Noise Cancelling Headphones for Misophonia: An Honest Guide

Noise cancelling headphones help with misophonia, but only partly. They are very good at removing low, steady noise like traffic or an air conditioner, and much weaker against the short, sharp sounds that trigger most of us: chewing, lip smacking, slurping, a pen clicking. What works best is combining them: a good seal to block sound physically, something gentle to listen to on top, and earplugs or earbuds for specific situations rather than all day.

I have misophonia, and mouth sounds are my hardest trigger. This guide explains why some sounds get through even expensive headphones, what each option is actually good for, and the one situation none of them can fix.

The short answer

Option	Good for	Limits
Noise cancelling over-ear headphones	Steady background noise, open offices, travel	Noise cancelling does little against sudden, high-pitched sounds; the seal of the ear cups does most of that work
Noise cancelling earbuds	Commutes, wearing under a hood, smaller budgets	Comfort over long periods; the seal depends on getting the right tip size
Earplugs (foam or filtered, such as Loop)	Meals, social events, sleeping	Wearing them all the time can make sounds seem louder afterwards
White, pink or brown noise	Masking triggers you can't avoid	Needs to stay at a safe volume
None of the above	Mouth sounds inside the video or podcast you're watching	Headphones play that sound straight into your ears

Why chewing and mouth sounds are so hard to block

Misophonia was given a consensus definition by an international panel of researchers and clinicians in 2022: a disorder of "decreased tolerance to specific sounds or stimuli associated with such sounds" (Swedo et al., Frontiers in Neuroscience). It is more common than most people think. In a UK study, about 18% of adults had misophonia symptoms that caused a significant burden in their life, yet only 13.6% had heard the word before (Vitoratou et al., PLOS ONE, 2023).

The sounds behind it are remarkably consistent. In one of the largest clinical samples studied, 96% of people with misophonia were triggered by eating sounds, and 85% by nasal and breathing sounds (Jager et al., PLOS ONE, 2020). I explain why chewing in particular affects some of us so much in why do chewing sounds bother me so much?

That is exactly where headphones struggle. Active noise cancellation works by producing "anti-noise" that cancels the incoming sound wave. That works well for long, low wavelengths, which is why it shines against engines and traffic. Higher-pitched sounds have much shorter wavelengths, which makes it much harder to time the anti-noise correctly. RTINGS, which measures headphones in a lab, puts it simply: in the mid range "you may not notice quite as much of a difference between ANC on and off, the higher frequency you go", and in the treble range most of the blocking comes from the headphones' physical seal rather than the electronics (RTINGS noise isolation test).

Mouth sounds are also short and unpredictable. A chewing sound or a lip smack starts and stops in a fraction of a second, which gives noise cancelling very little to work with.

Do noise cancelling headphones help with misophonia?

Yes, as long as you know what they are doing for you. A good pair lowers the overall noise around you, which takes some of the edge off and makes it easier to cover the rest with music, a podcast or background noise. On their own, they rarely make a chewing colleague disappear.

What matters most for misophonia is not the noise cancelling chip but how well the headphones block sound physically:

• Choose closed-back over-ear headphones. The ear cups seal around your ears and block mid and high-pitched sounds passively. Open-back headphones let almost everything in.
• Look at measured isolation, not marketing. Independent reviews such as RTINGS publish how much each model blocks in the bass, mid and treble ranges. For misophonia, the mid and treble numbers matter more than the headline noise cancelling figure.
• Prioritise comfort. If you are going to wear them for hours, a pair that presses on your head will end up in a drawer.
• Check the transparency mode button. Being able to hear someone speak to you without taking the headphones off makes them much easier to wear at work or at home.

Earbuds for misophonia

Noise cancelling earbuds are a good alternative if over-ear headphones are too warm or too visible. Because they sit inside the ear canal, they block high-pitched sounds well: RTINGS notes that earbuds "especially perform well" in the treble range. The catch is the fit. Most earbuds come with several tip sizes, and trying them all is worth the five minutes: a loose tip lets in exactly the sounds you are trying to avoid.

Earplugs for misophonia

Earplugs are the cheapest option and the most portable. Foam earplugs block the most sound. Filtered earplugs, such as Loop, lower the volume more evenly, so you can still follow a conversation at the dinner table while the chewing sounds lose some of their sharpness.

There is one caution worth knowing. Your hearing adapts to the amount of sound it receives. Studies in which people wore earplugs for several days found that sounds were then perceived as louder (Formby et al., 2003; Brotherton et al., 2016). For misophonia, that suggests using earplugs for specific situations, like a meal, a train ride or sleep, rather than wearing them from morning to night.

