Pressure feeling when using QC35

Hey dude. Saw this in a related thread

TLDR: It's normal, just the lack of ambient noise makes your brain think your ear needs to pop. This feeling goes away after getting used to it!

• "I've got a question not specifically on Bose headphones but on active NC in general: Is there any negative long term effect in terms of yout hearing or ear drum injury from listening with active NC for long periods? The reason I ask is that I remember trying a few active noise cancelling headsets in a store demo and I felt a weird mechanical pressire akin to a decompression feeling. In practice, the more effective the noise cancelling was, the more I felt a mechanical pressure on my ear canal which I can only compare to diving and feeling like you need to equalise your ear/nose pressure. Is it just me being audiophile picky? have others experienced the same? If this is normal why does is it happening? Can it cause any additional stress on your ear drum? What is the meaning of life?"

dude asked that question

guys responsded

• The sensation you are talking about is common with noise-canceling headphones. It fades fairly quickly; once you've used them a couple of times you stop noticing. As I understanding it you aren't feeling any pressure, you're just perceiving the change in ambient sound as being an indication of a pressure difference in your ears -- the kind that would usually be resolved by popping your ears -- so you feel like you have to pop your ears.

• There Is twice as many waves, so to speak, entering your ear. No, the sound waves cancel out before they get to your ear. In practice, the more effective the noise cancelling was, the more I felt a mechanical pressure on my ear canal which I can only compare to diving and feeling like you need to equalise your ear/nose pressure. This is because the noise cancellation removes ambient background noise that your brain filters out/ignores. You would get the same feeling if you were to step inside an anechoic chamber. The reason it feels like pressure is because your brain normally associates the feeling of this lack of background sound with the pressure difference in the middle ear (as the pressure reduces vibration in the ear structures)

I also have the pressure in my ears, which doesn’t bother me particularly because I used to fly aircraft a lot, but it’s still there. I imagine that it’ll go when I’ve used them for a while. As an aside, my grandma also used to complain about pressure in her ears when using her hearing aids, but she’s got used to that now. Must just be our ears not being used to having them covered with a ‘trap’ of air.

I experience this feeling whenever there is no sound being played from the headphones. I think it's just a testament to the quality of noise cancellation on these things, that it can actually trick your ears into thinking there is a lack of air around you.

Did a google search on this for my new Bose NC 700 and it was a bit disorienting. I find it a bit more comfortable at the mid "5" setting. But, I am glad to get the sense that maybe it is an acclimation thing

I'm getting severe pain after using Bose ANC.  I have had to stop using because of this.  It created a burning sensation inside my ear to the outside of the canal.  This can last weeks.  

I have been to host and doctors   they found I have no ear infection or ailments. Only happens after I use them.  Anyone else have this problem? 

Thank you! Great to know the visceral reaction I just had is, literally, all in my head. 😂