Noise Cancelling Headphones / extra pressure on eardrums

Similar experience with a pair of Denon noise-cancelling phones. I've switched to PSB M4U and I don't really notice this pressure effect. Worth trying.

Jan

This is normal. They work by creating a sound, to block out other sounds, which can cause headaches, nausia, pressure etc. It is something you could get used to in time, or not. Everyone reacts differently to them, or not at all. 

I've got an oldish pair of QC2s which I used to like for long haul flights, but don't really use any more as I don't think  the sound quality is a match for non-noise cancelling headphones. There's a slightly odd sensation when you turn them on and the background noise dies, which I think is the same thing that you are describing as pressure, but I've never found it to be uncomfortable. I wonder if that pressure, confined to the very small air chamber created by your in-ear phones, is what causes the discomfort compared to my over-ear QC2s?

I'm slightly surprised to see the AKGs are on-ear, as opposed to over-ear, yet apparently still manage to provide good noise cancellation.  

As an alternative, if you find noise-cancelling haeadphones tiring, try professional in-ear monitors like Ultimate Ears or Wstone. The process of buying them is a bit time consuming, as you need to see an audiologist, to cast moulds of your ear cannals. Then a custom set will be made for you. Typically 3-4 weeks.

I have a set of Westone in-ear monitors, used primarily for on-stage performances with a wireless transmitter, that carries my personal on-stage mix. They work well at muting the sound of a live band and equally well on a plane.

The headphones are totally passive, come with a long cord and a standard mini jack. Sound quality is stunning.

I do find my Bose QC25s feel oppressive, which i put down to the fact that they work by supplying a signal out of phase with the noise theyr cancelling, though ive been unable to get my head around why it should have an adverse effect - if the sound is cancelled out by the antiphase signal, I shouldnt 'detect' it. They serve the purpose when travelling in noisy environments, and are far better than alternatives I've tried, but they're notbentirely satisfying.

i suspect the ideal is a really decent pair of closed back headphones, working by isolation, but they are rather bulky for travel, and considerably more expensive than the not exactly cheap Bose ones.

I have one of the "better" noise cancelling headphones from Able Planet; I have not have any issues with pressure as described above.  They are mid-fi quality I guess - the company is primarily known for their hearing aids IIRC. 

I only use them for working out and the like, never with my Naim gear (Especially inasmuch as I have no headphone capability in my setup...but I do on my bedroom system, and I still never use them in there.)

DrMark posted:

Able Planet

Sounds like a Costco purchase. My son made it through high school on a pair of $80 Able Planets, so I guess they pass the durability test.

ChrisSU posted:

I've got an oldish pair of QC2s which I used to like for long haul flights, but don't really use any more as I don't think  the sound quality is a match for non-noise cancelling headphones. There's a slightly odd sensation when you turn them on and the background noise dies, which I think is the same thing that you are describing as pressure, but I've never found it to be uncomfortable. I wonder if that pressure, confined to the very small air chamber created by your in-ear phones, is what causes the discomfort compared to my over-ear QC2s?

I'm slightly surprised to see the AKGs are on-ear, as opposed to over-ear, yet apparently still manage to provide good noise cancellation.  

Hi ChrisSU, initially I thought too that the pressure I feel on my eardrums is somehow related to the small "chamber" the in-ear-headphones create, but as I have switched to AKG on-ears and still feel the same effect, I assume it must be something else.

The noise cancelling effect for me is a bit comparable to insufficient ear clearing when a plane descents.

Thanks to all of you for your feedback so far - maybe professional in-ear monitors or closed back headphones would be a good alternative for me.

Seems I have quite a delicate ears, for example I also feel a similar pressure when listening to B&W speakers like CM6 S2.

p. posted:

ChrisSU posted:

I've got an oldish pair of QC2s which I used to like for long haul flights, but don't really use any more as I don't think  the sound quality is a match for non-noise cancelling headphones. There's a slightly odd sensation when you turn them on and the background noise dies, which I think is the same thing that you are describing as pressure, but I've never found it to be uncomfortable. I wonder if that pressure, confined to the very small air chamber created by your in-ear phones, is what causes the discomfort compared to my over-ear QC2s?

I'm slightly surprised to see the AKGs are on-ear, as opposed to over-ear, yet apparently still manage to provide good noise cancellation.  

Hi ChrisSU, initially I thought too that the pressure I feel on my eardrums is somehow related to the small "chamber" the in-ear-headphones create, but as I have switched to AKG on-ears and still feel the same effect, I assume it must be something else.

The noise cancelling effect for me is a bit comparable to insufficient ear clearing when a plane descents.

Whatever causes it, it's an odd sensation. Although for me, it didn't cause discomfort, I've now switched to in-ear (Shure SE846) which leave the QC2s in the dust for sound quality - at a price. Of course they aren't noise cancelling, but there's a decent amount of background noise isolation. I might try some custom moulded earpieces to improve this.

joerand posted:

DrMark posted:

Able Planet

Sounds like a Costco purchase. My son made it through high school on a pair of $80 Able Planets, so I guess they pass the durability test.

Actually they originally were a Costco purchase, but the original set had something come loose inside such that when I would move my head in certain directions I could hear something inside the left earpiece "clunk".  (This after a few months.)  I contacted Able Planet and they sent me a replacement - these did not work correctly so I sent them back again, and in exchange they sent me the next to their top of the line model, which has worked well ever since.

This sounds like the 'absence of sound' is causing your ears to ratchet up their sensitivity to try and hear. I've had exactly the same unnerving experience in an anechoic chamber. Basically there is no sound pressure at all on your eardrums which is unnatural to your ears, so your brain turns up the 'gain' to try and detect any noise it can. I have no idea what physical mechanisms are used by the ear to do this.

I dont think real silence like an anechoic chamber is the reason for what i described as opressiveness with my QC25s, as there are still backround sounds, just mostly very subdued - and certain sounds like individual voices seem reduced rather less than other sounds, though that might be just a proportional effect. And eveb if the isolation/silencing effect was perfect, with music playing any true silence would only be in the gaps between tracks.

of course i dont know if the oppressiveness is the same as the effect described by the OP using in-ear phones, and it is only evident on wearing for several hours, but i do find i like to have a break every few hours, for example on long-haul flights.

I believe that the effect could well be psycho-acoustic.

We are used to hearing a 'natural' set of frequency distributions of environmental noise, and also a number of sets of man made noise to which we have become accustomed superimposed on the natural noise distributions.  The frequency cancelling effect of these headphones isn't even, and results in an unusual frequency distribution; but neither is this the same as that of natural sound absorbers (such as earplugs).  Our brains detect this distribution as 'odd', and how we react to this 'oddness' is very individual.  Furthermore the modification of the frequency distributions varies between differing models of headphones, so the sensation also varies.

Jan, would you like to comment on this hypothesis?

Hi Huge. An interesting hypothesis. But let's look at the the type of noise that active noise-cancellation aims to silence. Do aircraft cabin noise or background chatter in a cubicle farm represent natural noise distributions? If these sources of noise are distracting from that on which the brain is trying to focus, then removing them should restore the acoustic environment to something that feels more "natural". If on the other hand they are the source of attention, then removing them will sound unnatural, but that would be be a minority case.

I hope I understood your point correctly ; if not let me know.

As for earplugs, most users report that they render sound as decidedly unnatural ! The most natural-sounding earplugs are those with a fairly linear attenuation across frequencies.

As for the pressure effect reported by the OP, I've not found any studies reporting this issue.

Jan

Given a choice between the maddening roar of a long flight versus the "unnaturalness" of my Bose QC25's, I'll take the latter every time!