Noice Reduction/Cancellation -- Office Environment

[Piggy]

I've been looking at noise-reducing headphones for the office, but am having 2 problems comparing and evaluating:

1. Most headphones seem designed for travel or industry -- claiming to reduce constant low-frequency noise.

2. I don't know anything about the biology or technology, so can't tell if any of this is worth it or if I should just use a 25-cent pair of earplugs. (The downside to the earplugs is having to remove and replace them when someone comes by w/ a question.)

My office can get chatty sometimes, and when the HVAC isn't running it's full of keyboard clicking. I find both situations enormously distracting. When I need to concentrate, I'm at my best when I'm in after-hours, or when the HVAC and my fan are running to mask the situational noise.

Any advice for conveniently isolating my ears at my desk?

 

[casebro]

Cancellation works best on constantly droning noises- like the white noise you find beneficial to cover the clicking.

While I'm sure you are not the only person with this problem, most folks manage to do a days work.

Try cutting back on the coffee? self hypnosis? Perhaps a special day light colored flourescnet bulb would have a placebo effect?

 

[tkingdoll]

How about corded earplugs? http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/cofoeainsmqu.html

Less of a hassle to remove when you get a desk visitor, as they just drop around your neck like in-ear headphones.

You should check with your HR department that you're not breaching any Health & Safety guidelines regarding smoke alarms etc.

 

[Thunderchief]

Hi

I've used a pair of noise canceling headphones in a light aircraft, they do work very well in that situation, I'm not so sure how good they would be in an office. They do seem to work much better at canceling lower frequencies and white noise type sounds like wind roar. it should be noted that they do not cancel 100% no matter the volume of the sound being canceled some noise always comes through, especially vocal sounds. They are more properly called Noise Reduction, rather than Noise Canceling. Also you get what you pay for, cheap head phones offer around 10db of noise reduction, the Bose Aircraft pair I used offered about 30db of noise reduction in the 50-1000hz range anything above that and the amount reduction dropped. Of course this is for aviation headphones it's not a good idea to cancel all noise in a plane, you might want a bit of advanced notice of an engine problem.

Don't know if that’s any use to you, it should be noted that the Bose headsets were apparently £500!

Simon.

 

[roger]

I don't know if you find listening to music helpful or distracting (depending on my mood I can feel either way), but I have a pair of etymotic ER-4 earphones. They aren't cheap at $300, but you will not hear low level outside noise, including conversations. For example, here we have a loud HVAC whine, and trains going by, and I hear nothing of these, even with the music turned off. We have a few loud talkers, and these will either totally silence them, or turn them into a dull mumble. It does take a bit of time to get used to feeling them in your ears, though.

N.B. having the music on does help mask noise, but the noise reduction without music is 35 or 42 dB, depending on which eartip style you use (both styles are provided).

 

[Piggy]

Cancellation works best on constantly droning noises- like the white noise you find beneficial to cover the clicking.

While I'm sure you are not the only person with this problem, most folks manage to do a days work.

Try cutting back on the coffee? self hypnosis? Perhaps a special day light colored flourescnet bulb would have a placebo effect?

Gee, I just found something more annoying than the office noise.

 

[Piggy]

I don't know if you find listening to music helpful or distracting (depending on my mood I can feel either way), but I have a pair of etymotic ER-4 earphones. They aren't cheap at $300, but you will not hear low level outside noise, including conversations. For example, here we have a loud HVAC whine, and trains going by, and I hear nothing of these, even with the music turned off. We have a few loud talkers, and these will either totally silence them, or turn them into a dull mumble. It does take a bit of time to get used to feeling them in your ears, though.

Thanks. Can't do the music. When I'm reading and composing, any music totally screws up my concentration and throws off the rhythm of what I'm trying to write. If this model can turn keyboard clicking and female voices into a dull mumble in the background, then it might be what I'm looking for. I'll include them in my comparisons.

 

[roger]

Thanks. Can't do the music. When I'm reading and composing, any music totally screws up my concentration and throws off the rhythm of what I'm trying to write. If this model can turn keyboard clicking and female voices into a dull mumble in the background, then it might be what I'm looking for. I'll include them in my comparisons.

Well, they are not a good choice if you can't listen to music. They are basically earplugs, like shooters use, which you can buy for a few bucks at a pharmacy, with headphone speakers installed.

 

[Piggy]

Well, they are not a good choice if you can't listen to music. They are basically earplugs, like shooters use, which you can buy for a few bucks at a pharmacy, with headphone speakers installed.

Oh, gotcha. I thought your reference to the talkers was still "with the music turned off".

 

[Overman]

What is your job??

