Over the ear headphones for the bigger-headed

April 27, 2023 11:59 AM

I'm looking for over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones that don't hurt my head after a few hours on a long-haul flight. More info within. Thanks!

Every time I try to wear over-the-ear headphones on a long-haul flight, I end up with a lot of pain in my ear/cheekbone region after a few hours. This isn't pressure in my eardrums, it's more of a general pain in the areas where the headphones meet my head (particularly on my cheekbones) and it is not affected if I turn the ANC off. This issue seems to be massively compounded if I wear glasses and/or face masks (both ear and behind-the-head fit), both of which I do generally wear on planes. I do have a slightly-larger-than-average head and ears, but nothing cartoonish, and my cheekbones are similarly on the prominent-but-nothing-remarkable side.

As far as models, I've experienced this issue in the past with Bose QuietComfort 25 headphones, Anker Q20 headphones, and (iirc - can't remember these ones as well) whatever they give you in Emirates and Qatar business class.

I do find in-ear earbuds pretty comfortable (Beats Flex are my daily drivers and I can comfortably wear them for hours) and I know that noise-cancelling earbuds exist. I'm open to those as well if that's my only option but ideally I'm looking for something where A. I can plug in an aux cable and watch movies more easily (yes, I know about bluetooth transmitters but at least the one I have is a bit finicky to use/re-pair/etc.) and B. the battery can last the whole trip or close to it (my travel can run 24+ hours - on a super long trip I am willing to deal with some charging, particularly if it can be done while they're being worn, but <8 hrs battery life is not ideal). If there are earbud-style headphones that could do those things, I'd be open to exploring those as well.

So, my question is: are there different models/fits of earphones I should be trying that are less likely to have this issue?

As far as budget, I'm willing to spend some money on headphones although I would hate to make the investment only to find out that they still hurt (is renting headphones a thing?). Audio quality is not as big a priority - nothing ever sounds that great on a plane anyways - but I would like it to not be distractingly terrible.

posted by mosst to Shopping (4 answers total)

I have Lorge Head (65 cm hat if that helps calibrate) and I use these ridiculously cheap Sony headphones. Going strong for five years now, despite horrendous abuse and a rocket scientist accidentally lifting a desktop tower by them. I recognize that this specific pair is not noise-canceling (or wireless, which, I'm not clear on whether you needed wireless), but Sony does apparently make noise-canceling and wireless headphones with this physical build.
My brother who has similar Lorge Head issues uses these for gaming with no issues, and again, should be able to get wireless/noise-canceling versions of the same headset, but they're extremely muffling as is (I borrowed them for a flight on a ATR once and could hear my music at 5% volume while seated right next to the propellor).
posted by ngaiotonga at 12:52 PM on April 27, 2023

I have a huge head myself, and I was just researching this problem, which is complicated by the fact that I only wanted wireless.

I have three recommendations.

Cheap at $50: Avantree Audition. These can go either wired or wireless. The worst problem is those ear pads (pleather) gets destroyed after a while, and they're not easily replaceable. I think you can replace them with the pro version, which is $20 more. VERY light ear pressure.

Slightly more expensive at $60, multi-mode: Wyze Wireless Gaming Headset can be used as a regular BT5.0 headset or BTLE headset for PC with included dongle, it has slightly higher ear pressure, but so far, tolerable, and battery life is pretty good thus far. However, the ear cups tilt "outward" so that may affect your comfort.

For really big heads, and don't mind the name... Razer Blackshark V2 Pro. VERY large headband, adjustable, and wireless, but it's also $122 on Amazon. If you can live with a wire, you can get the regular Blackshark V2 for about $80. I would not recommend stepping down to the budget V2X though at $50. IMHO, the savings aren't worth it.
posted by kschang at 5:30 PM on April 27, 2023

I have a huge head and my Audio Technica M40X headphones are very comfortably worn for hours. The M30X looks similar if you want something cheaper.
posted by mmoncur at 8:39 PM on April 27, 2023

+1 for Sony headphones. I apparently have a big ol head and I wear my Sony noise-cancelling over-ear headphones all day. I’d give you the model number but they’re a few years old and have likely been replaced by new models which are—I sincerely hope—at least as comfortable.
posted by TangoCharlie at 8:35 AM on April 30, 2023 [1 favorite]