Why does my headphones sound muffled

Did you ever try to listen to music on your headphones, and it just sounded muffled? It’s a frustrating experience that can ruin your day. You take out your smartphone to relax and listen to some tunes, but instead of your favorite band sounding great, it just sounds like a mess. It makes you wonder, “why do my headphones sound muffled?” Almost as if you were hearing it from the next room over. It’s not a common problem, but it can happen for several reasons.

In this blog post, we will go over the main reasons why your headphones might sound muffled and how to solve them.

Why do my headphones sound muffled? 6 common reasons

First, you must know that a pair of muffled headphones doesn’t always mean you have to buy a new pair. In some cases, some pretty simple solutions will help clear up the sound. While we don’t want to get your hopes up, trying out a few of these tips could save you from having to spend any money.

Here are seven of the most common reasons your headphones might sound muffled and how to solve them:

1. Low battery

Nowadays, it’s common to have wireless headphones that connect to your devices via Bluetooth. And with wireless headphones comes the risk of them running out of battery. If your headphones sound muffled, one of the first things you should do is check the battery level.

Some old wired headphones with active noise cancellation (ANC) might also have a battery. If you notice that the ANC feature isn’t working as well as it used to and produced a muffled sound, it might be because the battery is low.

If you’re using wireless headphones, make sure the batteries are charged; if they’re not, plug them in and wait a few minutes. In most cases, this will be enough to clear up the muffled sound and discard any other potential problem.

2. Blown speakers

Another common reason for muffled sound on headphones are blown speakers. The speakers may have worn out if you’ve had your headphones for a while. This is especially true if you use your headphones often and at high volumes. Or if you overpowered them with an amplifier at some point.

The only way to know if your speakers are blown is to take them to a professional or try another pair of headphones. If the sound is clear on the new pair but still muffled on yours, you’ll know it’s time for a new set of headphones.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do to fix this problem on your own. Once the speakers are blown, you’ll need to buy a new pair of headphones or take them for repair (at a cost).

3. Damaged wires

Again, this issue isn’t for you if you have wireless headphones. But if you’re using wired headphones, the wires may be damaged, causing a buzzing or muffled sound.

Why does my headphones sound muffled

If your headphones have a detachable cable, check to see if the problem lies in the wire itself by swapping it. But most (non-expensive) wired headphones don’t have swappable cables, so check them inch by inch to see if you can find any cuts or frays. Often, tangled wires get damaged near the plug connector. So, if you find any damage around that area, it’s likely the cause of your muffled sound.

Try moving around the cable to see if the sound changes. If you notice a difference, you know the issue is with the wires, and you’ll need to replace them. Unfortunately, this also means you might need to take them to a professional or buy a new pair.

4. Wireless/Bluetooth connection issues

Wireless connections aren’t perfect. There are a lot of wireless devices around the house that can interfere with the signal and cause sound issues.

If you’re using wireless headphones and the sound is muffled, one of the first things you should do is check if you aren’t close to any potential interference sources. These include:

  • Microwaves
  • Cordless phones
  • Bluetooth devices
  • WiFi networks

If you’re close to any of these, try moving away and see if the sound improves. Move to another room or go outside. If the sound is clear, you know that interference was the problem.

Why does my headphones sound muffled

Now that you know interference was a problem try reconnecting your device to the headphones. In most cases, this will fix the issue, and you’ll be able to enjoy your music without any muffled sound. Bluetooth and wireless signals can use different channels and frequencies to avoid interference.

5. Debris or moisture

If you’re using earbuds or in-ear headphones, debris or moisture may be causing the muffled sound. Over time, earwax and other things can accumulate inside the buds and block the sound. And if you’ve been sweating a lot, it’s possible that your headphone jack got wet, affecting the sound quality.

