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How Do You Drown Out the Office Noise?
An anonymous reader asks: "We've recently had yet another office re-organization, which is not so bad in itself, but the noise level has increased significantly due to the type of furniture as well as job functions of those whom I share the office with. The first thing I think I'm going to do is to get a pair of noise canceling headphones, but before I spend hundreds of dollars I'd like to hear some opinions or alternatives. Two of the ones that look neat are the Extreme Isolation Headphones and Plane Quiet Headphones. What have others done to cope with noise level?"
I only wish I were joking.
$6.21 is the number of the beast before sales tax. Meh.
I saved myself a whole bunch of money and bought some in-ear headphones that use foam earplugs to block out noise.
Mine is a pair of Koss The Plug headphones. Honestly, they're not very good by themselves, because the foam earplugs that come with them are very poor - it's impossible to get a good seal with them. I replaced them with a pair of my own earplugs modified with a hole through the middle (for the 'acoustic tube' that channels the sound into your ear). With that one change, they become a decent pair of headphones. The sound is still weak comparied to some professional in-ear headphones that you can get for 10-20 times as much money, but they are better than your standard earbud.
But on the upside, they also block out background noise much better than my friend's Bose noise canceling headphones that also cost 10-20 times as much money.
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 Pro headphones.
They do not have any specific noice-cancelling technology per se,
but they are the "closed" variety of headphones with circumaural
pads (surround the ear instead of rest upon it). For me, they
block out the world quite nicely. Oh and they also sound great too.
I got 'em online for under $90 back in summer.
Before that I had a set of Sony headphones of the same style (closed,
circumaural) but they cost more, wore out faster, and didn't block
out the noise as good as these Sennheiser's do.
a decent old pair of headphones and shoutcast. no noise cancellation. no blinking lights. no frequency-hopping reverse polarization. no iPod. the music is non-GPL and non-BSD compliant. the headphones were not Free. they don't even run linux.
My previous and current exployers both have an air ventilation system which ran almost constantly, resulting in enough uniform background noise to drown out most casual conversations and such that weren't immediately next door to where you were sitting.
I don't know if the effect was intentional or not, but it might have been. In any case, it helped (and helps!) to remove unwanted distractions.
Mainframe/UNIX Bit Twiddler and long time Windows/Linux Hobbyist.
The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
I test drove the E5c and the E3c, and I purchased the E3c. Brilliant noise isolation, and fantastic sound. Shure even allows you to "test drive" them with no obligation to purchase.
Blocklevel: Practical Information Architecture
Have you tried any non-noise canceling headphones? The HVAC system in my office is quite loud, but, using some cheap Sony headphones, I have never needed to turn my music up to painful levels to drown background sounds out.
If you feel you need such expensive headphones I think you should consider looking at what is locally available - making returns much easier.
I dub thee... Sir Phobos, Knight of Mars, Beater of Ass.
Simple and effective. Just go to a pharmacy and pick up a pair. I have a few pairs of them and I prefer those that have plastic "string" embedded in them so you don't lose them. Much cheaper than those noise canceling earphones which don't work very well and are not heavy. Soft foam earplugs are extremely comfortable (to me anyway).
Office noise? I'm too busy reading / posting at /. to notice.
"Who are in control, they are not in control of anything - they don't even control themselves!" - Glen Beck
I have a nice set of Sony MDR-V6's that I can put on so I can listen to tunes (and drown that unwanted background noise out).
:-)
Most of the time I don't have to be social 'cuz I'm busy either analyzing or writing code.
Mainframe/UNIX Bit Twiddler and long time Windows/Linux Hobbyist.
The Theorem Theorem: If If, Then Then.
Begin the arms race, expand your noise-making capacity and take the fight to your cube mates.
Remember, in the cubes everyone can hear you scream.
Anything is possible given time and money.
David Clarkson aviation headset/normal headphones &/or home made phase(or ready made) reversal circuit:
t ml #Experiment:%20Sound%20cancellationo ise-busters.com/soundproofing.htm
http://www.faqs.org/docs/electric/Exper/EXP_4.h
http://www.n
A blog I run for the wealth
You will see many people trying to sell you on in-ear phones such as the Shure E3 or the Etymotic ER6
Trust me - these are mostly overkill. I have a set of Shure E3s that I bought to cope with our extremely loud drummer - however, unless your coworkers are using jackhammers, a good quality set of closed-back headphones (AKG 270, Sennheiser HD580, Sony MDR-7506) will sound better and be more comfortable.
