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Thanks to recent research, we now understand a lot about headphones. But there’s one part of the headphone puzzle that I haven’t understood at all, and until a few weeks ago, neither did anyone else I’d talked with. It’s a phenomenon I call “eardrum suck,” and it occurs with some noise-canceling headphones. When you put the headphones on and activate the noise-canceling function, it can cause a feeling like riding a high-speed elevator, where you’re whisked abruptly into a region of lower atmospheric pressure, and the higher-pressure air inside your ear pushes your eardrums out slightly. For many, including me, it’s an effect so uncomfortable it can cause us to leave our expensive noise-canceling headphones in a drawer, unused.

Until recently, the models most notorious for eardrum suck have been Bose over-ear noise-canceling headphones, such as the QC25s and QC35 IIs. Yet as anyone who’s taken a commercial airline flight in the last decade can attest, these models are immensely popular. Clearly, some people either don’t experience eardrum suck, or do experience it but aren’t bothered by it.

Also, I and others noticed that the problem doesn’t seem to occur with Bose’s QC20 and QC30 noise-canceling earphones, even though those models deliver noise-canceling performance comparable to the over-ear models.

Headphones

The question arose again when Sony came out late last year with the WH-1000XM3s, the first headphones I’ve found that deliver measurably better noise canceling than the Bose equivalents. Against my hopes but confirming my fears, I and some of my colleagues noticed that the WH-1000XM3s’ eardrum suck seemed about as bad as the Bose QC35 IIs’.

I’d asked some of the best minds in the headphone business to explain what’s going on, but no one was able to give me a plausible answer; “We’ve been wondering about that, too,” was the most common response. I searched around on the Internet, but none of the purported explanations (such as the idea that the noise canceling allows you to hear the blood pumping through your ears) survived more than a few moments of scrutiny.

Last fall, I even built a test rig to measure the pressure inside a headphone. But while it was sensitive enough to pick up the minuscule pressure difference caused by lightly tapping a finger on the earcup, it didn’t detect any pressure difference when I switched the noise canceling on and off. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this shouldn’t have surprised me. If there were added pressure in the headphones, the pressure would be relieved merely by shifting the earpads slightly to let the pressure leak out.

Then I remembered I’d once met an audio engineer whose previous work in headphone noise canceling has resulted in several patents. I thought that because he doesn’t work directly for a headphone manufacturer, he might be willing to shed some light. Through a mutual acquaintance, I was able to connect with him over Skype. At his request, I won’t share his name, but his comments gave me the first plausible answer I’ve found on this topic.

Before we continue, it’s important to understand how noise-canceling headphones work. In all noise-canceling headphones, there’s a microphone inside the earcup, near your ear, that picks up the sound inside the earcup, which is a mixture of the music coming from the driver plus environmental noise leaking in through the headphones. The headphones route the sound from the microphone back into the headphones’ internal circuitry, out of phase with the music signal. This cancels out most of the music signal and leaves the noise. The resulting noise signal -- which is out of phase with the environmental noise coming in through the headphones -- is then routed back into the amplifier’s input. Because the driver then reproduces this noise that’s out of phase with the environmental noise, it cancels the environmental noise.

This is called feedback noise canceling. More advanced noise-canceling headphones, such as the Bose QC35 IIs and Sony WH-1000XM3s, add feed-forward noise-canceling, which uses a microphone (or two) on the outer shell of the headphones to pick up the environmental noise. The noise signal from the microphones is inverted in phase and sent into the driver, so the noise is canceled. Combining the feedback and feed-forward systems results in the maximum possible noise canceling available with today’s technology.

At last, the answer

According to the engineer, eardrum suck, while it feels like a quick change in pressure, is psychosomatic. “There’s no actual pressure change. It’s caused by a disruption in the balance of sound you’re used to hearing,” he explained. “People sometimes report the same effect when they go into anechoic chambers, which absorb high frequencies but allow low frequencies to come through. With noise-canceling headphones, it’s the opposite -- you’re canceling the bass but not the high frequencies -- but it can have the same effect.”