This problem often occurs in small earbuds as the sound comes from a small speaker hole. And if that speaker is blocked, debris will muffle the sound. Usually, you’ll notice only one earpiece presents the muffled sound. Having the same problem on big over-ear or around-ear headphones is still possible but less likely due to the bigger speaker size and design.

The first thing you should do is clean your headphones or earbuds. Use a soft cloth to remove any visible dirt or debris. If that doesn’t help, try using compressed air to blow away anything that might be blocking the speaker holes. And if you think moisture might be the problem, use a hairdryer (on cool mode) to dry them off completely. Needless to say, never use your headphones in the shower or while swimming unless you’re entirely sure they’re waterproof.

6. Source file

Last but not least, the problem might be with the audio file you’re trying to play. If the sound is muffled on all your devices, it’s likely an issue with the source file.

Why does my headphones sound muffled

Fortunately, if the source file is your problem, it’s an easy fix. You need to find a better copy of the file or download it again. If you’re trying to play music from a streaming service, try restarting the app or clearing the cache. In most cases, this will fix any sound issues you might have been having.

Just open YouTube or any other multimedia app and play a video to check if the sound is still muffled. If it isn’t, you know the source file was the problem.

Why do my headphones sound muffled? The bottom line

Muffled sound on your headphones can be frustrating, but fortunately, sometimes it’s usually an easy problem to fix. In most cases, you’ll be able to solve it yourself without having to take them to a professional or buy a new pair. Follow the tips in this article, and you should be ready to rock.

If you were unfortunate enough to suffer from a non-reversible problem, don’t worry. There are plenty of fabulous headphone brands on the market, and you can find a new pair that will suit your needs without breaking the bank. Just make sure to do your research before making a purchase.

Just remember that something you did might have blown out the speakers or affected the wires. Take care of your headphones; they should last you for several years. With that said, we hope you found this article helpful, and please feel free to share it with anyone who might need it. Thanks for reading!

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Why does my headphones sound muffled

Everybody is on a kind of “hunt” when searching for headphones and other devices in general. We all know that nowadays there are different great headphones that do the job perfectly fine and bring to you a sound quality that has left many people astonished.

Anyways, there’s a big question that runs around people’s minds when it comes to sound or audio in general, and that’s the muffled sounds that sometimes occurs. By the word muffled, we get that there’s a blockage of the sound, and it is very important to know where the blockage comes from.

Why do headphones sound muffled? Are there any reasons that this happens? Are there any ways to fix this “issue”?

I will gladly say that you can find the answers to all of those questions that I mentioned above! By the way, for each reason that will be mentioned, you will find the solutions and the easiest ways how to fix it.

Without losing your time too much, let us get straight to the point on why your headphones sound muffled.

Why Do Headphones Sound Muffled? – Reasons

As you can notice, I wrote reasons in a plural form. Why is that so? Well, when it comes to muffled sound, there is not only one reason that it happens, instead, there are many reasons combined! What are those reasons? Let’s dive deeper!

Connectivity

Why does my headphones sound muffled

The main reason and the one that causes more problems regarding muffled sound is the connectivity issue. You know that it happens a lot, and in my opinion for me personally, it is the most annoying thing that could happen to a modern device. I know that it bothers you too.

You know that there are two types of headphones regarding the connections: Wired and Wireless. I would like to mention in detail how the connectivity can cause muffled noises in both of them.

Wired Headphones – The wires know to bring some great sound quality, but another thing that they intend to bring is an annoyance when not connected properly! We all had those issues in which we tied our headphones around our phones mostly and the sound came piece by piece. Well, the muffled sound is caused by them too! The damage to the wires can be in two ways: internal damage and frayed wires.

Wireless Headphones – Since in wires we had direct damages, here we have some “flying damages”. Bluetooth headphones mostly use the same connectivity technology, and as you may already know, it is the famous Bluetooth. When two devices are connected or paired with one another they use Bluetooth codecs, hence they are referred to as Bluetooth headphones mostly.

Depending on what device you connected your headphones with, it is the codec that fully determines and shows how the connection works.

