Are Noise Canceling Headphones Safe?

For many, a good pair of noise-canceling headphones is a welcome respite in a world that's noisier than ever. Sometimes it feels so good to shut out all the unnecessary distractions of everyday life. It's tempting to keep them all the time.

But as cute as the idea is, it's no secret that many people report adverse effects from using noise-canceling headphones for too long. Often, these experiences raise questions about whether noise cancellation is safe and how long it takes to use it.

Don't worry, we've laid out all the details so you can be better informed before you buy.

Headphones use one of two types of noise cancellation - passive noise cancellation (PNC) or active noise cancellation (ANC). PNC earphones create a physical seal over the ear, allowing you to hear less background noise. ANC, on the other hand, electronically generates the opposite frequency, completely canceling out ambient noise.

To understand how this all works, let's dig into the noise reduction mechanism.

Passive noise cancellation is the most common form of noise cancellation employed by most headphones on the market.

PNC headphones, especially circumaural or circumaural headphones, work by physically insulating the ear with specific materials. The earcups of the PNC earphones create an airtight seal over the ear, preventing sound from leaking or entering, and high-density materials like memory foam further dampen unwanted noise.

Plus, since the technical details of passive noise cancellation depend only on the physical seal of the headphones, you can add noise cancellation to your headphones or earphones yourself without breaking the bank.

ANC starts with a tiny microphone that samples the ambient noise around you. For example, if you are sitting in a crowded coffee shop, the microphone will pick up the sound waves produced by the constant hum of the busy coffee shop. These sound waves are basically pressured waves that travel through the air at specific frequencies.

The microphone then feeds the sampled audio into a battery-powered noise-canceling system in the earphones. The system then inverts it, producing the exact opposite of the original signal. Finally, the headphone speaker plays this opposite signal.

This is where it gets more technical. When two frequencies or signals are exactly opposite to each other, it means they are in anti-phase. Destructive interference occurs when two signals that are out of phase collide.

Destructive interference occurs when the highest point of one frequency meets the lowest point of its opposite frequency (as shown in the diagram on the left), canceling them out. This is in contrast to what we see in the rightmost image (constructive interference), where the two frequencies are the same, resulting in a higher degree of signal amplification.

All in all, ANC headphones produce the opposite frequency, canceling out the frequencies of the ambient noise around you, and resulting in silence.

All these additional mechanisms and advanced technologies make ANC headphones stand out in terms of noise cancellation compared to passive noise-canceling headphones.

However, its effectiveness sometimes depends on how well its internal mechanisms are manufactured and integrated into the headset. In turn, this affects overall costs. This is especially true when you compare sub-$100 and sub-$300 ANC headphones.

The short answer is, yes. Noise-canceling headphones are inherently safe.

In fact, ANC technology was invented primarily to protect pilots' hearing from the loud sound of aircraft engines. That's why noise-canceling headphones can help prevent hearing loss and reduce noise-related stress.

As mentioned earlier, noise-canceling headphones work by eliminating continuous low-frequency background noise, such as the hum of a machine or the rumble of an airplane engine. With this significant reduction in noise, wearers can experience clearer sound and no longer need to crank up the volume of the headphones to ear-damaging levels.

This is especially important for people with sensitive hearing and children who are more prone to hearing loss from constant exposure to noise. That's why there are noise-canceling headphones for kids with extra hearing protection features like volume limiters. However, some high-end ANC headphones can also cancel out the mid-range like vocals, but mid-range ANC headphones are more effective at reducing low-frequency sound.

Noise-canceling headphones can also help relieve noise-related stress. Not only does this stress mess with our concentration, but it can also lead to high blood pressure, ulcers, and migraines. Having a good pair of noise-canceling headphones helps minimize our exposure to annoying background noise and helps keep our stress levels in check.

We all love our games, music, and quiet time. But not at the expense of our hearings. Our ears are fragile and we only get one pair of these darlings in our lifetime. Only we can be kind to them. Hopefully, this in-depth guide will not only help you understand how to get the most out of your headphones. And how to take care of your ears. If you want to buy high-quality noise-canceling headphones, please contact us.

JUNYE is a professional custom earphone and earplug manufacturer. We provide one-stop service, design-development-production, and shipping. With more than 400 employees and a workshop of 60,000 square meters, it is specialized in OEM/ODM. We have our own mold center and the whole industry chain: hardware, injection molding, wire, cushion, assembly, and packaging. It has 8 production lines, including two professional TWS lines. We manufacture each part in-house to ensure quality and on-time delivery.