User:Maddyschwieger/Noise-cancelling headphones

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This academic article talks about the development of active noise control (ANC) for headphones. An experiment was run to test how lightweight earphones reduced noise as compared to commercial headphones and earphones. The experiment results revealing that the lightweight headphones achieved better noise reduction than normal headphones. It also supported that in-ear headphones worked better at reducing noise than outer-ear headphones.

To cancel the lower-frequency portions of the noise, noise-cancelling headphones use active noise control or ANC. A microphone captures the targeted ambient sounds, and a small amplifier generates sound waves that are exactly out of phase with the undesired sounds. When the sound pressure of the noise wave is high, the cancelling wave is low (and vice versa). The opposite sound waves collide and are eliminated or "cancelled". Most noise-cancelling headsets in the consumer market generate the noise-cancelling waveform in real time with analogue technology. In contrast, other active noise and vibration control products use soft real-time digital processing. According to an experiment conducted to test how lightweight earphones reduced noise as compared to commercial headphones and earphones, lightweight headphones achieved better noise reduction than normal headphones. The experiment also supported that in ear-headphones worked better at reducing noise than outer-ear headphones.

In Hospitals
The use of noise-cancelling headphones for patients in intensive care units has been implemented to reduce the amount of noise exposure that they face while in a hospital environment. Active noise control technology is shown to have a relationship with sleep disturbance, delirium, and morbidity, therefore bringing up concerns about lowering the levels of noise for patients receiving care.