Headphones sound muffled, why and how to fix it (solved)

A pair of good-quality headphones with quality sounds can give you a soothing experience. Whether you are gaming, listening to music, or talking, you would want crisp and clear sounds. But so many times, you will see that your headphones sound muffled, and that can be annoying.

Imagine this; you are in a call from someone at your work. While you are on the call with them, you miss out on any information because of the muffling sounds. And you can’t tell them to repeat what they say every time. Now, this can be a great problem.

The causes that your headphone sounds muffled are such as its bluetooth, wireless connectivity issues, faulty wires, dirt and debris clogged in your headphone, water or moisture issues, mismatched software issues, and damaged speakers inside.

So, if you want to know why that happens and how you can fix it, you are in the right place. Here we will tell you all about the muffling problems of headphones and how you can fix them. Let’s get started.

Why do your headphones sound weird?

There are lots of reasons that your headset sounds muffled. Nailing it down to one reason may not be easy. But once you do that, you can find ways to fix your headphones. Especially if you have got expensive high-quality headphones, you would surely want to fix them rather than buying new ones.

So, let’s check out the reasons you might be facing the muffling sound from your headphone.

Connectivity issues

Please don’t jump to conclusions that your headphones are ruined when they sound muffled. Because many times it’s just connectivity issues. Now, that issue can depend on what type of headphones you have.

When you have Bluetooth headphones, then it’s pretty common to have a weak connection. Because it’s a radioactive signal that depends on the surroundings and how your devices react, a bad connection can cause the sounds to get muffled. It also happens due to something called Bluetooth codecs. Even lower battery percentages can result in muffled sounds from your Bluetooth headset.

If you have wired headphones, then you should check if the wires are connected properly or not. Or it can be an issue with the port of your device. If the problem continues to happen, then check your headphone with another device, then you will know where the problem is.

Related: Pairing Senso Bluetooth headphones

Water or moisture issues

Well, this is an obvious problem. You don’t want to have your headphones anywhere near water. If water somehow gets inside the speakers, it can damage the headphones without any doubts at all. It’s a pretty common issue out there.

Now you might be thinking, “I have a water-resistant headphone.” Well, in that case, you are somewhat in luck, and this may not be the problem for you. However, you have to ensure the IP rating of your headphone because different IP ratings provide different kinds of protection.

Some keep them waterproof, and some keep them resistant to water damage. So, you should know what you have and if that is enough to protect your headphone from water damage or not.

Faulty wires

If this is the cause, then it would be very obvious to find out. When you have faulty wires, you will either see them torn here and there or see the effect on moving the wires.

Most of the time, wires come loose from the pin due to pulling the wires too hard while removing them. When you continuously keep doing this you the wires will get faulty. Some of them tear down so badly that you can see them torn and hanging. Sometimes you can’t see the damage, but they are torn inside, which can happen from too much bending of the wires.

Whatever the case may be, faulty wires can cause the sounds to get muffled because they transmit the sounds from the source to the speakers.

Dirt and debris

With everyday use for long hours, it’s only natural that dirt and debris will be clogged in your headphone. This is a case for earbuds most of the time. If you have only been using your earbuds and not cleaning them, then the speakers can get dirty. As a result, the sound coming out of the speakers isn’t clear. They have to pass a layer of dirt and debris, which makes the sounds muffled.

Software issues in your device

Aside from the headphone themselves, your device may have some issues with the sounds. To confirm that, you can use the headphones on another device and see if they still sound muffled or not.

A lot of times, the software issue from your device can lead to muffled sounds. It mostly happens when you try to use your headphones on windows or mac.

And the solution for that is simple. You have to check up on the audio drivers if they are up to date or not. But that’s whole another discussion so that we won’t be getting into that here. Anyway, this is a possibility you must check out.

Damaged speakers

If you use your headphones way too much, maybe even all day, then damaged speakers can be the case for you. With constant use of headphones, the speakers inside can blow out at some point. This mainly happens due to the overpowering use that your speakers could not handle.

This kind of overpowering effect can arrive from listening to music with full volume for an extended period. However, it also happens naturally sometimes.

With everyday use, your speakers go towards decay which makes them weaker as the days go by. So, at one point, they will blow out. And you can easily notice that by how long you have been using them.

There aren’t many reasons for muffled sounds aside from this. Luckily, most of these problems can be fixed with some knowledge and instruction. And that’s why we will take you through the solutions to this problem.

How to fix muffled sound on headphones

Before we dive right in, some problems we discussed can’t be fixed. And there is no going around from that. So, in those cases, you have to buy a pair of new headphones. Having said that, let’s check out the solutions:

Fixing connectivity issues

Fixing the connectivity issues is pretty simple and obvious. If you have wired headphones, you just check the port and the connection. When there are issues with the port of your device, you can use some isopropyl alcohol to clean the jack. Before you do that, make sure to turn off your device and after cleaning, keep the device turned off for an hour or so

For Bluetooth connectivity issues, try charging your Bluetooth headset first. If that doesn’t solve it, then try changing the area or surroundings. However, if there are issues with the codec, then this problem can’t be solved. You have to replace the ones with some new headphones.

Fixing water damage

If your headphones were damaged from water, then there are fixes you can try. The first one is to use a cloth and put some isopropyl alcohol in it. Then keep your headphone on that and put them inside a box.

Then you can keep your headphones inside of rice for 12 hours, allowing them to dry and soak all the water from inside. This is a beneficial trick for water damages caused by various electronic items.

Repairing faulty wires

You can only repair faulty wires that you can see. If the damage is inside, then the headphone is better off without any fixes. So, assuming that you can see the tear on the wires, you have to use moldable glue. They are pretty much like gum that has a sticky and rubbery texture. Just cover up the torn area of your headphone wire with moldable glue. Let that dry for a day, and that will fix your problem.

Fixing dirt and debris issues

All you have to do here is clean your headphones. You can use isopropyl alcohol to clean your headphones thoroughly, especially on the earbuds area. That should fix the muffling sounds from your headphones.

Fixing software issues of your device

We won’t be going into detail about this solution. But the general solution to this problem is that you can install all the audio drivers properly in your device. Also, if updates are pending on your windows, you have to complete them. That should solve the problem in most cases.

Repairing damaged speakers

This might not be worth it because you will be replacing the speakers that you currently have. And that takes away the value of your headphone then and there. However, if you want to proceed, then make sure to get some quality speakers.

For replacing the speakers, all you have to do is open up the headphone covers. Then reveal the speaker and remove it from all wires. Then using a soldering iron, you can attach the new speakers to your headphones and enjoy clear sounds like before.

Related: How to Pair iHip Bluetooth Headphones

Final words

So, there you go. Now you know why your headphones sound muffled and how you can fix them. As you can see, the fixes aren’t that difficult to do. However, the problems we discussed can easily be avoided by being cautious and doing proper maintenance. Just being careful with the usage of your headphone can save you from a lot of the trouble you would have.