Why Students and Professionals Studying or Working from Home Need to Find Earbuds to Cancel Noise

Noise cancelation is a feature that most of the latest earbuds have. It’s the ability to block or cancel ambient noise and provide better listening experiences for users. The process of noise cancelation can be either active or passive.

• Active Noise Cancelation: Active noise cancellation (ANC) is a relatively new noise-canceling technology. In ANC earbuds, noises or sounds that percolate into the earbuds are nullified by pre-programmed soundwaves that the earbuds create. That’s why noise-free listening experiences are guaranteed for people who use ANC earbuds, even in extremely loud environments (e.g., traffic, public places, etc.). 

• Passive Noise Cancelation: Passive noise cancelation is more physical. There are no pre-programmed soundwaves or other forms of technology involved. The noises are canceled primarily because of the earbuds’ designs. Earbuds with more padding and tighter tips offer better passive noise cancelation features. Although the noise cancelation performance isn’t as good as ANC earbuds, the difference in listening experiences isn’t too big. 

The Need for Noise Cancelation  

In the past, noise-canceling earbuds were only used by people who faced a lot of noise pollution in their daily lives. For instance, students and professionals who traveled on busy trains or busses would benefit a lot from using noise-canceling earbuds as they protected their ears in harsh environments.

Now that many adults and youngsters are either working or studying at home during the COVID19 pandemic, living rooms have become just as noise polluted as busy hallways in colleges. The cacophony of roommates having online board meetings or neighbors having online classes can prevent people from concentrating on their work or studies.

Quite unsurprisingly, people who’ve used noise-canceling earbuds during this period have been able to eliminate such background noises and maintain high productivity levels. Plus, the best noise-canceling earbuds fit snuggly inside the ears, so they feel comfortable even after users wear them for multiple hours of wear. 

Noise Cancelling and Health 

Constant chatter inside the home, your neighbors’ lawnmower noises, or traffic noises in the streets may not seem too dangerous, but they are. In fact, any noise above the 60 decibels (dB) mark can have negative implications for your ears. For instance, a lawnmower creates sounds that can reach up to 90dB. Of course, how much damage these noises cause depends on how long you are exposed to them. 

According to a recent noise pollution study, people who are regularly exposed to 85dB noises can suffer from ear ringing, pain in the ears, and significant hearing damage in the long run. Regular use of noise-canceling earbuds, especially when you’re on public transport or in busy streets, can prevent these damages. In noisy environments, creating some quiet for yourself can do wonders. 

Noise pollution damages more just our concentration or our ears. Multiple studies have revealed that both our mental and physical health can suffer if we’re exposed to 65dB+ noises on a regular basis. Another five-year study involving over 500 adults revealed that for every 5dB increase in noise levels, the risk of strokes, irregular heart rates, heart attacks, and other heart-related problems increased by 34%. It’s fair to say that using noise-canceling earbuds is good for our health. 

Can Noise Cancelling Earbuds Increase Productivity Levels?

What is concentration? It’s the ability to tune out others and focusing on one specific thing. That’s what noise-canceling earbuds do. Sure, listening to music, especially music with lyrics, can prevent users from concentrating. But, classical music has been proven to be a great tool for boosting concentration and increasing productivity. 

If you use noise-canceling earbuds, you could boost your productivity by blocking out surrounding distractions and becoming more fixated on your work or studies. In the end, the effects of noise-canceling earbuds are subjective. However, for most users, increases in concentration and productivity levels have been quite common. 

Noise Cancelling Earbuds – Are they Safe?

Yes. But, active noise cancelation earbuds have been reported to be uncomfortable for many users. When users turn on the active noise canceling feature on their earbuds, they hear a slight hissing sound, which makes some people very uncomfortable. Don’t worry – as irritating as the hissing noise maybe for some people, there’s no actual damage caused to the users’ hearing or health. These earbuds don’t emit radiation emissions or cause any harm to the tender parts of the ears. 

If people don’t want the slight hissing noises on their earbuds, they can always find earbuds to cancel noise in a passive way. Passive noise-canceling earbuds don’t create anti-noise waves (i.e., hissing noises) that active noise cancellation earbuds create. Plus, these earbuds depend on high-quality cushioning to keep irritating noises at bay, so they’re also very comfortable to wear. 

Passive noise-canceling earbuds also make it easier for users to concentrate when they’re on work calls or in Zoom classes. There are numerous exciting options for noise-canceling earbuds, especially in the wireless sector. Students or professionals studying/working from home in these hectic times will benefit the most from these devices.