Headphone Performance: Do You Lose Volume Over Time

The feeling is exacerbated when you realize you have no idea how or why your headphones are losing volume, especially since they used to work perfectly fine.

Many people experience this problem when the headset loses volume, or one earbud is quieter than the other, especially when using a wireless headphone or Earphone for a long time. If you’ve never experienced it and are still wondering if headphones actually lose volume over time, the answer is yes. Read on to learn more. 

What causes headphones to lose volume over time? 

Some headphones last decades while still sounding as good as the day they were purchased. Others will fail within a year. The price you paid for them may or may not make a difference. The internal components of a headphone can be delicate.

Suppose there is a loss of volume quality. In that case, it could be due to various factors, including Problems with a headphone’s external component, a flaw in the manufacturing process, carelessness on the part of the owner.

Below is a comprehensive and informative guide to educate you on the possible causes of this problem and avoid it in the future.

• Increasing the Volume

Whether we’re talking about wireless in-ears or wired studio headphones, drivers fail occasionally. This is unusual, and it could simply mean that the headphones have lived a long life and have seen as much use as the drivers can withstand, similar to an old car engine. 

However, suppose the drivers suddenly sound damaged, distorting various types of music, including genres with no deep bass, and at volume levels that should not cause more distortion. In that case, the headphones were likely blasted at excessively high volumes. You can blow out the drivers of your headphones in the same way that you can blow out a speaker.

 To avoid accidentally blowing your drivers to smithereens, always turn down the volume on your mobile device or stereo when turning it off or removing the headphones. Once you’re plugged back in, adjust the volume, and you might find yourself listening at lower levels in general, which is another excellent way to preserve your hearing.

• Ear Wax Issue

If you use earbuds for an extended period, your ears will develop earwax. Ear wax in the ear canal prevents sound from reaching the eardrum. This will reduce both the volume and the quality of the sound. It can happen in either one or both ears.

You can try blowing into one of your ears to see if that helps, then clean the inside of your ear canal gently with a cotton bud soaked in water. If you have any leftover bits from cleaning, try using baby oil or olive oil.

• Problems With Wired Headphones’ Plugs And Sockets

There might be loose connection problems between your media player’s socket and the headphone plug. It occurs primarily because of poor manufacturing quality or prolonged use of headphones.

 Furthermore, your device’s headphone jack may be faulty. Otherwise, the port may contain some dirt. Both of these scenarios can cause your device’s connectivity to be disrupted, rendering your headphones inoperable.

• Wireless Headphones Connectivity Problems

A few technical issues can cause low volume when using wireless headphones. Bluetooth-enabled headsets and headphones are now commonplace, but they can cause connectivity issues.

Have you once been listening to Spotify, and the music suddenly stops playing through your headphones? The connection can easily go downhill or freeze. And it happens regularly with some of the less expensive wireless headphone models. 

If this occurs regularly, it may be time to invest in newer, higher-quality headphones. Alternatively, it could be a ‘pairing’ problem. If this is the case, you can disconnect your Bluetooth connection, reconnect, and repair it.

• Issues with audio files

If you’re listening to a song through headphones and it’s quiet, it could be due to an issue with audio files. Try another song right away because it’s possible that the encoded levels on the song you’re currently listening to are low. Your headphones should be fine if it’s just one song with very low levels.

The most common audio file formats are MP3s and WAVs. However, if they were encoded incorrectly from the start, the volume will be low no matter what you do. It’s not because of your headphones. However, if the same issue occurs with every audio file or YouTube video, we’ll need to do more troubleshooting.

• Problem with Mobile or Computer Settings

The reason for one earbud becoming quieter or the entire Earphone sounding too low at max volume might be the media player you are using, like your mobile phone or your computer sound settings. 

Connect your wired or wireless headset into a different mobile or computer and check it to determine whether the issue is not from the headset itself. As usual, if it is working fine, the issue is definitely from the first media player device.

If you have a problem with one of your headphones or EarPods being quieter than the other, check your mobile settings’ left and right balance.

• Physical Problems with the Ear

Naturally, our right face half is never identical to the left half. As a result, we may have differences in our external ear shape of one side versus the other side, which may cause your earbuds or headphone not to fit perfectly as the other side, driving this ear to hear a different sound from the earbud, in terms of sound quality or volume.

Ensure that your headphones are placed in or around your ear canal, rather than just on top of it, to help block out external noise and allow you to hear more clearly.

• Problems Relating to the Headset

There’s also the chance that your headset has a hardware flaw. And it’s making the sound too quiet. The reason for this is that either your headset is brand new or you have used it for an extended period. 

If your headset is brand new and has this factory defect, try to use the manufacturer’s warranty policy to obtain a free repair or replacement.

Conclusion

When you have an issue with your headphones that makes it lose its volume or sometimes one side is quieter than the other, whether you have wireless or wired headsets, the first thing you should try to check is by connecting your headset to another media player device and seeing if the same issue persists or not, as this will eliminate most of the causes.

Knowing why your headphones lose volume as they age will help you develop a better solution the next time you have a problem with them. Instead of buying new or going to a repair shop, we hope that the simple solutions we share will help make headphones work again.