Or in other words, I'm slowing going deaf after a life of listening to really, really loud noise. It isn't a bug, I tell my wife, it is a feature!
the noise level has increased significantly due to the type of furniture
My office furniture doesn't make any noise as far as I can tell. Of course I'm not lucky enough to have my "wastebasket vibrate with happiness when trash is thrown into itAs posters have pointed out, active noise cancelling isn't required.
;-) disappear.
I use inexpensive Sony MDR-EX71SLB Fontopia in-ear headphones. I like their sound very much (not too harsh on the high end, and with a very deep and solid bass). You don't need to turn the volume all the way up to make all disturbances (including a yakking wife or girlfriend
I find them much more comfortable than over the ear headphones (YMMV), and they're very inconspicuous.
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
Unless you work next to a drill press or milling machine, a good pair of cheap over the ear headphones will do you fine.
Just put them on with the music off, and you'll notice that they muffle the noise around you excellently.
BTW, I loved mine, perhaps too much. I think that my hearing has suffered somewhat from them. You may catch yourself listening at '10' to catch every detail, and that's not a good thing to do for several hours every day.
If you insist on getting noise cancelling headphones, you may want to wait for the Aiwa Noise-Canceling Headphones - HP CN6, which are only about $50.00.
The world will not get better through technology. We must seek to be better people.
I got some of the (cheaper) Koss noise-reducing headphones. Note the reducing part, instead of cancelling - it made the headphones about 1/4 the price of the noise cancelling kind. For my environment, they work pretty well. It definitely cuts out a lot of the noise that is not usually noticable until you haven't heard it for a while. Monitor hums, computer fans, small clicks and whirs, and even small squeaks from people shifting around and whatnot. I generally never noticed these until after I'd tried my headphones out for a couple of hours and then took them off again. They don't drown out everything, however. I could usually faintly hear the bus going by outside (I was at the street wall), and while they greatly reduced the noise from my riding lawn mower at home, it still sounding like you were sitting on top of a riding lawn mower.
For the ability to ignore/drown out more of the rest of the noise, I kept the headphones hooked up to a music source. Walkman, iPod, or whatever. If I really didn't want to be disturbed, I turned up the music until I couldn't hear normal-conversation voices from outside the headphone. Generally worked great, but if someone came up to me said "Hey!", I'd still hear them.
One interesting note to this type of headphones - your own chewing/swallowing noises aren't reduced much (if at all) while wearing them, as it is mostly transmitted through your jaw. When I had the headphones on and was chewing gum for the first time, it sounded like a disgusting mess. Something to bear in mind.
Lot's of choices with a little looking.
Epinions has reviews of the Bose headphones here:s _HB_SPZ-Bose_Noise_Cancelling_Headphones/display_~ reviews
H P_NC_1_Nois e_Cancellation_Headphones__Lightweight_Headphones_ HPNC1/display_~reviews _ Ca ncelling_Stereo_Headphones_Headphones/display_~rev iews
a rchbar&search_string=noise+cancelling&tax_name=Hea dphones&dyn_nav=0&dyn_nav_id=&search_vertical=t130 375&searchbar_submit=Search
http://www.epinions.com/elec_Audio-Headphones_Kos
Here's some more headphones from Epinions:
Maxell:http://www.epinions.com/Maxell_
Coby:http://www.epinions.com/Coby_Digital_Noise
The Kenwood headphones have no reviews.
This search from Epinons lists a lot of different brands but the only reviews are above. Check it out if you want to see more brands.
http://www.epinions.com/search/?submitted_form=se
really.
well.. otherwise i'd just leave the Sony MDR-EX 71 SL's in my ears all day long.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
I just use plain rubbery earplugs, available cheap at any hardware store. For reference, one U.S. brand name of the type to which I refer is "AOSafety" (here's a rough equivalent sold in Australia). They generally cost less than US$3; they reduce noise by about 20 decibels; I find them to be comfortable for hours; and they last for months, before they start to disintegrate from age and/or earwax.
Note that some of these earplugs come with a longer-than-necessary fingergrip, which you use to insert/remove them. I just snip off the excess length with scissors. This also makes them generally unnoticed by the people you face when talking. To those who notice, I just tell them that I can hear them just fine (true for me; I still have all my hearing ability), and I like my hearing more than the office noise.
It's much easier to ignore noise you create yourself than to ignore noise created by others.
