Technologies

Stop Headphone Headaches: 6 Tweaks I Use for All-Day Comfort

Headphone headaches are common, especially for gamers or remote workers. But a few important changes can help you use headsets for hours on end, pain-free.

Equipped with better drivers, the latest Bluetooth technology and upgraded chipsets, full-size headphones are delivering increasingly powerful performance for more affordable prices. However, some headphone models can cause real headaches.

In the past, I typically used lighter headsets for studying or communication, so headaches were never much of a problem until I started reviewing larger gaming and work headsets early in my tech reporting career.

After a few lengthy Overwatch and Destiny sessions, I noticed my head throbbing and my temples aching — and after researching the issue, I found many people had headphone headaches to share, especially when gaming or working for long periods with tight headphones. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

These headphone-induced headaches typically occur from a combo of pressure, weight, heat, wearing glasses and similar factors. But I have good news: it’s possible to treat headset woes like these with a few careful tweaks to your setup. Here’s what I’ve found works best, even when headphone sessions last for hours.

1. Try over-ear or open-ear headphones

On-ear headphones are smaller and lighter than the large earcups of over-ear models, and often more affordable, but they can also cause headaches. That may sound counterintuitive, but it’s due to the earbuds’ gripping design and the lack of padding in on-ear models. That includes popular music headphones like the Sony WH-CH520 or the Beats Solo 4.

The smaller earcup design of on-ear headphones typically puts more pressure directly on the ear, which gets very tiring during extended use. That’s especially true for people with glasses, who often experience pain with these headphones.

The best alternative, without sacrificing too much audio quality or extra features, is switching to over-ear headphones. These headphones have significantly larger, cushier earcups that create less pressure and improve noise isolation. In this case, going big may be the best way to ease your pain.

The other option is to use earbuds or innovative open-ear headphones like Shockz, which use bone conduction and other methods to reduce ear fatigue. You may lose audio quality compared with over-ear models, but it’s a pain-free option, especially for those relying on their glasses while they work, study or play.

2. Switch to a better ear cup material

If you’re adamant about sticking to over-the-ear headphones, consider a better ear pad material for your earcups, as it can significantly reduce pain. If your headset is stuck with basic foam covers, it’s time to find a model with thick memory foam or a similar material.

Likewise, if you find the padding material on your earcups is scratchy, stiff, or pulls on your ears, try switching out the covering material. Velour tends to work best for comfort levels, as does suede. If you find your earphones overheat your head and lead to headaches, consider trying a mesh fabric cover instead.

If you already have a gaming headset or professional over-ear headphones, look up your brand to see if they offer ear cup replacements in different materials. That may be pricey, but you can explore affordable alternatives like ear covers for $10 that can help some earcups feel smoother and cooler.

3. Experiment with adjusting your headband

Do your current headphones offer headband adjustments or similar customization? If not, I highly suggest looking for a pair that supports them. Even standard headsets can be heavy — the SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5, for example, clocks in at nearly 10 ounces— leaving it on your head for a few hours can cause discomfort. That’s why weight distribution is important.

The tension of your headband can directly affect the tension in your head. Too tight, and the headphones will apply uncomfortable pressure and pull at your hair. Too loose, and your earcups can feel like dead weight. If you get frequent headaches, try loosening your headband a little while still keeping it firm. Ear cup height adjustments can perform a similar role.

Additional note: Some headphones are heavy, like the AirPods Max (a hefty 13.6 ounces), but distribute the weight well. But lighter is often better. Check out our reviews and recommendations to see which headphones we call out for their stress-relieving designs.

4. Shift your volume to lower settings

I know you may want to pinpoint the sound of footsteps or hear every possible environmental sound, but it’s important to keep headphone volume at a safe level. Beyond a certain point, volume can be an active trigger of painful headaches, even if you don’t usually experience them.

If you’d like to dive into this topic, I highly recommend my colleague Anna Gragert’s account of earbud-related health issues and what she learned from talking to audiologists. If your volume is high enough to trigger ear pain and headaches, there’s also a good chance it’s causing long-term hearing loss or other problems.

