8 ms·

I hate to sound like I'm trivializing your disorder, but have you tried a good pair of closed-ear headphones? I sit in a room of 40 or 50 chatty computer folks,

I hate to sound like I'm trivializing your disorder, but have you tried a good pair of closed-ear headphones? I sit in a room of 40 or 50 chatty computer folks, and everything is silent when I put on my Sennheiser headphones. It lets be effectively choose whether or not I want to be distracted by sound, which I do sometimes (hearing conversations I want to be a part of it quite important to me).

ghotli 13y ago
http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SE210-Sound-Isolating-Earphone/dp/B0013JT3XC http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SE210-Sound-Isolating-Earphone/d... Those effectively eliminate auditory ADD in an open environment. Nothing has been more effective than these for me.
- bdcravens 13y ago
  I have a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 15's, supposedly one of the best noise canceling headphones you can buy. While it eliminates alot of the noise, noise still gets in.
  - nairteashop 13y ago
    I've tried the Bose QC and the Shure, and IMO the latter is better at removing ambient sounds. The Shure does not use active noise cancellation like the Bose, but I think it is more effective simply because it fits snugly in your ear like a set of ear plugs. (It's also more uncomfortable because of that.)
  - driverdan 13y ago
    Earphones that actually block sound are far superior to noise canceling headphones that degrade the sound quality of whatever you're listening to.
  - dgallagher 13y ago
    Combine them with 30dB or better earplugs. If you can still hear things that are bothersome, play some music or pink noise. Note that earplug use can cause earwax buildup. There are a bunch of home remedy's that can help. Talk to your doctor about options.
- jquery 13y ago
  Careful. Daily use of in-ear headphones can lead to impacted ear wax. Your hearing will gradually degrade until you can't understand people at all. Then one morning you wake up and realize you're deaf and you make a trip to the doctor where they pull out a block of ear wax the size of a lozenge and just as hard. Happened to me twice before I ditched using in-ear headphones at work.
  - vibrolax 13y ago
    I have been prone to cerumen (earwax) buildup my entire adult life, regardless of whether I wore in-ear, sealed, open-air phones, or nothing at all. In my early twenties, a doctor showed me how to remove it using a small piece of alcohol-moistened cotton plucked from a cotton ball twisted onto a flat toothpick. He said commercial cotton swabs were too large and the cotton was packed too hard for the task. While his advice goes against the prime directive to never put any object in your ear canal, I have never hurt myself. A gentle self-cleansing in the outer canal every two weeks keeps things clear. Without this, I'd be in the doctor's office getting flushed 3 or 4 times a year. I wouldn't advise anyone to do this without a doctor's recommendation and training.
    - lisper 13y ago
      http://www.earclear.com/ http://www.earclear.com/
  - ghotli 13y ago
    Just as a data point I've been using these for nearly six years and I have never had a problem with earwax or build quality.
- btgeekboy 13y ago
  I used to love these things. But, be forewarned - I found them to be incredibly fragile. I'm not abusive with them or anything, but during the 2 year warranty, I received 3 brand new sets. Each time, one ear would become louder, despite my own ears being clean and the headphones themselves being clear of earwax as well.
gcr 13y ago
Is it common for employers to restrict the use of headphones in an open workspace? I imagine that some bosses might feel that headphones "dampen the synergy," or whatever language they use.
kemiller 13y ago
Not just about auditory stimuli, it's also visual "noise".
raverbashing 13y ago
This With noise cancelling for when someone decides to vacuum the office or finds out it's a nice day to use a power drill
- ghotli 13y ago
  My boss used to say that he felt like he could have shot off a gun behind my head and I wouldn't notice with those Shures in.
monkeynotes 13y ago
In addition I think practicing meditation would be an excellent alternative to medication. Meditation can help the mind learn how to focus and compartmentalise your senses.
rohansingh 13y ago
If you're listening to music through those headphones, it is definitely having an effort on your creativity that you might net appreciate. The Cornell study about this is referenced in Peopleware. I summarized it a few years ago if you don't have a copy handy: http://rohanradio.com/blog/2010/08/12/one-song-on-repeat/ http://rohanradio.com/blog/2010/08/12/one-song-on-repeat/
- endianswap 13y ago
  I don't actually need anything playing on the headphones to effectively block out voices, even nearby ones. I compared my HD280s agains active noise-cancelling headphones and the Sennheisers blocked talking much more effectively, because there's that much more material between your ears and the outside world.
  - ax 13y ago
    I could be wrong, but at one point I calculated that the HD280s meet OSHA requirements for hearing protection for certain noise levels.
jasonlotito 13y ago
As someone who also has ADHD and OCD, close-ear noise-canceling headphones aren't the solution. And they don't work. As someone else mentioned, visual noise is just as much a problem. Couple that with what an open office implies: easy access. Besides, I don't want to always be wearing headphones while I'm coding. I do enjoy quiet and peace while working, without needing my head and ears wrapped. Another issue with ADHD isn't just being distracted, but also getting back to work after being disrupted. It's easy to talk about getting into the zone, but for someone with ADHD, it's even more challenging. Since I've started medication, I've seen firsthand the dramatic difference. This isn't meant to say you are wrong. Closed-ear headphones do help, and they are just one thing I use. But alone, they simply don't come close. Open-offices are a challenge.
- mikevm 13y ago
  >Another issue with ADHD isn't just being distracted, but also getting back to work after being disrupted. It's easy to talk about getting into the zone, but for someone with ADHD, it's even more challenging. Since I've started medication, I've seen firsthand the dramatic difference. Did you have similar problems in College? That is, if you get distracted from homework assignments (say, friends are bugging you to go out), then it would take you much more time to get back at it again? It happens to me all the time. It takes me a lot of time to finally force myself to do some assignment, and if I go out, I might waste almost the a whole day afterwards just trying to get into "the zone" again... Unfortunately, the meds are giving me side effects (increased heart rate).
  - jasonlotito 13y ago
    > Did you have similar problems in College? Yes. And it was a struggle. I always chalked it up to procrastination. As a 33 year old learning you've had ADHD and OCD all your life, it kind of freaks you out. They say not to do it, but you can't help but think of what you could have done had you been properly diagnosed. Instead, they tell me I need to focus on what I have accomplished in spite of my condition (which, to be completely fair, is nothing that I can complain about). > Unfortunately, the meds are giving me side effects (increased heart rate). Try something different? =)
dyno12345 13y ago
I wake up every morning with my ears ringing because I have no other way to work open floor plan

