5 ms·

> get yourself a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 35s That's only if you like to listen to music while you work. If you just want quiet, get yourself a pair of the ea

> get yourself a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 35s That's only if you like to listen to music while you work. If you just want quiet, get yourself a pair of the earmuffs that the airport ground crews wear out on the tarmac. I had a coworker who wore those and the only real downside was that he'd get horribly startled when people were trying to get his attention because they'd have to come up and touch him on the shoulder. Even basically yelling in the vicinity of his ears, he'd have no idea people were right behind him.

vbuwivbiu 9y ago
that's if you can tolerate having hot earmuffs pressing on your head all day, which I cannot. It hurts and gives me earache.
- emj 9y ago
  That depends on the model for me, some work good others do not. But I don't know about daily use I've only worn them for two days max.
tome 9y ago
Perhaps suggest he strategically places a mirror on his desk.
regularfry 9y ago
rainymood.com (and equivalents) is perfect if you just want something to swamp out your surroundings without being a distraction.
noxToken 9y ago
Can't you just use a pair of noise-canceling cans without piping audio through them? Is there a drawback to turning on the noise-canceling feature without coming through the speakers? It won't be completely quiet (on basic models), but it is probably comfortably quiet for most.
jnwatson 9y ago
I have some, and I don't listen to music 90% of the time. Just the noise cancelling on is extremely effective.
_Codemonkeyism 9y ago
As CTO had limited impact on floorplan, bought $350 Bose for everyone in tech, got in trouble with CFO but wasn't fired ;-)
Sodman 9y ago
I have an older noise-cancelling model, the QC 15s, and they do a decent job at noise cancelling even without music. I listen to https://www.brain.fm/ https://www.brain.fm/ (paid, but lifetime license is cheap) at a low volume to drown out any remaining noise. It's consistent background "white" noise that drowns out even the loudest co-workers. Wear them for 6-10 hours / day, best productivity investment I've ever made.

vbuwivbiu 9y ago

that's if you can tolerate having hot earmuffs pressing on your head all day, which I cannot. It hurts and gives me earache.

emj 9y ago
That depends on the model for me, some work good others do not. But I don't know about daily use I've only worn them for two days max.

tome 9y ago

Perhaps suggest he strategically places a mirror on his desk.

regularfry 9y ago

rainymood.com (and equivalents) is perfect if you just want something to swamp out your surroundings without being a distraction.

noxToken 9y ago

Can't you just use a pair of noise-canceling cans without piping audio through them? Is there a drawback to turning on the noise-canceling feature without coming through the speakers? It won't be completely quiet (on basic models), but it is probably comfortably quiet for most.

jnwatson 9y ago

I have some, and I don't listen to music 90% of the time. Just the noise cancelling on is extremely effective.

_Codemonkeyism 9y ago

As CTO had limited impact on floorplan, bought $350 Bose for everyone in tech, got in trouble with CFO but wasn't fired ;-)

Sodman 9y ago

I have an older noise-cancelling model, the QC 15s, and they do a decent job at noise cancelling even without music. I listen to https://www.brain.fm/ https://www.brain.fm/ (paid, but lifetime license is cheap) at a low volume to drown out any remaining noise. It's consistent background "white" noise that drowns out even the loudest co-workers. Wear them for 6-10 hours / day, best productivity investment I've ever made.