In described examples, a method for detecting voice activity includes: receiving a first input signal containing noise; sampling the first input signal to form noise samples; determining a first value corresponding to the noise samples; subsequently receiving a second input signal; sampling the second input signal to form second signal samples; determining a second value corresponding to the second signal samples; forming a ratio of the second value to the first value; comparing the ratio to a predetermined threshold value; and responsive to the comparing, indicating whether voice activity is detected in the second input signal.