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Build your own hi-fi ear defenders
- ElijahLynn 3y agoIn case some miss the link to the project from within the article, here it is https://docs.sparkfun.com/SuperHeadphones/introduction/ https://docs.sparkfun.com/SuperHeadphones/introduction/
- Gravityloss 3y agoDrummer earphones exist. Very common use case, for example for recording. Many drummers nowadays use the metronome click when playing. And listen to the band, or, monitoring.
- emeril 3y agohow is this much (if at all) better than hifi earplugs? e.g., https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-High-Fidelity-Earplugs-Standard-Packaging/dp/B00RM6Q9XW/ https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-High-Fidelity-Earplugs-Stand...
- Slow_Hand 3y agoIn my experience this shape gets uncomfortable quickly because it’s jammed deep into people’s ear canals without accounting for the unique shape of each individual’s canal, so there can be a lot of uncomfortable pressure and friction. Ear buds tend to not go deep into the canal and rest closer to the entrance, making them sustain longer before discomfort arises in the ear. Also this form factor doesn’t attenuate all frequencies evenly, which can make listening to music less enjoyable.
- Mistletoe 3y agoThis may be a very person-specific quality because my Etymotics are very comfortable and have saved my ears through a lot of concerts. I just have the cheap ER20 version. https://a.co/d/8hM7eqx https://a.co/d/8hM7eqx
- timothyduong 3y agoThe trick is to add a bit of Lubricant. I use a little bit of spit. Source: rode motorcycle daily and had to use earplugs cause of how loud it was, spit lube allowed easy snug fit off deep ear plugs
- peatmoss 3y agoMineral oil may be a bit more sanitary / pleasant for people. I clean and very lightly lube my earplugs in this manner on the regular.
- callalex 3y agoIf you sing or play a brass instrument, the loud booming that comes from inside your head and reflects against plugs (or your fingers), called occlusion, makes traditional plugs unusable or actively harmful. The only solutions are to use custom molded plugs that go past the bend in your ear canal ($$$) or over-ear defenders which do not have a neutral reduction in sound across the spectrum.
- Slow_Hand 3y agoGlancing at the article, this seems like a baroque approach to a problem with a much more elegant solution. I’m a professional musician and audio engineer and for years I’ve been using custom earplugs that I acquired through a visit to an audiologist. They took an impression of my ear canals and within a week provided molded custom-fit plugs. These plugs provide passive attenuation spec’ed to my preference (-15dB, -20dB, -30dB, etc) and they do so in a way that attenuates evenly across the frequency spectrum, rather than over-attenuate the high frequencies like foam earplugs do, so that you don’t experience muffled sound. They’re comfy and work flawlessly. I’ve never taken them out due to discomfort.
- stavros 3y agoI got some off-the-shelf ones, so they don't fit as well as custom molded ones, but I've still never had discomfort. I love them, I wear them everywhere, as they make sound levels much more comfortable.
- cactusplant7374 3y agoI have been thinking about getting custom ear plugs for the AirPod Pros as the tips don’t fit my ears. My use case is that there is a lot of dangerous noise in the third world and I want to protect my ears when running.
- astrange 3y agoThere's several third party tips for those with different materials. I use Crystal.
- cactusplant7374 3y agoThanks for the recommendation. Looking into it.
- thebigman433 3y agoCan I ask how much something like this is? Ive been considering getting something similar, partially for work, and partially for going to concerts without having to worry about damaging my ears.
- thebigman433 3y agoIt definitely seems like an overengineered solution, but cool nonetheless. I think hearing devices, mostly hearing aids, are due for some major innovation in the next <5 years. There is so much software related stuff for audio currently happening that can massively benefit hearing aid users. Its one of the markets Im most excited to see change, as my dad has profound hearing loss and relies on hearing aids. If I ever have funding/support, its absolutely what I would love to work on
- cf100clunk 3y agoSome previous discussion of such hearing device competition and DIY here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28921244 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28921244
- wodenokoto 3y agoDo you use hearing aid? From what I’ve seen hearing aids have undergone huge changes and are quite high-tech now a days
- wrs 3y agoI don’t think I understand this correctly. It’s just feeding a microphone into an amplifier, isn’t it? Why is there a computer in this at all?
