Keeping Out the Noise, Letting In the Sound
In this post I am comparing two of my favorite noise reduction tools: active noise cancelling headphones and earmuffs. The results of an everyday noise reduction test are also included. Noise cancelling headphones (ANC headphones) have become all the rage in recent years, and for good reasons: They get rid of bass noise like no …
Read moreNoise Cancelling Headphones vs Earmuffs: Electronics or Big Ear Cups?
I have lived in quite a few apartments and stayed in countless hotel rooms where traffic noise was waking me up several times a night. Over time, I have developed a good understanding of what works to block out enough noise to help me fall and stay asleep. Whether you have traffic noise keeping you …
This article looks at when and how active noise cancelling headphones (=headphones that use electronics to reduce noise) can help to protect your hearing. Used correctly, good noise cancelling headphones have the potential to protect hearing in many situations, but they are not safety earmuffs. And, they can also damage your hearing if you play …
Read moreDo Noise Cancelling Headphones Protect Your Hearing?
Yes, many active noise cancelling headphones (ANC headphones) work without music, and in fact, there are some unique benefits of using them without music. I’ll get to these benefits in a minute. For most ANC headphones to cancel noise, you just need to turn them on. This engages the active noise cancelling electronics: the headphones …
To our neighbor the music might sound perfectly balanced, but for us “it’s all about the bass.” Or, suppose the bass is coming from a party across the street or a dance club. You live pretty far away, but still, the rhythm of the drums coming through your windows and door is inviting you to …
Years ago, I had my first experience with prolonged insomnia when new neighbors moved into the upstairs apartment and started living at around midnight every single night. I would go to bed at perhaps 11 pm and soon thereafter the couple upstairs would come home and start walking back and forth—on top of my bedroom. …
Read moreHow to Block Loud Footstep Noise from an Upstairs Apartment?
Have you ever experienced a low-frequency humming noise in your house that kept you awake? On a recent trip to Vietnam, I had one of these weird sounds in a hotel room. I checked into the hotel and almost immediately noticed a humming noise in my room. Being the low-frequency noise “hater” I am, I …
Read moreWhat’s That Humming Noise in My Hotel Room? Can I Get Rid of It?
I work in libraries, offices and coffee shops, and I enjoy all three for their different vibes and inspiration. With different environments though come different mixes of distracting noises, and I can’t concentrate well with too much noise. Chatter, someone on the phone, whispering, coughing, eating noises, clicking keyboards, creaking floors, AC, ventilation, generator, and …
Read moreThe Best Tools to Block Noise While Studying or Working in an Office
Your partner or roommate is snoring like a chain saw, and nothing seems to work. You have tried earplugs but they either don’t block enough of the snores or you just can’t tolerate them. Now you are wondering, “Do these expensive noise-cancelling headphones block out snoring?” I have asked myself the same question. And I …
Many people get expensive noise cancelling headphones in the hope that they will somehow completely shield them from environmental noise. But when they switch on their headphones’ noise cancelling without music, they notice that all that chatter, shouting and screaming is still coming through. It may appear at times as if voices are even amplified. …
Read moreWhy Noise Cancelling Headphones Don’t Block Voices and What You Can Do About it
