Richard Yu Explains How Noise-Cancelling Earphones Protect Your Hearing — Using Reverse Sound Waves

On October 30, Richard Yu, Huawei’s Executive Director and Head of Consumer Business, released a video explaining how noise-cancelling earphones protect hearing. He cautioned that constantly increasing volume in noisy environments can cause irreversible hearing damage — and that’s exactly where active noise cancellation comes in.

In the video, Yu showcased Huawei’s Acoustic Lab, capable of recreating real-life soundscapes like an 80 dB café, an 85 dB rush-hour commute, or a 90 dB subway. To clearly hear music without raising volume, he said, effective noise cancellation is essential.

Yu demonstrated the principle using a small-ball experiment: sound travels in waves, and when an opposite wave meets the original one, they neutralize each other — resulting in silence. Similarly, noise-cancelling earphones use built-in microphones to detect ambient noise and emit reverse sound waves that cancel it out, enabling clear listening while safeguarding hearing.

Modern earphones combine passive (physical sound isolation) and active (electronic noise cancellation) methods. This hybrid technology has become a hallmark of premium audio gear, promoting both immersive sound and hearing health in an increasingly noisy world.