AirPods Pro noise cancellation (ANC) side effects often involve pressure, headaches, dizziness, and nausea, similar to airplane cabin pressure, due to the opposing sound waves it generates, but can also lead to tinnitus, muffled hearing, or reduced situational awareness, especially with prolonged use or high volumes. Some users experience shortness of breath or chest tightness, while potential long-term concerns include impacts on hearing processing (APD) and physical irritation from ear tips.
The ANC technology generates opposing sound waves to external noises, which creates ear pressure effects similar to flying. The ear pressure produced by these devices is generally harmless, but may lead to headaches, ear fullness or cause discomfort.
No, it's not inherently bad to wear noise cancelling headphones all day, but there are some considerations to keep in mind. Prolonged use, especially at high volumes, can potentially lead to hearing fatigue or even damage. It's crucial to take regular breaks and keep the volume at a safe level.
Noise cancelling headphones themselves do not cause tinnitus. However, prolonged exposure to loud volumes and noises can contribute to the development or worsening of tinnitus. So it's important to adopt preventive measures to protect your hearing and minimize the risk of tinnitus.
Reduced awareness
Noise cancellation's ability to eliminate ambient sound can also reduce your awareness of your surrounding environment, which could become an issue if you're biking through traffic or in other situations where sound cues keep you safe.
Not usually. In some cases, headphone wearers with noise cancelation turned on report feeling dizzy or nauseous (an example from Reddit here). While the topic of ANC and dizziness is not well-explored, it is not hard to imagine how a manipulated sound field could throw off your equilibrium.
“With noise cancelling, you're giving your brain only one source of sound, be it a podcast or music. One source. There's nothing else for your brain to worry about.” Excessive use of noise-cancelling headphones could impair the developmental process by which children learn to attend to sounds, Almeida says.
Some people—and I include myself in this group—experience a weird sort of pain while using noise-cancelling headphones. This is because the relative lack of low-frequency sounds reaching your ears is being perceived as a difference in pressure between your inner and outer ear.
Earbuds alone cannot make it worse but if you will use them in high volumes then it can make tinnitus worse if you already have it.
So, is noise cancelling bad for your ears? No. In fact, when used wisely, ANC can protect your ears by reducing the need for higher volume levels. Like any technology, how you use it matters more than the technology itself.
An audiologist breaks down how the popular headphones work and how they can affect ear health. Recent headlines in the United Kingdom earlier this year attributed noise-cancelling headphones as a possible culprit in rising rates of auditory processing disorder (APD) and hearing problems in younger populations.
Factors like snug headbands, too much pressure, loud volume levels, or even noise-cancelling technology can lead to headphones headache problems.
Hearing loss.
Listening to sound at high volumes may permanently damage your hearing. Background noise, as well as continued exposure to high volume levels, can make sounds seem quieter than they actually are.
They're not an option for every type of hearing loss.
Like all over-the-counter hearing aids, the AirPods are intended strictly for adults 18+ with mild to moderate hearing loss. People with more severe hearing loss should see an audiologist, Palmer says.
These symptoms typically resolve quickly when the headphones are removed. For ear health, it's recommended to follow the 60/60 rule: listen at no more than 60% of maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time, taking 5-10 minute breaks to prevent hearing damage 1.
In Japan, Yoku-kan-san, a TCM herbal formula, was found to cure tinnitus in 2 weeks on a patient enduring such a problem for 3 years (Okamoto et al., 2005).
Some patients with hearing loss and tinnitus have improvement with the use of hearing aids, with or without built-in ear-level maskers. Sound therapies that involve simple things like background music or noise or specialized ear-level maskers may be a reasonable treatment option.
All that noise-canceling can cause your brain to overcompensate, according to David McAlpine, the academic director of Macquarie University Hearing, which can lead to increased sensitivity and what he calls “listening loss.” “If you have a listening loss, it's like changing your brain's encryption,” he told Quartz.
The 60/60 rule for hearing is a guideline to prevent noise-induced hearing loss: listen to personal audio devices at no more than 60% of the maximum volume for no longer than 60 minutes at a time, then take a break. This helps protect your ears from damage by keeping sound levels moderate and allowing for rest, especially important with headphone/earbud use.
Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a common cause of vertigo. We describe a case of a woman presenting acutely with a severe episode of disabling positional vertigo. Although she had no known etiologic risk factors, this attack followed 12 hours of continuously wearing digital noise-canceling headphones.
Listening to audio on your headphones too loud for too long can damage your hearing. Headphone Notifications let you know if your audio exposure has been loud enough for long enough to affect your hearing—for example, over 80 decibels (dB) for 40 hours total within the last 7 days.
Gen Z likes wired headphones for a mix of nostalgia, anti-corporate fashion statements (rejecting the "tech bro" vibe of AirPods), superior audio quality (no Bluetooth compression), affordability, reliability (no charging, fewer dropouts), and sustainability (longer lifespan, less e-waste). It's a deliberate choice that blends retro style with practical and ethical benefits, making them a "low-key flex" on platforms like TikTok.
Key symptoms include: