Anyone have awful physical side effects/symptoms when using Noise Cancellation with AirPods pro?

[kofman13]

I have only one other pair of ANC headphones I’ve used and those are Beats Studio 3 wireless. When I use the ANC on that I do feel some pressure on my ears but its mild and I forget it pretty fast. But I just got AirPods pro today and have been testing for a few hours. I tried all three tip sizes and within 5-10 seconds of turning on noise cancelling on the AirPods pro I feel a VERY strong pressure on my ears and I even feel short of breath and my chest gets a little tight and I feel like that lump in my throat feeling when you get nervous and also get a bit dizzy. and there’s pressure on my sinuses as well, and if I keep wearing them with ANC on for 5-10 minutes it gets really uncomfortable and worrisome and almost painful. The noise cancellation is incredible and Im trying to justify keeping them and not returning. I stopped using the AirPods pro (with ANC on) an hour ago and all those symptoms have NOT GONE AWAY yet (although have faded a little bit) but still so weird that an hour later I still have the chest/ear fatigue and pressure in my head. Ive never felt this way before I cant compare it to anything else. Some articles say its psychological. Will let a few friends and family use it for 5-10 minutes later today and see what happens





~UPDATE~: day 2, although still symptoms are there when I use AirPods pro ANC, its much less than last night, still feels really weird if I pay attention to it. Maybe its psychological maybe I was anxiously responding to the feeling last night too much. Parents and one friend feel pressure but had no complaints, they enjoyed the ANC. Also tried the different tips, it seems like the better the seal, the more weird it feels. Small tips feels best but has the worst seal a, medium better ANC but more weirdness, large best ANC but most sensation. Im going to keep using them for a few days and monitor

 

[CMoore515]

There’s a thread on here somewhere about the 1st Gen AirPods having this type of thing happen.

I was affected by it with my Gen 1’s at first then the symptoms disappeared and I’ve been fine since. I don’t think it helped that I was dealing with a sinus infection around that time either.

 

[Juicy Box]

I feel a VERY strong pressure on my ears and I even feel short of breath and my chest gets a little tight and I feel like that lump in my throat feeling when you get nervous and also get a bit dizzy. and there’s pressure on my sinuses as well,

if I keep wearing them with ANC on for 5-10 minutes it gets really uncomfortable and worrisome and almost painful.

Why would you keep wearing them?

 

[kofman13]

Why would you keep wearing them?

because they sound so good and i want to get over the discomfortable if possible so i dont have to return them

 

[mjschabow]

I’d keep wearing them as often as possible until you become immune to the symptoms. In my opinion, shortness of breath and tightness in your chest aren’t enough to give up the enjoyment of great sound/bass.

 

[cdcastillo]

Maybe try desensitization therapy (introducing the offending stimulus gradually and in short bursts over several days), and it will go away.

If it keeps happening, though, and the discomfort doesn't slowly diminish, I would stop using them.

 

[cmascatello]

It is a not uncommon issue that some people have with ANC. I've tried numerous ANC headphones going back to the original Bose NC units and they all introduce some degree of nausea in very short listening times. My guess is that your/my ears/brain are very sensitive to the added noise volume being introduced -- keep in mind that all ANC systems are actually doubling the amount of noise coming in; the ANC cancels out the true noise, but it is added sound nonetheless.

I have long suspected that my head can pick up the small timing difference of the base audio and the mirror-image ANC that is due to processing and the ANC work. My inner ear(s) and sinuses are also very sensitive to pressure and I had ear tubes when I was a kid. I'm assuming all of this is a factor.

What is interesting, however, is that the negative effects I feel have gotten less and less (and take longer to come on) as the ANC technology has improved over the last 20 years. Something (better/more mics, faster processing, etc.) has made ANC less-problematic to my head. This is why I keep buying/testing new products as they hit the market. The Sony MK3 models (and the APP) are the first that I can tolerate for a mid-range flight and not walk off feeling as though I am going to hurl.

 

[chris4565]

Already curios about how I will feel about the AirPods Pro when I get them in 2 weeks since I'm very sensitive to everything audio/ear related. My pair of over-ear headphones (the Sony WH-1000XM3) have superb ANC but I can't use it because I instantly feel the pressure in my ear canal which is very uncomfortable for me.

 

[shooter45acp]

I have never heard of this before! That’s awful if some really feel sick! Thank god I have not had any issues love my pro’s they work great!

 

[th1nk]

I also have this problem, but only for a short while directly after putting them in when no music is playing. I have the feeling it is getting a bit better everyday, though. I hope in a few weeks I will not notice it anymore. You can always switch to transparency-mode when it feels weird and the pressure goes away for me.

 

[mjschabow]

Already curios about how I will feel about the AirPods Pro when I get them in 2 weeks since I'm very sensitive to everything audio/ear related. My pair of over-ear headphones (the Sony WH-1000XM3) have superb ANC but I can't use it because I instantly feel the pressure in my ear canal which is very uncomfortable for me.

No way of predicting it but you could always stick something in your ears for the next two weeks and see what happens.

 

[lmitch6]

I was super nervous about them, as I encountered those same symptoms with an earlier model of Bose ANC headphones. I've had really good results with the Sony WH-1000XM2 over the ear headphones, but wanted something more compact. I just picked the AirPods Pro up today and so far have no issues.

 

[jrlcopy]

Tried em in store today, same exact thing, when music was playing the ANC didn't bother me at all, but if you turned down the audio or just left the ANC on, def a sick in your gut feeling. Soooo weird. Transparency mode though, very impressive. I'd probably leave that on all the time.

 

[lmitch6]

I was super nervous about them, as I encountered those same symptoms with an earlier model of Bose ANC headphones. I've had really good results with the Sony WH-1000XM2 over the ear headphones, but wanted something more compact. I just picked the AirPods Pro up today and so far have no issues.

well, I returned mine today. After extended listening over the last few days I’m seeing the same symptoms. InterestingLy though, my Sony’s give me no problems at all. oh well, maybe gen 2 will be better. I might try the Sony in ear model, I still like the idea of a super compact set of noise canceling earbuds for travel.

 

[symphony]

Ever since I got my AirPods Pro I’ve been experiencing diarrhea everyday, still to this day. So now that you mention it, it could also be a side effect of noise cancellation as I do feel like the sound frequency could be the cause.

You know that Kick-Ass 2 movie where Hit-Girl had a poop stick that can make people vomit and **** by frequency? Or that South Park episode where people pooped themselves after playing the brown note? That’s what I’m theorizing on. The sound frequency.

 

[Nhomer24]

"You're pooping wrong." -Steve Jobs