The muffled noise in wireless headphones comes when the codecs are not compatible with one another and because of the radioactive signal that this type of connection owns. 

The most commonly used codec is SBC (Sub Band Codec)

How To Fix It?
When using wired headphones, and the wires are not damaged in any way the next thing to check out is the port of the device that you are using your headphones with. For Bluetooth ones, the thing to consider is the codec. (It would be better if you check it before you buy them, though).

Dirtiness

Whenever something is dirty, it doesn’t work properly, and that’s a basic fact, right? Well, in headphones this fact works as well since many different headphones become clogged with dirt, and there appears muffled noise because there is a total blockage, and the sound should pass through that layer of dirt.

When it comes to dirt in general, it is most commonly linked to in-ear headphones. Ear wax is the main reason that can make in-ear headphones bring you muffled noise. It makes the headphones lose the quality of sound.

It doesn’t mean that over-ear headphones cannot be filled with ear wax or any other dirt, though. They can get dirty as well.

It is worth knowing that the headphone jack is another thing that you should pay attention to and clean regularly since that is the main audio input in most audio devices. If you have wired headphones that’s it.

How To Fix It?
The best way of fixing dirt is to clean it! An important thing that should be mentioned here is that it would definitely be better if you clean your headphones (both in-ear and over-ear) with isopropyl alcohol.

Moist

Why does my headphones sound muffled

Moist or water is the most obvious reason that causes any electronic device to get damaged easier. Now, here we all know that wired headphones don’t have a good relationship with water, right? The things that come to mind are wireless headphones.

There are different types of moistures that can cause damage, and some of them include: rain, spilled drink, swimming with them on, and not only. A moist that can make the headphones not function properly is the sweat and the humidity. It mostly occurs by running or working out, right?

It would be wise to replace the headphone speakers if they are overdone or have moisture damage.

Sadly, after severe damage has been done to the headphone speakers You must change the speaker in order to fully resolve the issue. Headphone speakers are an expensive accessory, so take caution when doing so.

How To Fix It?
Before coming at the situation of damaging the headphones with moisture, the best way to not come at this part is to choose headphones that own an IP rating. An IP rating of any kind would be the best thing to notice in any type of headphones.

Software

If you notice that the headphones are okay and there’s not any kind of damage to them then the best thing to do would be to check the software. The last but not the least reason why headphones may sound muffled is the software that your device uses. Even though that is not related to the headphones, in particular, it is a complete device issue and it can muffle the sound in many ways.

How To Fix It?
The solution and the fixing part come slowly and easily! You should always check for updates on the software.

Besides software issues that can occur on an audio device in general not only Bluetooth headphones, there are also the internal parts of headphones being damaged.

Such as blown speakers, voice coil, audio drivers damaged, and so on. All those components being damaged will lead to things weird sounds, distorted sounds, etc.

Those that we just mentioned the voice coil, and blown speakers are key components of an audio device. and are the main reason behind the demise of headphones in general and not just muffling sounds.

So yes, if your audio device is starting to act strange with the noises, one of the following parts can be damaged.

Final Words / Conclusion

A muffled noise from headphones is the most annoying thing because whoever is listening to music tends to listen to it in the clearest and the crispest way possible. Well, I guess now you know why the sound comes muffled and which are the main reasons that it happens.

As you can notice, the fixing ways are very easy to be used in practice, and these easy things can help you improve the sound quality of any pair of headphones!

I hope that this article will give you a clearer idea regarding the main question “Why Do My Headphones Sound Muffled?

Have fun!

Further Reading

No worries if you are suffering from anxiety, read the article on how headphones help to reduce anxiety and how music helps you to calm down. 

Another misfortune occurs when dropping AirPods in the water. Good thing now we know how to save AirPods from water.

Listen, I’m offering great quality gaming headphonesmixing and mastering headphones, and invisible earbuds. You should definitely check them out.