“With noise-canceling headphones,” he continued, “cancelation is dependent on waveform matching [i.e., the cancelation signal waveform must be 180 degrees out of phase with the noise]. That’s no problem in the bass because the waveforms are so long. But you have to bring the cancelation back to zero at higher frequencies, because the wavelengths are shorter and the headphones will start to squeal.”

What that means is that at higher frequencies with short wavelengths, the canceling signal can start to reinforce certain frequencies rather than cancel them. The “squeal” he refers to is feedback. Technically, it’s much like the feedback you get when you put a microphone in front of a P.A. speaker. The sound waves from the speaker excite the microphone diaphragm, which sends that signal back into the P.A., which is amplified and again picked up by the microphone, and you get a self-reinforcing signal loop -- and a squeal that continues until you pull the microphone away from the speaker.

To eliminate the possibility of squeal, noise-canceling headphones use a filter that limits the noise-canceling effect to low frequencies. It’s this filter that introduces the “disruption in the balance of sound you’re used to hearing” he spoke of previously.

“I’ve played with the noise canceling a lot,” he said. “I’ve changed the compensation on the fly, while I was wearing the headphones, and could hear what was going on. I could start with a modicum of cancelation, then increase the filter slope to give the maximum cancelation, and I could feel the pressure effect increasing. If the transition is very steep -- if you try to get as much cancelation in the lows as possible, then have to bring it abruptly back to zero by using a steeper filter slope -- that mode gives you the most pressure effect.”

You can see this in measurements of noise isolation versus frequency, which I include in all SoundStage! Solo headphone reviews. Below is a chart that shows the isolation provided by several noise-canceling headphones. The red arrow shows the filter slope the engineer is talking about. You can see that with the Bose QC35 IIs and the Sony WH-1000XM3s, the cancelation in the bass is very strong, and there’s a more abrupt transition from maximum canceling at about 100 to 300Hz, to zero canceling at 1kHz. (The isolation you see at 1kHz and higher frequencies results from the passive isolation provided by the physical structure of the headphones, not from the noise-canceling circuitry.) The Sony WH-H900Ns, which in my experience produce just a slight amount of eardrum suck, have a gentler filter slope. The NAD Viso HP70s, which for me produce no eardrum suck, focus a relatively modest amount of noise canceling within a narrow band.

Isolation chart

Note that the Bose QC20 earphones have a slope just about as steep as the QC35 IIs and WH-1000XM3s, but in my experience, the QC20s don’t produce eardrum suck. Why? I asked the engineer.

“I’ve not had the experience of many in-ears that do cancel well; an awful lot of them do not,” he replied. “It may be the fact that they give a good amount of passive isolation as well” -- which would make the difference in noise between the low and high frequencies less pronounced. In this case, the theory doesn’t correlate as well with the measurements, because with the Bose QC20s, the isolation above 1kHz actually isn’t as good as it is with the over-ear models because the QC20s’ StayHear tips don’t seal as securely as many other earphone tips do. Still, it appears that the acoustical effects of plugging the ear canal eliminate the eardrum suck effect, for whatever reason.

The bottom line is, the eardrum suck phenomenon isn’t directly caused by highly effective noise canceling. It’s a side effect caused by the filter required to achieve highly effective noise canceling without encountering feedback problems. So it appears we may always have this tradeoff -- the headphones with the best noise canceling will produce the strongest eardrum suck effect. But as the engineer pointed out, a solution to the problem is possible, although it might not be an engineering solution.

“I became inured to it after working on these headphones for a while, so maybe it’s like an addiction -- maybe you can train yourself out of it,” he concluded.

Postscript: Since this article was published, I’ve noticed that some people are taking it as a criticism of noise-canceling headphones. It’s anything but. Only a few noise-canceling headphones exhibit eardrum suck, and many models (such as the Sony WH-H900Ns) deliver a useful amount of noise canceling without producing eardrum suck. And as you can see if you read my article “How Much Noise Do Your Headphones Really Block?” here on SoundStage! Solo, the passive isolation provided by headphones and earphones does almost nothing to reduce the annoying drone of jet engines. So for frequent flyers, noise-canceling headphones are by far the best choice for listening on the go.

. . . Brent Butterworth
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  • This commment is unpublished.
    JCox · 1 years ago
    Do you have some recent recommendations for ANC headphones with very minimal to no eardrum suck?
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      Doug Schneider · 1 years ago
      Brent and Geoff might have some ideas. Lately, I've been using Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2 headphones without issue. That said, "eardrum suck" can vary from person to person.
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    John · 2 years ago
    Is it possible to have similar earsuck (or inner ear) problems with non-noise cancelling headphones? I bought the Breyerdynamics Amiron Home (open ear) and I feel this pressure when listening to music and it continues even when not wearing them? I also use an iFi DAC. Not sure if that could also be causing a problem. Thank you.
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 2 years ago
      On a couple of occasions I have gotten that feeling when wearing non-noise-cancelling headphones, but it always passes; I think it may be my ears adjusting to a different acoustical environment. The situation you describe is strange. Does it occur with any other headphones? With earphones?
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    Qtax · 3 years ago
    If this reason for the "eardrum suck" is correct, then playing some background noise should remove the feeling. 

    I don't recall that the feeling decreased when playing noisy records on my QC35's. They have a very pronounced ear pressure feeling for me on the default (max) noise canceling level. On the lower ANC level the feeling is much less and not as disturbing for me.
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    Brian · 3 years ago
    Hi Brent, I bought the Soundcore Q20s on your recommendation in the comments below back in December 2020. You were spot on saying they don’t give you the ear pressure issue. They have been great headphones but it hasn’t been a year and the plastic on the headband is cracking. So luckily Amazon will still refund me. 

    I now want to buy better quality headphones but my ears are sensitive to ANC on the higher end models. I had to return the Sony XM4s before I bought the Soundcore Q20s. It’s a pity Anker don’t make better quality headphones. 

    I see that the Bose 700s have different levels of ANC. You have mentioned them in the comments below but can you confirm that when you dial down the ANC on a lower level you don’t get that ear sucking feeling? At what level do you wear them at and is that level comparable to the Soundcore Q20s ANC?

    Thanks. 
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      Brent Butterworth · 2 years ago
      I apologize, this one escaped my notice. Yes, with the Bose, the eardrum suck only happens above a certain level. For me, I anything above 7 on a scale of 10 gave me eardrum suck. But those headphones at 70% is still a very useful amount of noise canceling
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    John · 3 years ago
    I always wondered about this when I got my XM1000X2s and I admit it was uncomfortable at first. After months of wearing them I cannot feel it anymore.
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    Gundam · 3 years ago
    Hi,

    I recently got the QC35 II as a replacement for the QC25 and easily noticed the ear drum pressure. Will this cause damage to my hearing? I’m concerned the pressure might result in my ear drum being damaged. If so, maybe I need to consider returning the Headset.


    Thank you
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 3 years ago
      Sorry, meant to answer this but got distracted. Eardrum suck won't damage your hearing. As real as it feels, it's psychosomatic. But if the eardrum pressure bothers you, you can get the NC 700, which lets you adjust the noise canceling in 10 steps. I couldn't wear my QC 25s for long, but I really like the 700s.
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        Dennis Didinger · 3 years ago
        Do the Sonys XM1000M3 allow for the adjustment of noise cancelling as well? Its a really intense nausea feeling for me after 2-3 minutes and I`m thinking of giving mine back. 
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          Dennis Didinger · 3 years ago
          Sorry, I Mean those: Sony WH-1000XM3
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            Brent Butterworth · 3 years ago
            Just checked my measurement files and I have only on/off measurements for the noise canceling on that model. It is possible that I missed that function in the app, and it's also possible that Sony pushed out an update for the headphones or the app that includes adjustable NC, as I believe they did for the 1000XM4. If you Google "firmware update Sony WH-1000XM3" you should be able to find out if Sony offers an update. If not, then I suspect those are not headphones you will enjoy! I bought Bose QC25s and ended up using them only a few times for the same reason.
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    Sam · 3 years ago
    The QC35ii has a low ANC mode too(not sure they add this recently or it has this all the time). Do you still feel eardrum suck in the low mode?
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      Brent Butterworth · 3 years ago
      Just checked my measurements and I don't have a measurement for a low ANC mode with the QC 35II. That headphone has been through at least one major update since its introduction (I ran new measurements on the original and the first update), and may have been updated since the NC 700 was introduced. On the NC 700, I start feeling eardrum suck at an ANC setting of 8 (out of 10), so if the low setting on the QC 35II is halfway, I would probably be comfortable with them.
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    SK Wilson · 3 years ago
    This comment may be a little late for the conversation, but do you have a list somewhere of the headphones LEAST likely to produce this effect? I’m apparently very sensitive to it. I bought the Bose headphones Costco was carrying, and my spouse ended up inheriting them after they made me *very* sick. (Think reading-in-the-car sick)

    My problem is that I can’t find higher end headphones with a mic that I can use for work calls, that fit my ears and don’t have noise cancelling. I was hoping the AirPod pros would work, but people report the same problems. Regular AirPods, with the hard earpieces, don’t make me sick but they make my ears hurt after 20 minutes. Any suggestions?
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 3 years ago
      Which Bose model do you have? I see Costco sells the QC35II (which is among the worst ever for eardrum suck) and the 700, which has adjustable NC that can be turned down.
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    Christian · 3 years ago
    Xm4s have adjustable noise cancellation does that help this issue?
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    shai · 4 years ago
    hey.. you can think about the reason why for me it happens only on the right side? I am wondering if this is normal ( because it's very very unpleasant ) or maybe there is some defect in the headphones
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Doug Schneider · 4 years ago
      Brent might have some ideas -- but have you tried reversing the headphones (i.e., put the right earcup on your left ear and vice versa) to see if the problem follows the earcup?

      Doug
      • This commment is unpublished.
        Brent Butterworth · 4 years ago
        That's a very good idea, Doug. I'd start there. Shai, it could be due to the fit of the headphones being different on each of your ears, and perhaps not sealing as well on the side where you're not getting eardrum suck. Or you may have a hearing difference, or the headphones could indeed be defective.
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    Nawid · 4 years ago
    But when I’m in a car and it’s pretty quiet I don’t experience eardrum suck. As soon as the car starts driving it’s getting worse. Even when I open the window it gets worse. It feels like the more it cancels out the more it sucks. I’m using AirPods Pro btw.
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 4 years ago
      That's interesting. I have a friend whose car gives him eardrum suck even without headphones. I feel the effect, too. He's tried a few different fixes but I don't think he ever really solved it. What headphones do you have? They could have dynamic ANC that adjusts to the ambient noise.
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    Miranda · 4 years ago
    In your opinion, which have less eardrum suck and are more comfortable---Bose QC 15 or Bose QC 25? Finally, any other ideas? I don't want wireless headphones (wired, please), and I want fabulous noise canceling. What would you recommend? Thanks! I love your article. Fascinating and so clear!

    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 4 years ago
      Thanks! I haven't used the QC15s or the QC25s in years. To the best of my recollection, they're comparably comfortable, and the noise cancelling is similar, so the eardrum suck would be comparable. I'm struggling to think of a noise cancelling headphone you can buy that's not wireless. Most have shifted to wireless, but most of them also include a cable for wired listening. If you don't mind spending the money, the Bose NC 700 is great, and the noise cancelling (and therefore the eardrum suck) is adjustable. The Anker Soundcore Q20 also has very good noise cancelling, for well under $100, and I didn't get eardrum suck from it. Here's Geoff Morrison's take on the QC15 vs. QC25, which I was lightly involved with: https://www.forbes.com/sites/geoffreymorrison/2014/09/08/bose-quietcomfort-25-review
      • This commment is unpublished.
        Miranda · 4 years ago
        Wow! Thank you so much. This was an amazing experience to have your input and help so immediately after my response. The article you linked to was helpful. The reason I don't want to have blue tooth wireless headphones is that I want the simplicity of not having it connected to any phones, computers, etc. Only to my little mp3. Also don't like the fact that Bose wireless headphones sold data illegally (lawsuit filed by Kyle Zak in 2017). I can understand if that's not interesting or relevant to you or some people, though. Anyway, I'm grateful and amazed by the research you've done on headphones and how clearly you present it.

