Advice re noise cancelling headphones?

[Ecdysis]

I'm going to be moving to shared housing soon and I'd like to buy some noise cancelling headphones, just in case the noise of shared living turns out to be a trigger/ a factor in getting dysregulated. Just so I have an option to shut the noise out on days where I'm not feeling up to coping with it.

I've never bought noise cancelling headphones before, although I've been eyeing them with interest for years.

Anyone have some? Are they good? What should I be looking for when I buy some? I don't have much money to spend, so I'm hoping to find some decent ones with a good price/ benefit ratio.

Thank you!

 

[No More]

Loop are pretty good & discreet. Various levels to shut out different amounts of sound.

 

[Roland]

Loop are comfortable, and good for sleeping.

Foam ones block out the most sound.

Etymotic concert earplugs allow you to hear conversations, voices, and music clearly just at a lower level. The other above options sound “muffled”.

 

[Ecdysis]

Loop are comfortable, and good for sleeping.

Foam ones block out the most sound.

Etymotic concert earplugs allow you to hear conversations, voices, and music clearly just at a lower level. The other above options sound “muffled”.

Heh... okay now I'm confused... So what do you "hear" when you wear noise cancelling headphones? I thought you hear silence or... almost silence?

 

[Roland]

Heh... okay now I'm confused... So what do you "hear" when you wear noise cancelling headphones? I thought you hear silence or... almost silence?

I’m referring to earplugs, which generally muffle the sound

Heh... okay now I'm confused... So what do you "hear" when you wear noise cancelling headphones? I thought you hear silence or... almost silence?

I don’t actually have noise cancelling headphones, I think if you have no audio playing they muffle the sound and if you have audio playing you pretty much can’t hear anything at all

 

[Ecdysis]

I mean actually "noise cancelling" ones... They work out what frequencies are in your surroundings and then they "play" the exact opposite frequency so it literally cancels the noise out (think high school physics classes).

 

[Friday]

I use drummers or shooting ear plugs (same technology)… which soften the CRACK! into tap, SCREECH! into a note, BOOM! into tap… you can still hear everything, crystal clear, but the volume is turned down. All the high highs & low lows are brought to midline.

If I want more quiet? I can nip the flange in, so they work like regular earplugs, muffling everything… or pop on a pair of “ears” (gun range &/or construction &/or aircraft ear protection) but I almost never do… because it sets my hypervig off.

Noise cancelling headphones piss me off, because they work by creating a white noise that interrupts the sound waves… BUT… only for your ears. We only hear maaaaaaybe 2/3s - 3/5s through our ears (the rest is via a spike like bone that drops below our ears towards our jaw, and through our mouth, sinuses, throat. As All the places that reverb sound when we’re talking/singing also bring/echo sound in). So there’s this super irritating tinnitus like hum from the white noise, as well as garbled sounds I can’t identify, and all the noise coming in through my face/throat that I can completely identify. Irritating, migraine inspiring, horribleness. Shudder. It’s like listening to 3 neighbour’s TVs blasting through the walls.

Drummers/Shooters ear plugs? $10.
Ear Protection? $20.
Noise Cancelling Headphones? (Good ones) buku bucks.

It’s rare -for me- that the cheaper option is the better one, but in this case? I adore crystal clear sound, at whatever volume I choose.

 

[Sideways]

I’ve tried out noise-cancelling headphones. I did my research, bought a really expensive pair that had good reviews from sensible sources. I did all the gimmicky “hearing assessment” shite to make sure they worked properly…

They’re…headphones. Big ones, with lots of padding. But only as effective as big headphones with lots of padding.

When I need to block out noise, these days I use ear plugs or ordinary headphones with music playing.

 

[Freida]

I have Loop earplugs (off amazon) for sleeping and they are amazing. Cut out the sound while hubby snoring, hotel doors are banging, all of it. There is a bit of a trick to getting them in because they actually create a seal, but worth every dime

My go to for travel or for when I just don't want to hear anyone for noise cancellnig Bose (Q35 right now) and they are awesome but spendy. I got mine on black friday for about half price. The newest Sony model is supposed to be really good and cheaper but I haven't tried it yet.

They block out most of the noise around me. I can hear people talking if they are right next to me or speaking to me but it's very low volume no matter how loud they are LOL.

If I have it attached to music then thats all I hear.

I got three of mine from pawn shops. Ya, pawn shops, usually around $40 for the last years model.
Who knew!

 

[Roland]

It pleases me that this many of you use earplugs regularly xD I discovered them a year ago or so and they’ve become a mainstay in my life. I even converted my mom and sister on them