It can be very annoying when your headphones’ clear and crisp sound becomes distorted and muffled. Finding the source of the problem with such a tiny item can be harder if you don’t know how to troubleshoot them. Wired headphones are more likely to experience muffled sound due to a number of reasons such as broken wire, blown speakers, and foreign factors such as moisture and dusk that can ruin the sound of your earbuds.
The good news is that you can easily clean your earphones and get crystal clear sound back without any invasive and complex process. Moreover, when you experience such situations, they lower the volume of your pair no matter what you are listening to. When this happens, it means something is wrong with your wired earbuds that have caused a muffled sound. In this article, let’s try to know why your wired earphones are producing distorted and muffled audio.
Why Wired Headphones Produce Muffled Sound
Frayed headphone wires, damaged wires, water and moisture, and earwax in the speaker are some of the major reasons your earbuds may produce a muffled sound. This could really affect how you listen to sound through your pair.
Connection Issues
Connection issues are common in both wireless and wired headphones. If their connection to the audio source is either loose or damaged, wired earbuds may produce muffled sounds. Make sure the plug is not loose and damaged, either internally or externally. In case the earphone plug is loose, search for if the issue is with a different set of headphones. And if the issue lies with the loose jack, you need to repair your headphone jack to ensure quality and consistent sound.
Frayed Headphone Wires
There is no doubt wired products are becoming redundant. However, there is no harm in using them. Likewise, you can use wired earphones but covering them can lengthen their lifespan. Inside the rubber hosing of your headphones lies the weakest part of your pair which is also most important as far as quality sound is concerned. Although damage to this part may not be visible, you can easily damage wires inside the rubber hosing by putting unnecessary tension, and pulling cables.
Unfortunately, if the wire is the issue, the only solution lies in replacing the headphones. Those who have basic knowledge of electrical work may replace the wire. But those that don’t have the necessary experience would have to buy new pair of earbuds.
Water and Moisture
Very much like most other electronics, moisture is an antagonist for headphones. Even a tiny drop of water can be devastating for your pair and cause damage beyond repair. Although water-resistant technology is becoming common in electronics, these devices even have a limit of water resistance which is measured by IP rating. Anything beyond that can damage components of your earphones and cause muffled sounds in your device.
Unfortunately, damage caused by moisture is usually irreparable. However, there is one thing that you can try to save them from permanent damage. Take a piece of cloth damped in 91% isopropyl alcohol and wipe away any external particle or item from your pair. After this, submerge your earbuds in a silica gel or airtight rice container. Keep the device in the airtight container for not less than 12 hours. After the said period, remove them from the container and do an audio test. Although the maximum life time of earbud is 2 to 3 years, you can enlarge their life with careful use. In case all this is in vain, they are bum.
Blown Speakers
Inside the speakers of your earbuds, you will find dedicated voice coils. But these voice coils are not infallible. If you listen to music at loud volumes for an extended period of time, it will slowly weaken or wear out your speakers which are known as blowing them out. With a multimeter, you can easily diagnose whether your speakers are blown out. In order to know this, connect the multimeter with your headphones. If they are actually blown out, they will show infinite reading as compared to the ones shown by speakers in good condition.
In addition to this, this kind of speaker is also a “replace it” kind of problem. Therefore, you cannot fix speakers once they have been blown out. In this situation, the only choice you have is to replace them.
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