  • This commment is unpublished.
    Seba · 4 years ago
    I got Bose 700 and I feel eardrum suck after 1h when I take it off. How to prevent it? Is it hurt my ears?
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    Sumi · 4 years ago
    Nice review, pretty helpful too!

    Could you recommend a pair for my 10 yo, drummer also taking virtual classes (so needs a mic)? i would like a long lasting pair, wireless (preferably foldable) . i was considering Audio technica when i chanced upon the Serenity II in the comments.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Troy · 4 years ago
    Also, I read years ago that ANC headphones were effective at treating tinnitus, if true has there been any follow up on this?
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 4 years ago
      Not that I'm aware of, although that's plausible. Just a couple of days ago, I read a bunch of papers on hearing damage and treatment for an article I did on PSAPs. Although I was focused on high-frequency loss and noise notches, the studies I read were inconclusive on tinnitus treatment. My take was, some things seem to work for some people sometimes.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Troy · 4 years ago
    “So for frequent flyers, noise-canceling headphones are by far the best choice for listening on the go”

    More so than IEMs, or universal fit phones such as Shure which block the whole spectrum of sound?
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Jeff · 4 years ago
    I've just begun reading reviews of NC headphones (including yours), and what I'm seeing (if I understand correctly) is that the devices focus mainly on masking low-frequency sound, such as jet engines.

    I do want them for traveling, but I don't much care about engine noise. I actually run a large air cleaner next to my bed at night; I find it helps me to sleep (white noise).

    I'm far more concerned about ambient conversation. I just want everyone to stop talking.

    I wasn't previously aware of "eardrum suck", and would like to avoid it. I'd also like not to spend $300-$400 (although I will if I have to), but can spend more than $60 for the Anker (which some reviewers have found uncomfortable, and some claim the noise cancelling isn't very good, and/or that it tends to make a "popping" sound).

    Is there anything you can recommend?
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 4 years ago
      In the telephony industry, the generally accepted range of the human voice is 300 to 3000 Hz, so you'd want headphones (not earphones, I assume?) that are especially good in this range. In the measurements in our headphone reviews, we show the isolation at different frequencies of sound. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of headphones that do a great job between about 500 and 1000 Hz (where active noise canceling for the most part doesn't work). One I can think of is the Direct Sound Serenity II. It's based on a model developed for drummers. They have newer models but I haven't tested them (yet). Here's the isolation chart for the Serenity II.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    charlesa · 4 years ago
    Is there any consensus on what headphones are the worst for the Eardrum Suck? Bose or Sony? A list perhaps?

    Charles A.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    MishraV · 4 years ago
    This is exactly what i was searching for, I bought qc35ii few months ago and wasn't able to use it longer than few days, qc30 is much more comfortable but the call quality is not good.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Sheila · 5 years ago
    I have a condition called hearing recruitment and although it has been recommended by audiologists to try and not use earphones, I have found they are the only way I can bear everyday noise and the active noise cancelling function is a must for me. I do experience eardrum suck and nausea when I wear the Bose QC35 headphones for too long however the benefit outweighs these symptoms. I am about to buy Sony WF 1000XM3 in ear buds as have read these do not produce eardrum suck as are not over the ear and the noise cancelling is reported to be the industry best.
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Kyler · 4 years ago
      I use these for misophonia, "hatred of sounds." I totally agree the benifits outweigh the uncomfortable ear suck. Since I have to use these almost 24/7 besides sleeping I find it very nerve wracking. Did the Sony WF make a difference?
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Mukund · 5 years ago
    So I get the technical explanation of why noise canceling isn't used at high frequencies, and how that creates the sudden change in what is canceled between low and high frequencies. But why does that sudden change in what you hear create the eardrum suck sensation?
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
      Apparently it throws off the brain when you're doing heavy cancellation in the bass but none in the treble, making your brain think it's experiencing a pressure differential.
      • This commment is unpublished.
        JeremyC · 5 years ago
        I think Mukund is asking the same thing I'm wondering about:

        But *why* does the steeper filter slope make your brain think it's experiencing a pressure differential? And are we even sure this is the case?

        To be clear I really appreciate your article here. I've returned QC35s because of "eardrum suck" and until now I didn't even know the phenomenon had a name. You've given it a more thorough treatment by far than ANYWHERE else I've seen. But that's weird, right? I'm still like... why isn't everyone talking about this? It was SO noticeable with the QC35, I couldn't stand it.

        So for me the million dollar question remains unanswered: What causes eardrum suck? And how can that explanation shed light on our other burning questions e.g.:

        -Does eardrum suck afflict everyone then?

        -For those it does affect, is it present to the same degree or different? Ever since I was a kid I'm one of those people that hates flying because of the eardrum feeling on takeoff and landing. So the fact that I'm bothered by eardrum suck too isn't a huge surprise, and it supports the hypothesis that ANC is "tricking" the brain into thinking there's a pressure change. But with "eardrum suck" not being a physical phenomenon / pressure change, it raises some challenging questions re why anyone would be predisposed to *both*

        -Would everyone be capable of just getting used to it? For one example, I gave it a shot for a few days and didn't notice any improvement. Not very long of course.

        -if we at least know it's correlated with the filter slope, is this something that manufacturers can design around / are designing around? For now I'll stick with very minimal ANC + passive isolation :)
        • This commment is unpublished.
          Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
          We did some further study at Wirecutter: https://thewirecutter.com/blog/how-do-noise-cancelling-headphones-work/