The general rule for headset volume is to keep it significantly below 85 decibels, a tip recommended by Turtle Beach and other headphone brands. I suggest heading into your headphone app (if available) and tweaking your audio settings so the emphasis is placed on the sound details you want, letting you keep the overall volume lower.

If you prefer headphones for music and find yourself listening to your favorite album at a higher-than-usual volume, it’s a good idea to lower the volume to a quiet setting and chill with more lo-fi music to give yourself a break.

Brands like SteelSeries also produce headphones with volume-limiting features for this very purpose, placing a universal volume cap on headphones to help rein in bad habits or protect kids’ ears.

5. Turn down screen brightness or enable a blue light filter

Headphone pressure and volume aren’t the only causes of headaches. Your screen is also an important factor, especially if you’re staring at it for long periods in a dark room.

That’s why I also recommend turning down your screen brightness if you suffer from headphone headaches. Set your computer or TV to a lower brightness or dimmer mode when you start a session, and see if that keeps the headache at bay.

If your display supports it — typically in software settings or some game settings — you can also enable a blue light filter. These filters reduce the colder, bluer light on the display, which is most responsible for eye strain. It will slightly shift the visuals toward warmer hues and can also provide significant relief.

For glasses wearers, there’s another option: You can find glasses with blue light-blocking lenses for continual protection, no matter what screen you’re on. Again, these are best paired with over-ear or open-ear headphones to complete a comfortable headset setup.

6. Kill the noise-cancelling features for a while

Are active noise-canceling headphones giving you headaches? Those high-tech features, found in popular lines like Bose QuietComfort, larger Sony WH models and the AirPods Max, may actually be the problem. Active noise cancellation uses sound waves to cancel out ambient noise. It’s a neat trick, but not everyone responds the same.

Some people report feelings of pressure, dizziness and general weirdness when using noise cancellation. Similar to sudden altitude changes, it can trigger headaches for people trying to concentrate.

If your headphones have an active noise cancellation feature, switch it off to see if it helps reduce the pain and strain of long-term use. If it makes a noticeable difference, you should probably stick with passive noise cancellation on your headset.

With your headache issues sorted out, now is an excellent time to take a look at the best PC games we’ve tried and the best monitors for the action.

Technologies

Amazon Speeds Up Delivery Even More With 1- and 3-Hour Options

The retailer says the one-hour option is available in hundreds of cities, with discounted shipping for Prime members.

Same-day delivery apparently isn’t fast enough for some Amazon shoppers. The retail giant said on Tuesday it’s adding new shipping options that will get products to front doors within a one- or three-hour window.

The company said in its announcement that the one-hour option is available in hundreds of cities across the US, while the three-hour option is now live in more than 2,000 areas. Amazon’s web page at amazon.com/getitfast shows whether those options are available to shoppers for their location. More than 90,000 products will be available for those shipping windows, the company said.

For those who can’t get those services (including the author of this post, who lives between Austin and San Antonio in Texas), a message will display: «3-hour delivery is currently unavailable. Check back at a later time or shop products with Same-Day delivery below.»

Pricing for the faster delivery options is not cheap: It’ll cost you $20 for one-hour delivery and $15 for three-hour delivery for those without an Amazon Prime account, or $10 and $5 for customers who subscribe to Prime.

Last year, the company rolled out faster Amazon delivery options to 4,000 additional areas.

In a video of the podcast Learn and Be Curious with Doug Herrington, hosted by Amazon’s CEO of worldwide stores, Kandace Kapps, the director of the company’s same-day strategy team, spoke in more detail about the challenges of fast shipping. Kapps discussed shifts in customer buying habits over the last few years, such as more people buying household essentials like toilet paper on Amazon.

She said that Amazon can deliver so quickly by placing same-day delivery hubs close to customers in metro areas and by getting products ready to ship within 15 minutes, aided by warehouse robots.