 

[Forty-Two]

How about corded earplugs? http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/cofoeainsmqu.html

My father works for the railroad (he's a Car Retarder Operator, which means he slows down and sorts railcars in the yard), and those are the earplugs he uses at work to block out the incessant squealing brakes on the rails. He also plays the radio while he's in his tower, which is a trick I realize Piggy can't use.

It sounds like you've got a lot of different distracting noises; perhaps the best route is to just eliminate some of them, like the HVAC and the clicking, which would be taken care of by the headphones you described. Sometimes taking out the subtle but constant stressors can make a huge difference, and the office chatter will seem less distracting.

Good luck.

 

[Aardvark]

Noise cancelling can be done two basic ways

1 use a design which uses a barrier to block external noise

This can be by inner ear type plugs, either foam or silicone, these can be wired for sound such as the etymotics.

or an external barrier such as the ear defenders used by people who park Jumbo Jets. Another way would be to buy some studio headphones which are wired for sound but designed to block out externla noise by up to 30 db. A good example of these are the Sennheisser HD280 pro available on line for about $90 US. My son whop is a drummer uses these for drum practice.

2 use a circuit type design which has a mic to listen to external noise and then create an inverted or out of phase matching wave to block your hearing. The best example has been given as the Bose at $300 US

There are some cheaper copies available online such as Planequiet
http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/outsidebox.html

http://www.protravelgear.com/store/...et_NC6_Noise_Cancelling_Headphones___28?Args=

http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2065

Suck it and see.

 

[jon]

If you're thinking of earplugs, something like these might be good -- http://www.widget.co.uk/asp/product...at=111&ph=&keywords=&recor=&SearchFor=&PT_ID= (they're a bit cheaper in the US). You get less attenuation of sound than with some other earplugs, only 20db, but the attenuation is (apparently) fairly flat across the audible frequencies. This means that the volume level of external noises is reduced, but it is still generally possible to hear people if they are talking to you etc., so long as they don't speak too quietly (some people are much easier to listen to after being turned down by 20 dB!).

Jon

 

[Piggy]

What is your job??

It's difficult to describe, but it involves research, editing, writing, proofing, project management, and some small-scale db/interface development. I enjoy all aspects of my job -- which includes analyzing commercial (private sector) health and consumer claims, some legit, many bogus -- but the open floorplan here can be an aggravation. In any given day I may perform all of these functions, or I may spend an entire week writing stories for a mailpiece, or building a survey, or searching semi-structured data for errors. Whatever I'm doing, it usually requires being highly engaged with the material, and often involves paying close attention to minor variations in wording and/or punctuation, so the ability to tune out distractions -- especially speech -- is important.

 

[Overman]

Just ask for an office. Sometimes it is that easy.

 

[Piggy]

Just ask for an office. Sometimes it is that easy.

There are no offices to be had.

 

[trvlr2]

Piggy-maybe portable cubicle panels?

 

[Piggy]

Piggy-maybe portable cubicle panels?

Solutions like this are not going to happen here. The floorplan is not negotiable.

One of the advantages of the headphones, btw, is precisely to signal to others when I'm not available for casual questions and non-essential interruptions. (Unfortunately, I have to always be open to some degree of interruption unless I come in during off-hours.) I know some people downstairs who use them this way more than anything, but they're "wired for sound" so aren't using the type of headphones I'm looking into.

 

[jon]

One other thought - from your first post, it sounds like you find it easier to work with background noise like a fan to mask the sound of conversation etc. Apologies if I'm stating the obvious, but you could try playing a noise like this over some headphones while you work, to see if this helps (you can download plenty of programmes that generate white noise, or could even record the sound of a fan ).

If it does help, it might still be worth looking at buying some noise blocking earphones - to let you have the white noise on more quietly, and protect your hearing. If you're not using them for music, you can get some pretty cheap phones...

 

[Piggy]

One other thought - from your first post, it sounds like you find it easier to work with background noise like a fan to mask the sound of conversation etc. Apologies if I'm stating the obvious, but you could try playing a noise like this over some headphones while you work, to see if this helps (you can download plenty of programmes that generate white noise, or could even record the sound of a fan ).

If it does help, it might still be worth looking at buying some noise blocking earphones - to let you have the white noise on more quietly, and protect your hearing. If you're not using them for music, you can get some pretty cheap phones...

I think that's a good idea, and worth trying. Maybe get one of those discs of seashore waves or some such. Play it over the noise reduction phones. No problem w/ fire alarms etc b/c we have a visual system along w/ the audio. (Altho I could certainly hear the alarm w/ any sort of headphone, but we have some deaf employees.)