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> does anyone know if earbuds with active noise cancelation like airpods pro offer similar hearing protection benefits Yes, ANC headphones do protect your hear

> does anyone know if earbuds with active noise cancelation like airpods pro offer similar hearing protection benefits Yes, ANC headphones do protect your hearing, but they offer weaker protection than specialized heavy-duty equipment like you'd find on a construction site or a shooting range. When using your AirPods Pro your Apple Watch will even factor that in its noise measurements and show you the original noise level and the one that your ears are actually subject to thanks to ANC. For example if I sit right next to a loud vacuum cleaner my Watch says 85 dB, but when I enable ANC on my AirPods Pro 2 it drops down to 62 dB. One issue is than ANC can't predict and sometimes react fast enough to sudden loud noises, so if an engine backfires next to you, your ANC headphones will take a few miliseconds to catch up and will allow the original sound (minus their inherent (passive) sound isolation) to reach your ear.

kqr 3y ago
> One issue is than ANC can't predict and sometimes react fast enough to sudden loud noises, so if an engine backfires next to you, your ANC headphones will take a few miliseconds to catch up and will allow the original sound (minus their inherent (passive) sound isolation) to reach your ear. Ön the other hand, isn't the time spent exposed to loud sounds what counts for hearing damage? I.e. one should be less worried precisely about the sorts of things ANC is bad at dealing with?
- Toutouxc 3y ago
  I imagine it would matter more for more dangerous noise levels and environments, like a shooting range, where even a single shot fired without protection can cause damage, and while some of the better ANC headphones would be able to noticeably suppress a different, sustained, noise of similar intensity, they wouldn't be able to protect you against gunshots.
- constantly 3y ago
  It depends on noise level. You’re right though generally. One can safely listen to 85dB for 8 hours before hearing loss starts. Up that to 91dB and you have just two hours. 97dB quarters it again and one can be exposed to only 30 mins. But once one gets to loud sounds like sirens, gunshots, firecrackers in the 120-150dB range onset of permanent hearing loss can be instant.
user_7832 3y ago
> One issue is than ANC can't predict and sometimes react fast enough to sudden loud noises, so if an engine backfires next to you, your ANC headphones will take a few miliseconds to catch up and will allow the original sound (minus their inherent (passive) sound isolation) to reach your ear. Are you sure of this? I thought audio computation was fast enough for avoiding this issue.

kqr 3y ago

> One issue is than ANC can't predict and sometimes react fast enough to sudden loud noises, so if an engine backfires next to you, your ANC headphones will take a few miliseconds to catch up and will allow the original sound (minus their inherent (passive) sound isolation) to reach your ear. Ön the other hand, isn't the time spent exposed to loud sounds what counts for hearing damage? I.e. one should be less worried precisely about the sorts of things ANC is bad at dealing with?

Toutouxc 3y ago
I imagine it would matter more for more dangerous noise levels and environments, like a shooting range, where even a single shot fired without protection can cause damage, and while some of the better ANC headphones would be able to noticeably suppress a different, sustained, noise of similar intensity, they wouldn't be able to protect you against gunshots.
constantly 3y ago
It depends on noise level. You’re right though generally. One can safely listen to 85dB for 8 hours before hearing loss starts. Up that to 91dB and you have just two hours. 97dB quarters it again and one can be exposed to only 30 mins. But once one gets to loud sounds like sirens, gunshots, firecrackers in the 120-150dB range onset of permanent hearing loss can be instant.

user_7832 3y ago

> One issue is than ANC can't predict and sometimes react fast enough to sudden loud noises, so if an engine backfires next to you, your ANC headphones will take a few miliseconds to catch up and will allow the original sound (minus their inherent (passive) sound isolation) to reach your ear. Are you sure of this? I thought audio computation was fast enough for avoiding this issue.