EVER WONDER?
How does noise-cancelling work?
What are sound waves? 🔊
If you throw a rock into a pond, it creates ripples in the water.
In the same way, loud sounds create ripples in the air. These ripples are called sound waves.
Louder sounds create bigger waves, while high-pitched sounds make faster waves. We can’t see these waves because air is invisible, but we can hear them!
How do noise-cancelling headphones work? 🎧
Noice-cancelling headphones work in two ways:
Passive noise reduction 👂
The headphones are designed to make a tight seal around your ears, helping block outside sounds.
Active noise cancellation 🔇
Tiny microphones listen to the sounds around you.
These sounds are turned into electric signals.
The headphones create signals that are the opposite of those sounds. (It’s like creating a second set of ripples that is exactly opposite to the first, so they cancel each other out.)
These opposite signals help cancel the surrounding sounds. The sounds may not disappear completely, but they become much quieter.
Why it might feel like air pressure 🧠
Some people feel like noise-cancelling headphones create pressure in their ears.
The headphones don’t actually create extra air pressure, but they can trick your brain!
Your brain is used to hearing background noise. When those sounds suddenly disappear, it can feel strange. Some people’s brains interpret this change as pressure in their ears, even though though the air pressure hasn’t changed.
This feeling usually goes away as you get used to wearing the headphones.
A tight seal from earbuds can also make your ears feel more sensitive and trap sounds from your own body, such as breathing, footsteps, or chewing. This can make the pressure feeling seem even stronger.