ghotli 13y ago

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SE210-Sound-Isolating-Earphone/dp/B0013JT3XC http://www.amazon.com/Shure-SE210-Sound-Isolating-Earphone/d... Those effectively eliminate auditory ADD in an open environment. Nothing has been more effective than these for me.

bdcravens 13y ago
I have a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 15's, supposedly one of the best noise canceling headphones you can buy. While it eliminates alot of the noise, noise still gets in.
- nairteashop 13y ago
  I've tried the Bose QC and the Shure, and IMO the latter is better at removing ambient sounds. The Shure does not use active noise cancellation like the Bose, but I think it is more effective simply because it fits snugly in your ear like a set of ear plugs. (It's also more uncomfortable because of that.)
- driverdan 13y ago
  Earphones that actually block sound are far superior to noise canceling headphones that degrade the sound quality of whatever you're listening to.
- dgallagher 13y ago
  Combine them with 30dB or better earplugs. If you can still hear things that are bothersome, play some music or pink noise. Note that earplug use can cause earwax buildup. There are a bunch of home remedy's that can help. Talk to your doctor about options.
jquery 13y ago
Careful. Daily use of in-ear headphones can lead to impacted ear wax. Your hearing will gradually degrade until you can't understand people at all. Then one morning you wake up and realize you're deaf and you make a trip to the doctor where they pull out a block of ear wax the size of a lozenge and just as hard. Happened to me twice before I ditched using in-ear headphones at work.
- vibrolax 13y ago
  I have been prone to cerumen (earwax) buildup my entire adult life, regardless of whether I wore in-ear, sealed, open-air phones, or nothing at all. In my early twenties, a doctor showed me how to remove it using a small piece of alcohol-moistened cotton plucked from a cotton ball twisted onto a flat toothpick. He said commercial cotton swabs were too large and the cotton was packed too hard for the task. While his advice goes against the prime directive to never put any object in your ear canal, I have never hurt myself. A gentle self-cleansing in the outer canal every two weeks keeps things clear. Without this, I'd be in the doctor's office getting flushed 3 or 4 times a year. I wouldn't advise anyone to do this without a doctor's recommendation and training.
  - lisper 13y ago
    http://www.earclear.com/ http://www.earclear.com/
- ghotli 13y ago
  Just as a data point I've been using these for nearly six years and I have never had a problem with earwax or build quality.
btgeekboy 13y ago
I used to love these things. But, be forewarned - I found them to be incredibly fragile. I'm not abusive with them or anything, but during the 2 year warranty, I received 3 brand new sets. Each time, one ear would become louder, despite my own ears being clean and the headphones themselves being clear of earwax as well.

