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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

#221

Post by tanseydavid »

munmaek wrote: post #185
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…

Have you tried in-ear variants like the bose qc20? I have no problems with them for long periods of time. Also, as other users have pointed out, noise-canceling just counteracts constant noise like machine hums, and the like. It won't do anything about human speech because it 1.v aries constantly and 2. takes place across a large spectrum of sound. Noise-canceling headphones can adapt but it's always going to lag beh…

Noise-cancelling headphones + silicon ear plugs.

Excessive by most standards but I (almost) have to have this when working in an open office.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#222

Post by izzydata »

hosh wrote: post #174

Interesting. Anyone think the mechanism for misphonia is similar or related to the sensory dysphoria and audio sensitivity for people on the Autism spectrum?

That wouldn't surprise me. I have misophonia and it feels like I'm incapable of filtering noises. I can't tune out sounds. I also can't tune out scents, touch or sight but those are generally less offensive to the mind.

This stuff bothers me greatly on a daily basis. If there was some switch I could flip in my brain to stop processing these irrelevant inputs that would be fantastic.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#223

Post by Starkus »

matwood wrote: post #205
Starkus wrote: post #201

I have misophonia, I get extreme anger in the office if someone starts chomping with their mouths open out of nowhere. Also the two older dudes near me always have their phones dinging, like when any notification comes to their phone, im close to insanity about it

> always have their phones dinging, like when any notification comes to their phone, im close to insanity about it I don’t mind office noise, but this drives me nuts. Their phone is on their person, turn on vibrate already.

I want to ask them to stop, but its one of those things i really feel that others should really know its rude and affects others. I'll get the excuse that they can't miss the notification, though, put the damn thing on vibrate!

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#224

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

tanseydavid wrote: post #221
munmaek wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried in-ear variants like the bose qc20? I have no problems with them for long periods of time. Also, as other users have pointed out, noise-canceling just counteracts constant noise like machine hums, and the like. It won't do anything about human speech because it 1.v aries constantly and 2. takes place across a large spectrum of sound. Noise-canceling headphones can adapt but it's always going to lag beh…

Noise-cancelling headphones + silicon ear plugs. Excessive by most standards but I (almost) have to have this when working in an open office.

Do you get used to the sounds of your own body? Between my low grade tinnitus and breathing it would drive me insane to just hear myself. Or do you have music on?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#225

Post by 734129837261 »

neverartful wrote: post #132
734129837261 wrote: post #67

My biggest triggers are people who eat crunchy food with open mouths; people who slurp their drinks; people who are oblivious to their environment and sing loudly in open offices. Colleagues next to me eating hard carrots, chips, anything crunchy. Or Chinese expats who slurp their soup and coffee (normal in their culture; rude in mine)... it drove me crazy. The singing one drove me insane at my last job. An office la…

Some of the sounds (in addition to those already mentioned) that do (or have) driven me nuts: fast scraping to get last bit of yogurt from plastic container with plastic spoon, chewing/cracking gum where the chewer makes little air bubbles in the gum and then pops them (x10 if they're chewing with their mouth open), whistling, humming, tapping fingernails against table top, tapping foot against floor/chair/desk, digg…

> There are times when I wish I were deaf.

I hear ya (pun somewhat intended), I wish there was an off-switch in my ears. I'd miss music and the voices of loved ones, but the peace and quiet would make me infinitely more productive in life.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#227

Post by kwizzt »

munmaek wrote: post #185
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…

Have you tried in-ear variants like the bose qc20? I have no problems with them for long periods of time. Also, as other users have pointed out, noise-canceling just counteracts constant noise like machine hums, and the like. It won't do anything about human speech because it 1.v aries constantly and 2. takes place across a large spectrum of sound. Noise-canceling headphones can adapt but it's always going to lag beh…

I second this. I can't use over the ear ones because I'm wearing glasses. Then I got Bose qc20 and it's been working great for me so far. I can use it for a couple of hours without any major issue.

The only minor issues is that moist starts to accumulate in the ear after a while, which I guess isn't a big deal.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#228

Post by 734129837261 »

DoofusOfDeath wrote: post #105
734129837261 wrote: post #67

My biggest triggers are people who eat crunchy food with open mouths; people who slurp their drinks; people who are oblivious to their environment and sing loudly in open offices. Colleagues next to me eating hard carrots, chips, anything crunchy. Or Chinese expats who slurp their soup and coffee (normal in their culture; rude in mine)... it drove me crazy. The singing one drove me insane at my last job. An office la…

> 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…

The feeling was absolutely real. The feeling is best described as feeling cornered and attacked, with my only way out being extreme violence.

That said, I've also been tested for all kinds of problems (yay affordable health care + endless supplies of mental care), and I'm completely normal and not dangerous. I just have misophonia.

They did studies on misophonia and I was part of it during another unrelated rehabilitation (accident related) for which I was treated in the same hospital.

Interestingly, it's not a mental problem, it's physical, see: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44084-8

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#229

Post by lozenge »

neverartful wrote: post #118
tzs wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had a guy who narrated whatever he was doing, in third person. Let's call him Bob. Suppose Bob needed to FTP a file from a server, print it, staple the pages together, and then give it to me. During this entire process, Bob would talk, saying something like this: > Bob is starting the FTP program. Bob is typing his name and password. Bob is starting the file transfer. Bob's exiting. Bob is selecting the file and p…

If they ever have a sequel to Office Space, this could be a funny addition.

Nah, it would be too unbelievable.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#230

Post by vehementi »

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…

Wear headphones that are comfortable to wear for a long time (like big ones that go all around your ear but don't press on your earlobes) and use a white noise generator. I use one that adds like rain and thunder and campfire so it sounds like I'm in a log cabin during a storm and I just crank up the volume to where it drowns everything else out. Literally right now there is jackhammering going on in my office and I can't hear it at all until I take my headphones off. (I use asoftmurmur.com personally but anything should be fine)
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