbuds I've tried it on, it's felt like having cotton rammed into my ears. It almost feels like a sonic version of having minor surgery/dental work with local anesthetic, like my ear is being absolutely blasted with something I can't actually hear. I worry about what the side effects could be. After all, you can't see ultraviolet light but it can still destroy your retina.

coffeebeqn 4y ago
To me it feels like pressure or a vacuum. I don’t know enough about physics is it just that active noise cancelling is increasing the total stimulus to your eardrum and it just sounds better because they cancel each other out but physically it’s still more soundwaves to absorb. I only use active when I vacuum pretty much. Sometimes if the kids are really loud or there’s some obnoxious background noise
- mattmaroon 4y ago
  No, it’s the opposite actually, when it works. Sound is just a pressure wave traveling through air. By outputting a diametrically opposed sound wave, you’re zeroing out the pressure. Noise canceling, when it works, lessening the pressure hitting your ear. If it really want to learn more, just look up YouTube videos on destructive interference. The problem is that it isn’t always able to do that perfectly so it could situationally increase the decibels for very short times.
Applejinx 4y ago
I'm wondering if there might be some kind of interaction with the drivers and amplifiers? They've gotta be pretty wide-range drivers, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's class D amplifiers in there. That can produce loads of power, efficiently, but high-frequency switching noise could be a concern. Might be worth measuring these with a reference microphone, capturing at something like 192k. Might only need 96k. You want to find out if it is producing 'ultrasonic' noise, particularly at high amplitudes.
rr808 4y ago
Me too, I feel something pressing my eardrum. I can't use noise cancelling.

coffeebeqn 4y ago

To me it feels like pressure or a vacuum. I don’t know enough about physics is it just that active noise cancelling is increasing the total stimulus to your eardrum and it just sounds better because they cancel each other out but physically it’s still more soundwaves to absorb. I only use active when I vacuum pretty much. Sometimes if the kids are really loud or there’s some obnoxious background noise

mattmaroon 4y ago
No, it’s the opposite actually, when it works. Sound is just a pressure wave traveling through air. By outputting a diametrically opposed sound wave, you’re zeroing out the pressure. Noise canceling, when it works, lessening the pressure hitting your ear. If it really want to learn more, just look up YouTube videos on destructive interference. The problem is that it isn’t always able to do that perfectly so it could situationally increase the decibels for very short times.

Applejinx 4y ago

I'm wondering if there might be some kind of interaction with the drivers and amplifiers? They've gotta be pretty wide-range drivers, and I wouldn't be surprised if there's class D amplifiers in there. That can produce loads of power, efficiently, but high-frequency switching noise could be a concern. Might be worth measuring these with a reference microphone, capturing at something like 192k. Might only need 96k. You want to find out if it is producing 'ultrasonic' noise, particularly at high amplitudes.

rr808 4y ago

Me too, I feel something pressing my eardrum. I can't use noise cancelling.