THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO… Noise cancelling headphones

Science is no stranger to noise cancelling. Dr Paul Lueg submitted his first patent for wavecancelling technology way back in 1933, designing a system that could be used to reduce vibrations in loudspeakers; the theory was sound, but the technology of the time did not allow for the equipment to be made. In the ’50s and ’60s, Dr Laurence Fogel continued similar research and issued patents for the first viable devices, designed to cancel the potentially harmful frequencies of helicopter cockpits. This time the tech was transferred from speakers to ear directly, using earphones to reduce the risk of more damaging audio feedback.

Fogel, though considered the inventor of active noise cancellation, was not alone. Around the same time the US Air Force was working on a project to protect air crews’ hearing, culminating with the design and testing of an active