I’ve had a bunch of noise-canceling headphones over the years: AirPods Pro and Pro 2, Parrot Zik 3, Sony XM3, and for the last five years, I’ve been using Bose QC35II daily. I absolutely love those for how comfy they are.

When the Bose QC Ultra Headphones came out, I watched a ton of reviews and figured it was time for an upgrade. So, I bought them, used them for a month, ran into a bunch of issues that nobody really talks about, and ended up selling them.

Here’s what bugged me:

1. Hiss from the noise cancellation. In a quiet room, when no music’s playing or it’s super low, there’s this annoying background noise. I get that some hiss is normal, but with my old Bose QC35 or AirPods Max, it’s barely noticeable.

2. Clicks/crackling while wearing them. Even when I’m just walking calmly, every step causes these clicks in my ears. It feels like a sudden pressure change, and it’s rough on the ears.

3. Overkill noise cancellation. After 20-30 minutes of listening, my ears feel tired from the pressure, and I start getting headaches. This might just be me, but I’ve used plenty of ANC headphones before, and this is the first time I’ve had this issue.

4. Terrible for calls. During a call, if someone starts talking at the same time as you, your voice gets muffled on their end. People kept telling me I sounded like I was moving closer and farther from the mic, or they could barely hear me. Total nonsense. Probably some buggy software.

When I was watching reviews, nobody mentioned these problems. But after I bought them and started Googling these specific issues, turns out I’m not the only one dealing with this. So, what’s your honest experience? Are you seeing these same issues, or did I just get a dud pair?