gcr 13y ago

Is it common for employers to restrict the use of headphones in an open workspace? I imagine that some bosses might feel that headphones "dampen the synergy," or whatever language they use.

kemiller 13y ago

Not just about auditory stimuli, it's also visual "noise".

raverbashing 13y ago

This With noise cancelling for when someone decides to vacuum the office or finds out it's a nice day to use a power drill

ghotli 13y ago
My boss used to say that he felt like he could have shot off a gun behind my head and I wouldn't notice with those Shures in.

monkeynotes 13y ago

In addition I think practicing meditation would be an excellent alternative to medication. Meditation can help the mind learn how to focus and compartmentalise your senses.

rohansingh 13y ago

If you're listening to music through those headphones, it is definitely having an effort on your creativity that you might net appreciate. The Cornell study about this is referenced in Peopleware. I summarized it a few years ago if you don't have a copy handy: http://rohanradio.com/blog/2010/08/12/one-song-on-repeat/ http://rohanradio.com/blog/2010/08/12/one-song-on-repeat/

endianswap 13y ago
I don't actually need anything playing on the headphones to effectively block out voices, even nearby ones. I compared my HD280s agains active noise-cancelling headphones and the Sennheisers blocked talking much more effectively, because there's that much more material between your ears and the outside world.
- ax 13y ago
  I could be wrong, but at one point I calculated that the HD280s meet OSHA requirements for hearing protection for certain noise levels.

jasonlotito 13y ago

As someone who also has ADHD and OCD, close-ear noise-canceling headphones aren't the solution. And they don't work. As someone else mentioned, visual noise is just as much a problem. Couple that with what an open office implies: easy access. Besides, I don't want to always be wearing headphones while I'm coding. I do enjoy quiet and peace while working, without needing my head and ears wrapped. Another issue with ADHD isn't just being distracted, but also getting back to work after being disrupted. It's easy to talk about getting into the zone, but for someone with ADHD, it's even more challenging. Since I've started medication, I've seen firsthand the dramatic difference. This isn't meant to say you are wrong. Closed-ear headphones do help, and they are just one thing I use. But alone, they simply don't come close. Open-offices are a challenge.

mikevm 13y ago
>Another issue with ADHD isn't just being distracted, but also getting back to work after being disrupted. It's easy to talk about getting into the zone, but for someone with ADHD, it's even more challenging. Since I've started medication, I've seen firsthand the dramatic difference. Did you have similar problems in College? That is, if you get distracted from homework assignments (say, friends are bugging you to go out), then it would take you much more time to get back at it again? It happens to me all the time. It takes me a lot of time to finally force myself to do some assignment, and if I go out, I might waste almost the a whole day afterwards just trying to get into "the zone" again... Unfortunately, the meds are giving me side effects (increased heart rate).
- jasonlotito 13y ago
  > Did you have similar problems in College? Yes. And it was a struggle. I always chalked it up to procrastination. As a 33 year old learning you've had ADHD and OCD all your life, it kind of freaks you out. They say not to do it, but you can't help but think of what you could have done had you been properly diagnosed. Instead, they tell me I need to focus on what I have accomplished in spite of my condition (which, to be completely fair, is nothing that I can complain about). > Unfortunately, the meds are giving me side effects (increased heart rate). Try something different? =)

dyno12345 13y ago

I wake up every morning with my ears ringing because I have no other way to work open floor plan