3 ms·

I was turning the volume up loud enough to drown out the loud conversations when using ear-buds. By damaging, I mean I was constantly asking people to repeat th

by 6DM 10y ago

I was turning the volume up loud enough to drown out the loud conversations when using ear-buds. By damaging, I mean I was constantly asking people to repeat them selves because while I could hear them I couldn't distinguish their words. Not everyone was like that, just moderate to soft spoken people or those with deep voices. I didn't make the connection until I happened across one article about it, which I think was posted here. The only thing I don't like about noise-canceling headphones is that I can't just wear them without sound. It creates a kind of pressure on my ear drums that just feels weird to me.

zzalpha 10y ago
In-ear headphones? All the benefits of passive noise cancellation without big hefty cans on your head. I switched to them mainly to protect my hearing (I tend to listen to music on the bus or on airplanes where there's a lot of ambient noise, and with open-air buds I had to crank the volume) but they're also a godsend in the workplace when I really need to focus (and I have a private office).
gingerrr 10y ago
Only anecdata, but I used to feel the same way about noise-canceling headphones without sound playing. After a cross-ocean trip where my devices all died and I was only left with the unsoothing silent hiss, my ears adjusted to it. It's just a matter of sticking it out long enough that your ears get over the weirdness, and now I can actually use them to just cancel noise rather than mask with other noise. Of course, if it's a painful pressure, please don't risk it :)
jordwest 10y ago
I had the same feeling when I first bought noise cancelling phones. From what I recall (and don't have any references on me) this is because they tend to filter out the lower frequency sounds, which your brain associates with a pressure change. After some time wearing them on silent, I've found that the sensation goes away. Still, I usually use rainymood.com to block out the other subtle sounds that get through.
kough 10y ago
I had the same issue with noise-cancelling headphones (the bose qc 20 in-ears) where I couldn't wear them without sound pumping through them, so I ended up buying a pair of custom-molded in ear monitors (IEM is the search keyword to learn more). For a little cheaper than the price of the bose headphones, I had an audiologist take molds of my inner ear and then sent them to a guy in Poland (http://thecustomart.com/music_art-custom.php http://thecustomart.com/music_art-custom.php), who made me the best pair of headphones I've ever used. Noise cancelling is on-par or better than the Bose headphones, but all passive, and they sound fucking amazing. Highly recommend looking into this or another custom IEM solution -- it's made me a lot happier and more productive and less worried about hearing loss. One question that the audiologist answered that you might want to know -- the noise-cancelling hiss has no impact on your hearing in a short-term or long-term way, so it is totally safe to use them without music or with low music all the time.
- barabba 10y ago
  Can I ask you which model you did buy? I am in the process of doing precisely the same and wondering if their acrylic models are isolating enough. Silicon apparently isolates better but requires more maintenance, makes them more difficult to insert and remove, and I'm not fully convinced I should go for a Music Two sound-wise. Thanks a bunch!
  - kough 10y ago
    I bought the Custom Art Music One that I linked to in the above post. Most of the reviews I'd read agreed that it was an insanely good deal considering the quality-per-dollar ratio. And I don't regret it. Maintenance: there's a little wire loop with a plastic handle included in the pelican case it ships with, lets you clean wax out of the canal. Tip: if you think one of your headphones is dead, just clean the wax out of the canal, it was blocking the sound. That's it – super simple, no idea what other maintenance you might be talking about. Insertion/removal: nope, still quite easy. You have to give them a slight twist but definitely not hard. Can't speak to the Music Two vs. Music One because I only have the latter, but I'll tell you that I've owned a decent number of headphones (in ear, over ear) and that the Music One are the best I've ever had. EDIT: I swear I'm not shilling for this company. There are plenty of other great IEMs on the market. I just like these.

by 6DM 10y ago

zzalpha 10y ago

In-ear headphones? All the benefits of passive noise cancellation without big hefty cans on your head. I switched to them mainly to protect my hearing (I tend to listen to music on the bus or on airplanes where there's a lot of ambient noise, and with open-air buds I had to crank the volume) but they're also a godsend in the workplace when I really need to focus (and I have a private office).

gingerrr 10y ago

Only anecdata, but I used to feel the same way about noise-canceling headphones without sound playing. After a cross-ocean trip where my devices all died and I was only left with the unsoothing silent hiss, my ears adjusted to it. It's just a matter of sticking it out long enough that your ears get over the weirdness, and now I can actually use them to just cancel noise rather than mask with other noise. Of course, if it's a painful pressure, please don't risk it :)

jordwest 10y ago

I had the same feeling when I first bought noise cancelling phones. From what I recall (and don't have any references on me) this is because they tend to filter out the lower frequency sounds, which your brain associates with a pressure change. After some time wearing them on silent, I've found that the sensation goes away. Still, I usually use rainymood.com to block out the other subtle sounds that get through.

kough 10y ago

I had the same issue with noise-cancelling headphones (the bose qc 20 in-ears) where I couldn't wear them without sound pumping through them, so I ended up buying a pair of custom-molded in ear monitors (IEM is the search keyword to learn more). For a little cheaper than the price of the bose headphones, I had an audiologist take molds of my inner ear and then sent them to a guy in Poland (http://thecustomart.com/music_art-custom.php http://thecustomart.com/music_art-custom.php), who made me the best pair of headphones I've ever used. Noise cancelling is on-par or better than the Bose headphones, but all passive, and they sound fucking amazing. Highly recommend looking into this or another custom IEM solution -- it's made me a lot happier and more productive and less worried about hearing loss. One question that the audiologist answered that you might want to know -- the noise-cancelling hiss has no impact on your hearing in a short-term or long-term way, so it is totally safe to use them without music or with low music all the time.

barabba 10y ago
Can I ask you which model you did buy? I am in the process of doing precisely the same and wondering if their acrylic models are isolating enough. Silicon apparently isolates better but requires more maintenance, makes them more difficult to insert and remove, and I'm not fully convinced I should go for a Music Two sound-wise. Thanks a bunch!
- kough 10y ago
  I bought the Custom Art Music One that I linked to in the above post. Most of the reviews I'd read agreed that it was an insanely good deal considering the quality-per-dollar ratio. And I don't regret it. Maintenance: there's a little wire loop with a plastic handle included in the pelican case it ships with, lets you clean wax out of the canal. Tip: if you think one of your headphones is dead, just clean the wax out of the canal, it was blocking the sound. That's it – super simple, no idea what other maintenance you might be talking about. Insertion/removal: nope, still quite easy. You have to give them a slight twist but definitely not hard. Can't speak to the Music Two vs. Music One because I only have the latter, but I'll tell you that I've owned a decent number of headphones (in ear, over ear) and that the Music One are the best I've ever had. EDIT: I swear I'm not shilling for this company. There are plenty of other great IEMs on the market. I just like these.