How to "turn down the volume"?

[gouldgrl]

I live in a city where I am constantly exposed to loud noises. I'm extremely sensitive, especially to motorcycle engines and such. Does anyone know of a brand of headphones that can offer some level of protection and, in the process, lessen the discomfort of all the cacophony? Thanks for any recommendations!

 

[Judge]

Bose QC-15 (Quiet Comfort)

Accept no substitutes. But you do have to replace the battery that runs the noise-cancelling circuitry. They are amazing. You put them on, and they muffle sound like any other decent supra-aural headphones. But when you flip that switch, the noise is gone. Truly.

One caveat: Price: $260- $300

 

[gouldgrl]

Bose QC-15 (Quiet Comfort)

Accept no substitutes. But you do have to replace the battery that runs the noise-cancelling circuitry. They are amazing. You put them on, and they muffle sound like any other decent supra-aural headphones. But when you flip that switch, the noise is gone. Truly.

One caveat: Price: $260- $300

Wow--what an endorsement! They are expensive; but maybe I could get them "prescribed" by my therapist and get my health plan to pay for them.

 

[Judge]

Wow--what an endorsement! They are expensive; but maybe I could get them "prescribed" by my therapist and get my health plan to pay for them.

In a nutshell, they work as advertised. I've looked around at noise-cancelling headphones for more than a year now...and have yet to find any that truly cancel noise altogether.

Another endorsement I've started to notice is in news broadcasts showing military air-sea rescue operations from a number of nations. Aircrews are using these headphones. Can't think of a more critical application...

One thing though to be aware of. IMO most contemporary headphones suffer the same issue- fragility. Handle them carefully at all times to make them last.

 

[gouldgrl]

In a nutshell, they work as advertised. I've looked around at noise-cancelling headphones for more than a year now...and have yet to find any that truly cancel noise altogether.

Another endorsement I've started to notice is in news broadcasts showing military air-sea rescue operations from a number of nations. Aircrews are using these headphones. Can't think of a more critical application...

One thing though to be aware of. IMO most contemporary headphones suffer the same issue- fragility. Handle them carefully at all times to make them last.

Thanks so much for the recommendation (and word of caution)! My biggest fear would be losing the darn things. The more you spend on something the higher the stakes are in misplacing it. Which is why I always buy cheap sunglasses!

 

[Mattymatt]

Thanks so much for the recommendation (and word of caution)! My biggest fear would be losing the darn things. The more you spend on something the higher the stakes are in misplacing it. Which is why I always buy cheap sunglasses!

No harm in trying inexpensive noise-canceling headphones from a place like Radio Shack. I have a pair of Radio Shack cheapies that I picked up for only 29.99 and they leave me in quiet bliss.

 

[Mattymatt]

Here are a pair available from Walmart: Maxell Full-Sized Noise-Canceling Headphones, HP/NC-II: iPods & MP3 Players : Walmart.com

 

[gouldgrl]

No harm in trying inexpensive noise-canceling headphones from a place like Radio Shack. I have a pair of Radio Shack cheapies that I picked up for only 29.99 and they leave me in quiet bliss.

Thanks for the input! Sensitivity to noise, of course, varies from person to person, so ideally I would like to try out a few brands before purchasing a pair.

 

[wyverary]

As far as headphones go, if you're looking into something that will block out noise, in-ear phones are the best. Especially if you can find ones that have a somewhat elevated bass level...I'm told Klipsch makes such earphones, and they are supposedly quite durable to boot. I think their most low-end model costs around $80.

Honestly, I've had great success with simple old-fashioned ear-plugs. I use them at Bonnaroo (a large music festival) when I want to sleep and they work like a charm.

 

[gouldgrl]

As far as headphones go, if you're looking into something that will block out noise, in-ear phones are the best. Especially if you can find ones that have a somewhat elevated bass level...I'm told Klipsch makes such earphones, and they are supposedly quite durable to boot. I think their most low-end model costs around $80.

Honestly, I've had great success with simple old-fashioned ear-plugs. I use them at Bonnaroo (a large music festival) when I want to sleep and they work like a charm.

Thanks! I am learning a lot about headphones in this thread. If anyone else is interested to learn more, I found this informative review on the internet:The Best Noise-Cancelling In-Ear Headphones | The Wirecutter

 

[Andy R]

I tend to block noise by listening to MP3's via ear buds. However when I need to communicate, for instance when I am out with my wife I use etymotic earplugs. They turn the volume of everything down without loosing any of the frequency range. They are particularly good at live gigs too

 

[bentHnau]

I wanted to get a pair of Bose, but other people said that the noise cancelling feature creates a sort of staticky undertone or something that gets irritating after a while, and I know from experience that wearing music headphones long-term is painful, especially when the surrounding noise is so loud that I have to turn the audio up high to block it out. I now use a pair of ear defenders (available at a hardware store) over a pair of ear plugs. The ear defenders are meant to block out industrial noises and would therefore work well for the motorcycle engines and such. Even at the maximum decibel rating, however, I find that even the plugs + defenders combination is insufficient for blocking out nearby voices.

 

[Mattymatt]

I wanted to get a pair of Bose, but other people said that the noise cancelling feature creates a sort of staticky undertone or something that gets irritating after a while, and I know from experience that wearing music headphones long-term is painful, especially when the surrounding noise is so loud that I have to turn the audio up high to block it out. I now use a pair of ear defenders (available at a hardware store) over a pair of ear plugs. The ear defenders are meant to block out industrial noises and would therefore work well for the motorcycle engines and such. Even at the maximum decibel rating, however, I find that even the plugs + defenders combination is insufficient for blocking out nearby voices.

I've mentioned this before but you don't need a pair of Bose headphones to achieve the end goal. Simply pick up a pair of cheap ones at Walmart. They all work more or less on the same principle of generating sound waves to cancel out background noise. Each person's experience is different, you cannot necessarily go on what other people say. Each person's hearing ranges and tolerances are also a bit different.

 

[toothless]

what about using ear defenders instead? theyre much better than headphones for blocking out noise.
recommend peltor optime III ear defenders,theyre not expensive [especialy if get them BNWT off ebay] and theyre the best pair of ear defenders available,have bought them for many years.

 

[Judge]

The only thing to do is to physically try the product FIRST before purchasing them...whatever one decides regardless of price considerations.

Whatever actually works for YOU to your own sense of satisfaction (and hearing) is all that counts.