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Office noise bothers some people more than others

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Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#301

Post by mffnbs »

silveroriole wrote: post #163
DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wanted to murder her. No joke. If I could get away with it, I would have. The anger was physical and deep. Rage and disgust was the feeling, and I felt personally attacked. It felt like a "fight or flee" instinct, where I'd prefer to fight. Just in case you're not using hyperbole, you might consider some visits with a good counselor. I think most people can learn techniques to avoid getting so angry, and the unha…

Does counselling work for misophonia? It really does feel like an involuntary fight-or-flight mechanism rather than just “anger”. Would be interested to hear if anyone’s had success with it, cause boy does it ruin family dinners when you have to either leave the room or sit there with your fork in a death grip trying not to kill everyone.

It would teach you coping skills, one of which is leaving the room and another is physical sensation like holding a fork extremely hard.

Breathing helps too, but I find it difficult to remember.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#302

Post by irrational »

jackhack wrote: post #80

There are two mutually exclusive groups of people: "Concentrators(1)" and "Communicators(2)". Concentrators must have conditions that allow one to form and hold complex ideas, and act upon them. This is almost always some degree of a quiet environment, without visual or auditory distractions. the opposite of the ideal conditions of Communicators. Communicators must interact with others to do their job. (1) Typical of…

While this is certainly a spectrum, I'm definitely at the extreme end of Concentrator. My productivity is basically zero when there is any background noise. I suspect this is related to my ADHD (which I've never taken medication for ;-).

I'm also strange in other ways. Music does nothing at all for me and I have a really hard time remembering things that are spoken to me (but have an almost photographic memory of anything I read). I suspect I have some sort of auditory defect that all of this is wrapped up in.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#303

Post by ixf »

x2f10 wrote: post #298
mrmuagi wrote: post #294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ear plugs like ones made by 3M for construction workers has helped me sleep at night and study without distractions. Have you tried them?

If you have a moment, can you share a link or two? There seem to be a number of models and prices. I don't know what's sufficient and what's overkill.

So, for sleeping I'd go for softer plugs like those made by Howard Leight for shooting (Laser Leights) or Moldex Spark Plugs.

Hearing protection always talks about attenuation in terms of dB(A) (A-weighting being a sensible thing to do when measuring perceived sound levels). 30dB(A) is a significant attenuation (logarithmic scale, don't forget). 35dB(A) is quite an improvement over 30dB(A).

For long-term use, ear plugs aren't great. But ear defenders can be had cheaply which will work well; I know of some people who use ear defenders atop in-ear active-noise-cancelling headphones as a double-whammy.

The correct answer is to work/sleep in quiet places, though, but I realise this is fast becoming a luxury.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#304

Post by pushpop »

bliker wrote: post #261
pushpop wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a 1.5hr commute each morning and night which adds a lot onto my day but I also living in a quiet village and work in central London. Being able to take refuge in the village on evenings and weekends makes the noise in London bearable. There is also the additional side effect that I have a reasonably large house for the same price that I would have paid for a small room in London.

Even if you account for travel?

Travel does cost me a lot but it’s more than made up for with the size of property in a desirable neighbourhood.

There’s no right or wrong answer here though. Some people might prefer a shorter commute and I can’t blame them for that. For me, I’d rather have a longer commute but live in a larger house in nicer neighbourhood; somewhere quiet to bring my family up.

The added bonus is most IT jobs these days offer remote working so I don’t have to travel into London five days a week if I didn’t want to. Though sometimes the commute itself can be enjoyable because it’s a good chance to catch up on reading or personal programming projects (etc) since it’s 90 minutes of uninterrupted time away from the family.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#305

Post by Aeolun »

birdyrooster wrote: post #272
zeta0134 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this isn't a great solution, but could you try a lightweight pair of headphones, and some relaxing music? Not particularly heavy music mind, but just something you can leave in the background. Maybe a movie soundtrack. I use videogame OSTs but that's not everyone's cup of tea. This would maybe make the headphone issue more bearable (lightweight - much less uncomfortable for long periods), and the goal isn't to…

No. The noise is the businesses responsibility to resolve, not the individual employee. We need spaces which take the needs of employees into account first when creating work spaces, not finance people masquerading as office space gurus.

