Keeping Out the Noise, Letting In the Sound
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
I have a history with sleeplessness caused by night-time noise. It started a few years after I had moved to Asia to take on a new job. The first four years everything went well, but then I had the idea to upgrade and get myself a nicer apartment. It was right in the city center, …