          That probably answers the first two questions. I have communicated with a couple of readers who've gotten used to it, but I can't and I don't get the impression most people can. On the filter slope question, maybe. I was able to measure the filter slopes on some models (subtracting the passive isolation from the active isolation), and I think with DSP it might be possible to make a compound filter that achieves a better compromise than, say, the QC35 IIs do. But the Bose 700 NCs' adjustable ANC does the job for me very well now.
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    Guest · 5 years ago
    any feedback on the latest Bose 700?
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      Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
      Yes, I think they're pretty fantastic. They seem to sound similar to the QC35 II, but I think they're more comfortable. The best thing about them is that the noise canceling is adjustable in 10 steps, so you can dial in exactly as much as is comfortable for you -- i.e., if you experience eardrum suck, you can set it for the maximum possible NC before you start to get eardrum suck. I think I had them on 7 out of 10 and I got very good NC with just a tiny hint of eardrum suck. But you can crank them up to the point where you're getting about the same NC as the QC35 II.
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        Guest · 5 years ago
        Great. The feedback on eardrum suck is helpful. Does anyone here get headache with bluetooth or wireless headsets? I am not able to test if the Bose700 can cause headache.
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          Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
          I've never heard a plausible claim of Bluetooth causing headaches. The RF emissions of Bluetooth devices are considerably lower in magnitude than those of cell phone transmissions.
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          James · 4 years ago
          I can sort of answer; short answer no with bluetooth headset. I had my Bose Soundlink II for the past year with no problems what so ever. Received the Sony WH 1000XM3 for Christmas and tested them out. Had to return them due to eardrum suck and gave me massive headache on two separate days. Currently just got the Bose QC35II to try as well and from what I've researched so far it's supposed to be worst than the Sony. But 1st day test...so far, okay. But more testing required if I am going to keep it. Also did upgrade it to latest firmware which apparently reduced ANC but perhaps that may alleviate some eardrum suck.
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    MusicFan · 5 years ago
    Any chance the new B&O H9 are doing a better job with the eardrum-suck thing? I can't seem to find any pair that feels 'good'
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      Arnaud · 5 years ago
      Hi there, little late to the party but hopefully you'll see this. I've recently been able to test the sony xm3, the bose qc35 II and the H9i and the H9i were indeed the ones i prefered, with no ear suck felt. Cheers.
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    Geir Tore Myrlid · 5 years ago
    I think noise cancelling bluetooth headphones are very easy to use.But i have changed to iems.I had px,bcq35,sony wh1000 xm3.And they where all good in their own way.But iems block out more,AND sound much better.At least the ones i have tried.Shure se535,se846,rha t20 and fiio fa7.But the downside is taking them on/off and the wire.But for me its worth it.Wired sounds better.
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    Will · 5 years ago
    This is an interesting read. From my old days lurking on head-fi, I've always been extremely skeptical of ANC (they used to really rip on the Bose back in the day). Because I just moved to a new city with a commute that is much easier on public transit and an open office at work, I picked up the Sony WH-1000XM3s. I don't notice any "eardrum suck" at all, so I guess I lucked out physiologically.
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    Andrew jones · 5 years ago
    I just thought of an interesting experiment you could do if you can persuade someone to allow you access to an anechoic chamber. I no longer have access to an anechoic chamber so I cannot do it. I wish I had thought of this before!
    Since you get the "ear-suck" effect within an anechoic chamber, try producing noise in the chamber at various levels and frequency bandwidths and see what combinations of level and bandwidth eliminate the suck effect.
    Should prove interesting......
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      Andrew jones · 5 years ago
      I don't experience the sucking effect on the Sony headphones, but then I rarely use them unless I'm in flight.
      Maybe you can also perform the experiment by mixing in the noise into the headphone. There may be an optimum balance between the noise cancelation bandwidth and the threshold of the background noise
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      Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
      I would love to do this, and I know a couple of nearby facilities that might help -- or Doug could rent the NRC chamber for me, maybe. The hard part would be getting a set of headphones plus the appropriate DSP tuning application, and access so I could make the alterations.
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        Simon Wright · 5 years ago
        If the effect occurs in the chamber without headphones and can be relieved by the application of noise, you wouldn't even need headphones—just regular speakers. Bring along a white noise generator and a graphic EQ with a wide range of dB adjustment. (Or a laptop with software that does the same.)
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    jim · 5 years ago
    As someone who always wants the maximum noise reduction possible when flying, I eliminate the eardrum suck problem by using the Bose QC35 as well as wear normal yellow foam ear plugs. The foam ear plugs are best for higher frequency reduction while the Bose, as mentioned above, are better for reducing lower frequencies. Using the two together gives an overall flatter attenuation curve, and not only is this consistent with the explanation in the article, for me eliminates the eardrum suck problem entirely (and leads to much better experience on long flights).
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
      Thanks for the suggestion! I've heard this from a few others, too. But I'm concerned as to what the effects are on frequency response, as the earplugs don't have consistent attenuation at all frequencies. Of course, some of that can be corrected with EQ in the smartphone. At some point, I'll do some measurements and an article about this.
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Womble · 5 years ago
    Very helpful. Tried the QC35II and QC30s in the nose shop. The QC35II was too much eardrum suck, the QC30s were better. Having then bought and used them a few times the QC30s do have some eardrum suck but you can dial down the isolation perhaps 10% and it’s perfect
  • This commment is unpublished.
    Hasan · 5 years ago
    the question is: is the eardrum suck harmful for your inner ear?
  • This commment is unpublished.
    • This commment is unpublished.
      Brent Butterworth · 5 years ago
      They do! Many manufacturers have told me that Bose owns a broad portfolio of patents covering headphone noise canceling. Other companies have been trying to work around their patents for at least a decade. It appears Sony has figured it out. I've also measured a few other models that get fairly close to Bose-level noise canceling, including (if memory serves) models from Samsung and B&O.

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