I always use a "clicky" buckling spring UNICOMP keyboard. Once I start typing the rest of the world just disappears.
Tough nuggies for everyone else.
I guess the downside is everyone can tell when I'm on my 45 minute space-out.
Blocking out noise is easy. I just do a lot of typing on my IBM Model-M keyboard. I can't even hear myself talk over the satisfying clickity-clack of the keys, much less anything else.
This only becomes a problem when I don't hear the fire alarms, but that's an edge scenario.
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
Shut up, quit complaining and get used to it. You're lucky to still have a job, with all the outsourcing we're doing lately. Your system is on the chopping block for H2 2005.
Ways to deal with the office dullard
Monstar L
Actually this is exactly how I do it.
... and was welcomed back to the real world this year.
I spent a few years doing remote developent work (program from home) and got used to being able to control every environmental aspect of my work day
I get a handful of the neon squishy ones at the gun range and keep them in my drawer - over the course of the week I spend as much time with them in as out. Serves a double purpose : in addition to the sweet serenity within my head, their bright neon yellow / pink give those around me a subtle reminder that quiet is a virtue in a shared environment.
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
Is there any chance you could persuade your coworkers to be a little more quiet?
I personally use Leightning 31, but that's not for music...
[o]_O
Peace and quiet ... TO THE EXTREME!!!
I can just see the advertisements. Some dude wearing these headphones with a look of complete contentment and peace on his face as he jumps out of an airplane.
Have you tried saying that the noise is now reaching levels where your ability to do your job is compromised? Have you tried shouting "WHAT? Can you speak up?" down the phone a lot? While most management types are immune to personal comfort issues, they are sensitive to anything that obviously affects the bottom line.
Get a good pair of headphones (I use the Etymotic ER-4P but that is probably overkill) and this recording of a thunderstorm:
a sp ?EAN=14431028526
http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.
That combination drowns out just about everything.
http://www.bananas.com/productdetail.asp/PID_430
I use them in the studio to block out noise from the drums and get a clean mix into my ear. They work wonders.
or else!
It doesn't long for most people to decide that they have work to do elsewhere :-)
"Led Zeppelin"
Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
... has been headphones, earphones, louder music!
/.ers fail to tell you is that prolonged loud music will make you deaf or will impair your hearing in the medium or long term.
What
In noisy environments you have a few choices:
- Get earplugs or over the ears headphones (no music, or if you inisist not loud music all the time).
- Hint to your employer that if you go deaf due to the noise they may have a legal case on their hands (not joking, if the noise is real bad your employer may be in hot water, pointing this out to them may get tehm into action, i.e. changing furniture or the office arrangements in order to reduce noise).
- Talk to your colleagues! You could come up with ways to make your environment less noisy (no talking in the corridors, no music, no conference calls in the phone's loudspeakers, all mobile phones put into vibrating mode or off, etc.).
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
I have some cheap (approx $10) headphone-style hearing protectors I picked up in the sporting gear section of Wal-Mart.
They work pretty well, and are pretty comfortable.
In-ear plugs make my ears feel all nasty and waxy after a little while, and I don't like the way they seem to enhance perception of bone-conducted internal sounds.
September 2011: Looking for Cocoa/iOS work in Boston area Cocoa Programmer Quincy, MA
Just do what I do: Focus so totally on what you're doing that the world falls away and people have to say your name sharply, twice, before you look up and utter a vague "Wha...?"
I want my Cowboyneal
I've wanted to buy some since about 10yrs ago. But theres never anywhere to 'test' them out, I dont want to drop $100 on a mail order headset.
get a microphone and speakers...write a program that will take the recorded sound and produce the same sound in opposite phase. note: you have to have super fast hardware for this to work.
I've seen all them fancy new fangled earphones, and lemme tell ya, nothin works like a piece a paper ripped in half and rolled into two spit wads. Put a piece of rope into each spit wad, so you can get it out, and yer good to go. Jam those suckers into yer ears, and yer good to go for less than a nickel.
Why not talk to your coworkers/management first? Or do other people scare you?
I turn off my hearing aid :)
Losing one's hearing certainly has its advantages!
Everyone here seems to be discussing various noise reducing headphones in scary detail. However, wearing headphones is not an option for be, as I work in a "conservative" work environment, and doing so would be "unprofessional."
Given that, what are my other option?
[Despite the supposed conservative culture, I still have to contend with co-workers obnoxious phone conversations and loud (sometimes lewd) gossiping]
Telecommute. It saves fuel as well.