«I think customers are going to continue to get magically surprised by how fast we can deliver to their doorstop,» Kapps said.

Herrington said fast shipping increases sales: «When we speed up the service, the probability that somebody buys a product from us goes up.»

Other retailers, including Walmart, have been adding same-day delivery options or exploring other ways to speed up shipping times to compete with Amazon.

Removing buyers’ moments of hesitation

Part of Amazon’s strategy, which has involved a massive buildout of locations, deployment of thousands of trucks, deals with other delivery services and investment in logistics software, is actually pretty simple: being there when people need last-minute items or make impulse buys.

«It’s about removing the last moment where you would’ve reconsidered the purchase,» said Stephanie Carls, retail insights expert at coupon and promotional-code website RetailMeNot, a sibling site of CNET. «It changes how you shop, not just how fast you get things.»

Carls said that Amazon’s super-fast delivery is removing the timeframe when people might change their minds about a purchase.

«There used to be a gap between deciding to buy something and actually having it. That’s when you’d price check, rethink it, or decide you didn’t need it after all,» she said. «This closes that gap.»

The retail expert said that competitors, including Walmart and Target, have been speeding up delivery times in some markets. Still, they’re not matching Amazon’s scale or product range at those speeds or levels of consistency.

«And that’s what starts to make everyone else feel slow,» Carls said. «Amazon’s advantage is how tightly connected its technology, inventory and delivery networks are, which makes this level of speed more repeatable.»

Technologies

Dog Health Goes Digital With New AI Chatbot

Fi Intelligence allows you to ask questions of a specially tailored pet health chatbot, but it’s not meant to replace vet visits.

It might be time to rethink what it means to be sick as a dog. On Tuesday, Fi, a smart pet technology company, announced a new AI-powered chatbot to help owners stay on top of their dog’s health using a blend of personal information and generalized dog breed data.

The AI agent, which the company is calling Fi Intelligence, is integrated directly into the Fi app. It has access to all the information gathered about your dog across the entire suite of Fi products, including the Fi Series 3 Plus and Fi Mini dog collars, as well as information and documents uploaded by the pet owner. The service is for dogs only (not cats, rabbits or other pets).

If you already own a Fi smart collar, existing data will be incorporated into the AI agent’s dataset to help it answer your questions.

When creating Fi Intelligence, the company identified a multitude of common questions that dog owners have, including whether their animal friend is walking or sleeping enough, or scratching more than usual. The chatbot was created to help owners find answers to these questions quickly and easily, according to Fi.

Fi designed its agent to answer these questions using a mix of general information about a dog’s breed, personal information and biometric data gathered by Fi smart pet collars.

Pet owners can ask the chatbot questions in plain English and get back detailed responses. Fi Intelligence is equipped to answer general questions, contrast your dog’s current data to previous time periods and compare your dog’s data to other dogs of the same breed.

Fi says its chatbot is different from general-purpose AI agents because it has been trained on a proprietary dataset containing «the largest repository of real-world canine activity, sleep and behavior data in the world.»

Fi Intelligence doesn’t replace a trip to the vet — and the company stresses it’s not supposed to. Rather, the agent is supposed to grant owners «informed confidence» about their dog’s health and can help them «show up [to the vet] with specific, documented observations drawn from weeks of continuous data.»

«The strongest signal from our beta was that owners aren’t using this to replace their vet,» said Fi’s Vice President of Product Darrell Stone. «They’re using it to show up better prepared.»

According to Fi, the Fi Intelligence integration will provide the most complete dog health profile available in the app so far. Fi Intelligence is available to all Fi members immediately.

Technologies

Nvidia Teases DLSS 5 and Gamers Aren’t Impressed

The new AI technology is making some big changes to video game graphics that hardly anyone seems to like.

Nvidia opened its GTC conference with a keynote by CEO Jensen Huang, revealing the company’s latest tech. Among the raft of the company’s AI developments, gamers were treated to the imminent version of its AI-powered upscaling and optimization technology, DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), touted as the «biggest breakthrough in computer graphics».