It should be, but what do you think the chances are that that is actually going to happen?

Therefore it falls to yourself to improve your environment.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#306

Post by x2f10 »

mffnbs wrote: post #293
i2shar wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have the exact same trouble with mouth noises. I couldn't explain the extreme irrational anger I felt when a co-worker was chewing on something while others hardly even noticed. It used to be very unsettling before I came know that it was a known condition with an official name[1]. While knowing that hasn't cured it, if I encounter someone making these noises, to avoid outbursts, I am now quick to put on headphones…

Yep, I become outwardly violent when I hear specific sounds. I have to physically leave the area to regain composure.

I had to do this recently when a co-worker was eating from a glass bowl and kept slamming the metal spoon around in it. I don't know if I was upset at the sound or the sheer inconsiderateness, but I had to get up and take a walk.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#307

Post by Aeolun »

ryanobjc wrote: post #279
magduf wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Yes, you can use noise cancelling headphones but: >2. They don't really block all the noise and you live in anxiety waiting for that one blaring ringtone to squeeze through NC headphones aren't designed to block all noise, only repetitive noise, basically white noise. Other noises, like ringtones, actually are louder or easier to hear on many models of NC headphones, as is speech around you. Noise-cancellation's pur…

The ironic thing is "noise cancelling" headphone turn down the volume on the things easiest to tune out, and turns up the volume on things that are the most jarring. Which is why I don't use noise cancelling headphones, instead you need passive blocking of noise, ie: material to dampen the sound from the office. Sure sucks though.

You can have both in the same headphones. Personally I rather enjoy putting on my headphones and entering my soundless world.

Of course there’s still distractions every 30 minutes, but at least they’re not noise related.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#308

Post by eeZah7Ux »

navs wrote: post #135

I currently work for a startup and all three of us are hotdesking. We're constantly moved to new spaces in the hotdesking space because a new company is leaving/moving in. I've sat beside recruiters, property managers and salespeople. There's no "quiet" room. The meeting rooms cost a few hundred and need to be pre-booked. My home environment isn't a quiet refuge either. Beside a busy street, more flatmates than their…

Noise cancelling headphones are a far from effective. Use passive isolation from earplugs to headphones.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#309

Post by jefftk »

birdyrooster wrote: post #272
zeta0134 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this isn't a great solution, but could you try a lightweight pair of headphones, and some relaxing music? Not particularly heavy music mind, but just something you can leave in the background. Maybe a movie soundtrack. I use videogame OSTs but that's not everyone's cup of tea. This would maybe make the headphone issue more bearable (lightweight - much less uncomfortable for long periods), and the goal isn't to…

No. The noise is the businesses responsibility to resolve, not the individual employee. We need spaces which take the needs of employees into account first when creating work spaces, not finance people masquerading as office space gurus.

> The noise is the businesses responsibility to resolve, not the individual employee.

This may be a reasonable view for a large company, but they're talking about their experience at a three-person startup. At that scale if there's something that needs to be different you have to step up and change it yourself, and set the culture for the company you're building.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#310

Post by iscrewyou »

mrandish wrote: post #217

I work at home in a very quiet neighborhood with excellent sound insulation and a silent PC. My home office is very, very quiet. I consider this a great luxury of life well-lived. Then someone bought the empty lot next door and started building a house. I ordered these 3M X5A earmuffs for $30. They are remarkably effective and proved to be a terrific investment. https://smile.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Over-Earmuffs-X5A/dp…

I recently start working in an office that has a constant ventilation noise right above my head. I use a pair of headphones that are pretty good and I sometimes use those with no music to block out the noise. You’ve just given me a great advice. Thank you!

Do you have a recommendation for headphones with similar usage? Mine are about to go out (left headset) and I know I’ll be in a need of new ones soon.

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