The Plane Quiet Headphones appear to be the same product as the Kensington Noise Cancelling Headphones, with different colours and rebadging.
I've read some very negative reviews of the latter.
RTFM; please, I beg you.
1. move the B&W G3 development server to son's bedroom and ban other half's noisy W2000 box from house
2. use hush as workstation
3. when kids get back from school speak quietly and carry a large stick
realkiwi
have them both!
...works wonders for me. cn't hear shij with this combo.
--- widget evolution: enhanced, plus, super, ultra, extreme, exxxtreme, ultra-extreme,
You can get industrial grade hearing protection for much cheaper than noise cancelling headphones (check out the Leightning 31s, which are only about $20 and very comfortable). They also work much better than noise cancelling, across the spectrum, and need no batteries! You can even wear small ear buds under these if you want music too.
I bought a pair of the Plane Quiet headphones and am VERY VERY happy with them. But only on planes.
The sound they're good at cancelling is engine noies and other fairly low frequency stuff. They damp voices, but not by that much. If you wear them in a conversation, you hear the other folk -- they just sound low-fi.
My hugely favorite thing for damping noise and actually getting work done is called a DOOR. If you don't have one, ask your boss for one. If he's smart and able, he'll get one for you. Your productivity will go up.
As for using music to dampen, see Tom DeMarco's book, _Peopleware_. In it he runs tests with silence, office noise and music. The music ain't much better than the office noise for concentration. (page 78)
I just hum along to my tinnitus...
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
...seriously read Slashdot. I tune out other people when I read this and the office noise I here goes down as I intensely read the posts here.
Note: I work in a call center and I get calls from people that are mad. I usually have to tell them a couple of times to repeat what they said as I am reading Slashdot.
Again, this is not a plug for Slashdot, this is what I do to tune out the noise here.
Friends help you move...
REAL Friends help you move dead bodies... ^_^
if its more than you in the office experiencing this problem, its time to put a noise cancellation system in the ceiling.
when i worked in construction (electrician) i worked on one of ibm's buildings just outside of toronto. we were putting wedge shaped boxes with 2 speakers in them in the ceilings. turns out they were the output of the noise cancellation system. there were mics set up in the ceiling to sample the noise and have the wedges put out the exact opposite sound.
its a costly solution, but it will benefit everyone in the office.
Most of the people here are suggesting regular headphones because they are far cheaper than noise-canceling.
What they are forgetting is that to benefit from cheapo headphones is that you have to be playing music or some other kind of noise.
The major advantage of the noise-canceling headphones (especially the ones from Bose), you can just put the headphones on and get silence.
In my last job I would borrow my cube-neighbor's every so often in order to concentrate harder.
1. Ask your employer if it needs to be fixed. They have an obligation to prevent/mitigate exposure of their employees to hazards.
2. Go to radio shack and buy a cheap sound meter and measure it yourself. The action level is 85 dBa, Time Weighted Average over an 8 hour shift. The action level for itermittent sounds is 90 dBa.
If you are wearing headphones, it will be noticed. They may not say anything, but they might complain. Get a waterfall, or a white noise machine, or something. You will still be able to talk to your coworkers, but the white noise will mask most of the noise. And, having an actual waterfall will definitely be more fun!
Did you mount a military-grade, variable-focus MASER on an unlicensed artificial intelligence?
Before you spend a fortune on fancy noise cancelling jobbies, pop into the local motorbike shop and pick up a bag of earplugs. They'll cost you a few quid for a bag of 20 pairs or so, and they're designed to quiet the noise from a helmet at 185mph, so it's bound to make a difference to orifice noise.
I used to sit next to one guy, his whole family had loud gobs. When he called home you could actually hear both sides of the telephone conversation (no exaggeration!) The earplugs didn't cancel the noise out completely; I was still stuck with the vibrations induced into my skull, but it cut out 99% of the audible stuff.
I used to wonder if a mike, an inverting amplifier and a speaker would create a quiet spot around me and double his output (obviously I'd have to power the circuit from the mains) for everyone else. Before I tried it though we had an office reorg and he ended up sitting next to some other poor sod.
I hate it when people two cubes over are talking just loud enough to be distracting, but not loud enough to accurately overhear their personal conversation. That's REALLY annoying. But I find switching between noise-blocking headphones and directional sound amplifiers to be a hardship. Any thoughts?