Nvidia published a video illustrating how DLSS 5 can enhance graphics in Resident Evil Requiem, Starfield and other games, showing before-and-after takes. But gamers weren’t thrilled. In fact, the response to DLSS 5 resembles more of a collective backlash, replete with memes, ridicule and outrage.

Gamers were quick to point out that DLSS 5 transformed the original graphics into something vastly different. Some called the visuals «AI slop» because they look like «yassified» AI-generated filters.

Many worry that DLSS 5 could deviate from a creator’s specific artistic vision. Critics also fear that if this technology becomes the industry standard, video game graphics might start to look the same, losing their unique visual identity.

«Everything about this is a betrayal of these game’s artistry,» said YouTuber The Sphere Hunter in a post on X Monday. «Painting over handcrafted, intentional 3D art with shiny, wrinkly, sunken-in, porous, puckered, fraudulent, filtered nonsense is deeply disrespectful. If you want this, just watch gen-AI videos all day.»

Countless memes mocking the tech’s exaggerated features flooded the internet. Others on social media parodied the effects DLSS 5 could produce in other games.

Ok, you convinced us, NVIDIA DLSS 5 is coming to «Copycat» too 😅 pic.twitter.com/WT2qRRz9EC

— Copycat // OUT NOW 😻 (@GameCopycat) March 17, 2026

In a Q&A on Tuesday, Huang addressed the backlash from gamers, calling them «completely wrong.» Huang underlined that DLSS 5 «enhances and adds generative capability, but it doesn’t change the artistic control» and that «it’s in the direct control of the game developer.»

The team at Digital Foundry, which specializes in game technology and hardware reviews, called it «disruptive and transformative» but was generally positive about it, though they saw some hiccups.

«[The images] looked a little bit uncanny, I would say, but definitely the overall portrayal of those characters is much more sophisticated,» said Oliver Mackenzie, video producer and writer for Digital Foundry.

Bethesda’s official X account replied to comments from members of Digital Foundry about Starfield and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, both published by Bethesda.

«This is a very early look, and our art teams will be further adjusting the lighting and final effect to look the way we think works best for each game. This will all be under our artists’ control, and totally optional for players,» the publisher said.

DLSS 5 is set to be released sometime in the fall.

What is DLSS?

Nvidia first released its DLSS tech back in 2018 with its RTX 2080 card: The RTX architecture introduced the Tensor cores, which are essential for accelerating the calculations used by the DLSS AI. The deep learning technology was designed to upscale images and video from low resolution in real time to achieve higher frame rates.

Gamers weren’t impressed at first, but later versions of the technology did perform better in games that supported it. DLSS 4, released last year and tweaked to 4.5 as of January, made significant improvements to detail rendering, reducing motion artifacts, boosting frame rates, and generating more realistic lighting via path tracing (which incorporates interactions with ray-traced lighting).

What does DLSS 5 do?

DLSS 5 works a bit differently than previous versions of the technology. According to Nvidia, DLSS 5 shifts from processing simple pixels to understanding 3D elements. By deconstructing characters into specific components — such as skin, hair and clothing — the AI can render them more consistently. This results in faster performance and much more realistic details, especially for textures and lighting.

Game developers control how DLSS 5 enhances images and to what degree, ensuring it matches the game’s aesthetic. The demo video showcased some positive enhancements, but others looked like sweeping changes to the characters and the environment.

Which games will support DLSS 5 at launch?

On Monday, Nvidia released a list of games slated to support DLSS 5:

AION 2
Assassin’s Creed Shadows
Black State
Cinder City
Delta Force
Hogwarts Legacy
Justice
Naraka: Bladepoint
NTE: Neverness to Everness
Phantom Blade Zero
Resident Evil Requiem
Sea of Remnants
Starfield
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
Where Winds Meet

What cards will support DLSS 5?

Nvidia has yet to provide a list of GPUs that will support the new technology. In an FAQ, the company says it will release a list of supported cards closer to its release.