What to do when you can only hear yourself think while using Jabra Evolve 80

So I recently started using a Jabra Evolve 80, which is quite a phenomenal piece of hardware. It sounds great and is easy to use. I also found myself listening to music more and I've almost completely stopped yelling at my kids to stop having so much fun (just kidding) while I'm working, thanks to the active noise cancellation technology.

But...

There was one complaint I had... When I used it as a headset my voice was muted... like when you talk with fingers in your ears. You only hear the vibrations through your jawbone... which is usable... but definitely not ideal. With one ear headsets, you have an open ear so you can still hear yourself talk and it is more natural.

Well today's blog post is the result of @mitchsteiner and I having a conversation about the Evolve 80 and he was complaining that his voice was too LOUD. I thought to myself... how can that be... I hear nothing and it is too loud for him... there must be a way to adjust this. So as Mitch and I talked he called it sidetone and that is what I started my search for.

After searching for awhile on Jabra's website I came across the ability to adjust the "sidetone" audio, which kudos to Mitch for actually calling it what it was and proof that if you have traditional voice skills they never die.

So here it is in all its glory...

How to adjust sidetone for your Jabra Evolve 80

1. Open the Windows control panel and access the Sound control panel applet.

2. Select "Playback" tab and then right-click the Jabra EVOLVE LINK MS device and choose "Properties"

3. Once the Headset Earphone Properties have displayed, Choose the "Levels" tab.

4. On the "Levels" tab you will see an item for "Sidetone". Mine was set to -18 dB and I needed a slight adjustment to -15 dB. In order to set the level you will need to get on a phone call with a buddy and talk while you adjust and click "OK" (sorry no "Apply"). To hear the change you might have to change to much louder than -15dB and then bring it down to your liking.

5. Enjoy and show your friends.

I would like to make special note that this is a USB ONLY function. If you plug the headset straight into a mobile device this Sidetone function is not there.