If you only want sound from one side of your headphones – whether to keep an ear free or through a fault in one speaker, this tutorial will be of use to you. I only use a single ear with my gaming headphones, due to tinnitus in one ear. Here is what I did to set up my headphones to use on only one ear.
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Enable Mono Audio
By default, Windows uses stereo sound that is intended to be used with more than one speaker for a more immersive experience. It channels specific sounds through both speakers, but if you were to use only one side of a headset, you’d miss out on sounds that were to be channelled through the other side.
The best way to overcome this is to enable mono audio to channel all sounds through one speaker. While it won’t provide an immersive stereo sound experience, you’ll at least hear all sounds.
Go to System -> Sound in Windows Settings, and enable the Mono audio toggle.
Note: although this option applies to all sounds played on your PC, it may not apply if an app has its own audio settings overriding it. Make sure you also enable the mono audio option in any app that supports this feature.
Configuring Single-Ear Sound Headphones
Since you’ll be listening to sound in one ear, it’s better to turn off the sound on the other side of the headphones. Keeping sound active in unused speakers can waste resources and potentially disrupt the quality of what you are hearing.
In Windows Settings, go to System -> Sound, and select your headphones in the Output section.
Under Output settings, you can adjust the volume of the left and right channels. You need to set the volume to 0 for the side that you won’t be using.
Configure Audio Enhancements
Windows offers a bunch of audio enhancement features that improve sound quality. However, most of these features only work on stereo sound settings using both speakers. Some settings also improve the mono audio experience when turned on. The following is the audio enhancement configuration that works best for me in my single-ear headphones setup.
Go to System -> Sound in Windows Settings, and click on More sound settings at the bottom.
Select your headphones under the Playback tab, and click Properties.
Disable Spatial sound, as it only works with stereo speakers. Move to the Spatial sound tab, and set the Spatial sound format to Off.
Move to the Enhancements tab, and enable Loudness Equalization. This will create a balance between loud and quiet sounds, which is necessary for mono audio.
You can disable most of the other enhancements, as they all require a stereo setup. However, Bass Boost is your personal choice; enable it if you prefer more bass. I keep it disabled, as it decreases and muffles the overall sound a bit.
Both Loudness Equalizer and Bass Boost have dedicated settings to further adjust their effectiveness. I recommend adjusting the Loudness Equalization release time to Short if you prefer clearer audio, like when playing video games or on call.
The single-ear headphones above setup works great for me for most purposes. The biggest downside I notice is that the surround sound in video games to detect enemy direction is lacking. If you want to further improve the mono sound experience, learn how to improve sound in Windows.
Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.
Karrar Haider –
Staff Writer
Karrar is drenched in technology and always fiddles with new tech opportunities. He has a bad habit of calling technology “Killer”, and doesn’t feel bad about spending too much time in front of the PC. If he is not writing about technology, you will find him spending quality time with his little family.
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