White, pink and brown noise

Masking means adding a steady, neutral sound so your brain has something else to focus on. Cleveland Clinic lists "noise generator sounds (especially white, pink or brown noise sounds)" and listening to something that keeps your attention away from trigger sounds among the ways people manage misophonia (Cleveland Clinic).

Brown noise sounds deeper and softer than white noise, and some people find it more pleasant for long periods. Masking works best combined with headphones: the headphones lower the room, and the noise covers what is left.

Keep the volume reasonable. The World Health Organization recommends keeping personal audio below 60% of the maximum volume and using noise cancelling, well-fitted headphones so you don't need to turn things up (WHO). Turning the masking up until you can't hear the trigger at all is not a good long-term plan.

What headphones can't do: mouth sounds in videos

Everything above protects you from sounds around you. But a lot of us meet our triggers on a screen: a YouTuber eating while talking, a podcaster who smacks their lips between sentences, a lecturer who keeps clearing their throat. In that case, your headphones are not blocking the sound. They are delivering it, right into your ears, at whatever volume you chose.

The usual workarounds all have a cost. You can turn on captions and mute the video, skip ahead every time it happens, lower the volume until you can barely follow, or give up on the creator altogether.

This is the problem I built CalmEar for. It is a Chrome extension that detects mouth smacks and lip smacking in YouTube videos and reduces them as the video plays, while the voice stays clear. It runs on your computer, so the audio is never uploaded. It is limited to YouTube in Chrome on a computer for now, and it won't catch every sound, but it changes what you can comfortably watch. You can hear a before and after example on the homepage.

Putting it together

Here is how the different tools fit together depending on where you are:

• At work or in an open office: closed-back noise cancelling headphones with brown noise or music underneath.
• At the dinner table or with family: filtered earplugs, used for the meal and then taken out.
• On public transport: noise cancelling earbuds with a well-fitted tip.
• At night: soft earplugs, or a white noise machine if earplugs bother you.
• Watching videos: captions and skipping, or a tool that reduces mouth sounds in the video itself.

When to get more help

Headphones and earplugs make daily life easier, but they don't change how your brain reacts to triggers. If misophonia affects your work, your relationships or your mood, it is worth talking to a professional. Cognitive behavioural therapy has the strongest evidence so far: in the first randomised clinical trial of CBT for misophonia, symptoms improved significantly, and the improvement was still there a year later (Jager et al., Depression and Anxiety, 2021). For more everyday strategies, see how to deal with misophonia day to day.

Frequently asked questions

Can noise cancelling headphones block chewing sounds?

Partly. Chewing is a short, mid to high-pitched sound, which is where noise cancelling is weakest. The physical seal of closed-back over-ear headphones or well-fitted earbuds does most of the work, and adding music or brown noise on top covers what gets through.

Are earbuds or over-ear headphones better for misophonia?

Both can work. Closed-back over-ear headphones are usually more comfortable for long periods and seal well around the ear. Earbuds block high-pitched sounds well when the tip fits properly, and they are easier to carry and to wear discreetly.

Are Loop earplugs good for misophonia?

Filtered earplugs like Loop lower the volume evenly, which can take the edge off trigger sounds while still letting you follow a conversation. Foam earplugs block more sound but make talking harder. Whichever you choose, use them for specific situations rather than all day.

Is it bad to wear earplugs all the time if you have misophonia?

It can backfire. Research on people wearing earplugs for several days found that sounds were then perceived as louder, as the hearing system adapts to less input. Using them in short, targeted periods avoids most of that effect.

Does white noise help misophonia?

It can. Masking with white, pink or brown noise gives your brain a steady sound to focus on and covers part of the trigger. Keep the volume moderate, below 60% of your device's maximum.

Sources

• Swedo S. E. et al. (2022). Consensus Definition of Misophonia: A Delphi Study. Frontiers in Neuroscience.
• Vitoratou S. et al. (2023). Misophonia in the UK: Prevalence and norms from the S-Five in a UK representative sample. PLOS ONE.
• Jager I. et al. (2020). Misophonia: Phenomenology, comorbidity and demographics in a large sample. PLOS ONE.
• Jager I. J. et al. (2021). Cognitive behavioral therapy for misophonia: A randomized clinical trial. Depression and Anxiety.
• Formby C., Sherlock L. P., Gold S. L. (2003). Adaptive plasticity of loudness induced by chronic attenuation and enhancement of the acoustic background. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.
• Brotherton H. et al. (2016). Time course and frequency specificity of sub-cortical plasticity in adults following acute unilateral deprivation. Hearing Research.
• RTINGS. Noise Isolation test methodology.
• Cleveland Clinic. Misophonia.
• World Health Organization. Deafness and hearing loss: Safe listening.