Noise cancelling headphones! Oh Joy! (and other ways to block sound)

What's the difference between noise cancelling headphones and ear defenders?

 

Scroll back to post 26 (page 2) in this thread for a link to the explanation of how noise cancelling headphones work.

 

Ear defenders merely block the sound passively and aren't particularly effective for low frequency sound.

Noise cancelling headphones actively cancel sound by measuring the ambient sound and producing an out-of phase signal, which when summed leads cancelling out the sound pressure at your ear. Obviously very loud sounds cannot be cancelled completely due the the volume output limitations of the headphone. Periodic low frequency sounds (tonal sounds) are fairly effectively cancelled out - such as annoying constant hum sounds etc. Aperiodic sounds (white/pink type noise) are more difficult to cancel out since there is inherent latency in trying to phase matching the incoming signals, but people find such sound less disturbing.

 

I have Howard Leight ear defenders, ear plugs, all sorts. They are all a bit helpful but all they do is muffle it & reduce the volume. Last week my neighbours were doing DIY - banging, drilling etc. With the defenders & ear plugs it's muffled, usually cutting out the high pitch sounds but leaving in the rest, so basically it all got less volume & lower pitched, so music sounds deeper etc - like when you a long way away & can hear the bass of somebodies music but not the vocals.

With the NC headphones i literally could not hear the hammering...
AT ALL.
I am so shocked by their effectiveness. Not being very 'physics' minded, the technology blows my mind tbh. I never would have believed it until i tried it. I mean i was expecting nothing better than the defenders so my expectations were not high - dont want to get people's expectations up too high, they are not perfect, but for a lot of sounds i find then radically different to the defenders/plugs, even when used simultaneously.

 

Does that mean you hear something through the headphones?

 

You hear less if the headphones are working properly. If you do something, it is likely to be a faint hiss type sound.

 

Here's something for the future: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/...k&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Science

Noise cancelling for your window

 

My father has been talking about this for years (he lives in an inner-city apartment). They need to release a product already!

 

Reviving this thread, can someone tell me what sort of price range we're talking about (sterling would be ideal)? It was suggested as a Christmas present for my caree, but I think they are well out of my range.

 

Mine are quite old now but a quick look at Bose noise cancelling ones on the John Lewis website shows the cheapest at £229.

There may be other brands that do a fair job but I couldn't make any recommendations. The Bose ones are pretty good.

 

Mine were £40 (reduced from £85 or something like that) from amazon, and whilst better than nothing are pretty useless when it comes to many frequencies. Not really any better, IMO, than normal over ear headphones.

This would suggest to me that anything sub £100 is likely to be fairly useless for noise cancelling.

I do however have a very low tolerance for external noise, particularly rythmic noise - anything below 35db or so my tinnitus swamps out and anything above 35db is an irritant (this includes 'silent' computer fans rated at 17db) - AFAIK this isn't the case for most people.

 

Another key consideration of such headphones is comfort. Which unfortunately is not something you will know until you try them for hours at a time...

 

Smart Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 | Bose mine are these they are fantastic, but pretty pricey at £350there is a 90 day satisfaction guarantee if you get them from Bose though, so if dont like/not worth it for any reason can return for full refund. you can get them atm from amzon for £269 cyber monday deal Bose Noise Cancelling Wireless Bluetooth Headphones 700: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics but not sure about the 90 day satisfaction guarantee if you buy from them you'd need to check it out.

The sony ones - also very good by all accounts Sony WH-1000XM3 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

sony also do some cheaper ones on amazon but dont know how good they are. it does seem like you get what you pay for with noise cancelling tech. ETA I also tried a cheaper, non 'branded' pair some time ago - they were worse than useless. Had awful white noise hissing - just tried to drown out competing sound rather than reduce it.
but there are some sony ones on amazon for £75 in a cyber monday deal that might be worth a shot ??? i dont know.

I wasnt expecting much, thats why i got the bose ones as it was a no risk purchase. i wouldt be without them now

 

I bought a pair of Bose QuietComfort for the equivalent of approx £130 last year (in Sweden). Not one of their latest models, but I think they are absolutely fantastic

 

Also just to say that i got the bose in- ear ones as well and they are not nearly as good, they also made me feel very dizzy & sick & gave me a headache & made my tinnitus worse. I tried several times as i wasnt expecting to have those problems, but i couldnt get on with them at all - must be something to do with the pressure. However i know @lunarainbows uses the in ear ones so i cant think that it would be a problem for everyone.

 

Merged thread

Problem: ear defenders make my jaw hurt, due to the pressure that they exert on the sides of the head.

I think the issue would be solved if I could have two separate pieces which somehow affix one to each ear. Because it's the connection between them which exerts pressure on the sides of the head.

But can't find anything that's sold like this? (The "clip on" ones that are available are intended for builders to clip to their helmets.)

So, any ideas for how I could engineer a simple solution to affix ear defenders to my ears?

 

Not an immediate solution but the first thing that comes to mind.

I'm assuming the ear pieces are connected by a piece that goes over the head?

If you've got something wider than your head - maybe the arm of a sofa or several cushions wedged together and put the defenders on that & leave then there for 24 hours or so to see it that eases the tension in the headpiece so they don't clamp so tightly?

As long as the material the defenders & whatever you put them on are made of will withstand a little heat, you might encourage the process by warming the bit that goes over the head by heating it a few times with a hair dryer. Assuming you can bear the noise, of course.

 

With headphones that get worn for longer periods it may be an issue between the type that fit on the ears as opposed to the type that cover the ears completely. The second are more comfortable but can still feel tight after a while.

 

When the apartment neighbor's bathroom fan is turned on, and I'm particularly challenged, I have ear plugs and Bose noise-canceling headphones on, but it's not enough.

So I wrap a sweater tightly around the headphones to plaster the Bose ear cups tightly against my skull. It's not perfect, but the principle is sound. But even the Bose ear cups press too much against my scalp and I don't use them for that long before taking them off.

Another trick is after inserting ear plugs, to smother the outer ear canal with vaseline as a temporary seal.

We really need some more inventions to remedy the noise problems.

 

Dad has suggested I buy ones with an adjustable headband. So I've bought some of those and we'll see how that goes.