- thedanbob 3y ago> This board [WM8960] was more suited for this project than my previous choice, the TPA2016D2. ... However, I now needed a microcontroller to initialize and control the WM8960. I chose the $10 ESP32 because it would allow me to operate the WM8960 and also accept audio via a Bluetooth connection from, say, my phone, and stream it to the WM8960.
- wrs 3y agoOops! What confused me is the switch to an analog microphone, which seemed like it would eliminate the need for a codec and the whole digital side. But I missed the Bluetooth requirement.
- userbinator 3y agoIs it just me or does the term "ear defenders" sound like a bit of a "tortured phrase"? I've always heard them called earmuffs or earplugs.
- kwhitefoot 3y agoAlways called ear defenders in the UK. Earmuffs are things for keeping your ears warm.
- CobaltFire 3y agoI may be an edge case, but the comments here all seem to miss the mark of people for whom the earplugs aren't an option. After 22 years in military aviation and a couple of autoimmune disorders, I literally cannot wear in-ear anything without pain, ruptured skin, and balance issues. A pair of headphones like this is my only option. I'm sure I'm an edge case, but there are plenty of other people for whom a solution like this is more viable than anything in their ear canal.
- bratwurst3000 3y agoYes for working for example. Between using noisy machinery I want to speak with my coworkers. It’s much easier with those kind of headphones. Earplugs do need time to be taken out and in and the hands are dirty as shit
- kazinator 3y ago> I would capture the signal from these external mics at high quality and feed it into the headphones at the desired volume. This is completely stupid, and here is why. If you're playing loud rock and I'm in your audience, I'm wearing ordinary foam plugs. Please wear the same damn things that I'm wearing, and set up your sound accordingly.
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- anilamanprince 3y ago[dead]
- ulnarkressty 3y agoSomeone needs to invent something similar for sleeping. I would pay good money to have a completely silent sleep environment. Right now ear plugs are the best way, and not at all comfortable to sleep with. Traffic, neighbors, construction - there's always something going on in a big city. Even having a detached house in the suburbs is not guarantee of a quiet night. Sleep interruption due to noise can have disproportionate impact later in life [0]. I had some ideas about a 'room within a room' spanning just the bed, and I couldn't find a good source of materials. Best bet would be to fill the whole thing with concrete and hope it's acoustically isolated from the building itself. [0] - https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-health/sleep-whole-body/brain/slight-reductions-deep-sleep-skyrocket-dementia-risk/ https://sleepreviewmag.com/sleep-health/sleep-whole-body/bra...
- timothyduong 3y agoYou can get custom moulded ear plugs that you mould at home for about 20-30 USD. https://www.earjobs.com.au/collections/custom-moulded-ear-plugs/products/radians-custom-molded-diy-earplugs https://www.earjobs.com.au/collections/custom-moulded-ear-pl... They’re not as good as etymotics but a lot comfier.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoI wouldn't wear earbuds at night or for long periods of time though, ear wax buildup and whatnot.
- Dramanoodle 3y agoI've been using 3M plugs for 4/5 years and while it's not super confortable it's much better than not sleeping or be woken up 3 hours earlier than intended (the joy of appartments..). Also most of the dirt in the ears comes from oils in the head that get on the pillow, so in my experience they get less dirty than before.
- dinkleberg 3y agoI've slept with foam earplugs nearly every night for at least a decade now, and I've never encountered any negative effects, ear wax-related or otherwise.
- tuukkah 3y agoI wonder how much more it would take to add an active noise cancellation functionality via signal processing. As a downside of this approach in comparison to earbuds, I suppose you will lack the 3D sound functionality provided by your earlobes.