Office noise bothers some people more than others • Hacker News Board

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#501

Post by anotherwebdev » Tue, Nov 19, 2019, 9:57 PM UTC

mrandish wrote: post #491

iscrewyou wrote: post #310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There are generally three ways to suppress noise: 1. Noise masking - covering the external sound with another sound. 2. Noise blocking - sealing the ears so the external sound doesn't get through. 3. Noise canceling - active noise canceling technology which listens to external sound with a microphone and adds an inverted waveform to cancel it. I use all three and they all work depending on the scenario and my prefere…

I think that the Etymotic earpieces are the best for 1 and 2. Haven't tried ANC yet but Etymotic's noise isolation is equal or maybe slightly less than X5A or 3M's foam earplugs.

Add a very gentle 30db pink noise with Etymotic and I don't hear 99% of the noises.

Best protection so far - X5A along with Etymotic under them and pink noise playing.

I want to try some ANC pairs but they're quite expensive and I've read it only works for constant noises. Do they work in an office/coworking environment with people chatting everywhere?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#502

Post by lowercased » Tue, Nov 19, 2019, 10:53 PM UTC

Ragib_Zaman wrote: post #440

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…

I also hate external noise. Here's my nuke option. 1) Sony XM3 headphones. They are the 2nd most comfortable after the Bose headphones and have the best NC. So far, nothing you haven't done before. 2) High quality foam earplugs. I have the Mack's Ultra Soft plugs, with 32 decibel noise reduction rating. Anything with 27 decibel reduction or above should be good enough though. You may need to alternate between a few b…

I find brown or grey noise to be better - I prefer the 'deeper' aspect to it. white/pink is too tinny for my ears.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#503

Post by mrmuagi » Wed, Nov 20, 2019, 10:43 PM UTC

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.

Sorry for the late reply, I had a look at what I have. I started off with orange 3M 1100 Foam Ear Plugs [0], but currently gone through two iterations of Moldex Pura-Fit Tapered Foam [1]. My main purchasing motivator is the decibel (dB) rating on the product, which blocks more sound -- which is standardized with Noise Reduction Rating (NRR).

[0] https://www.amazon.com/3M-1100-Foam-Plugs-200-Pair/dp/B008MV... [1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BYAP7I

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#504

Post by seppin » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 12:33 AM UTC

TheJazi13 wrote: post #379

seppin wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same, I quite like them. Just a heads up, don't walk the streets with both in. The in ear allows to listen with just one in.

Or just flip on the transparent mode

Pulling one out automatically puts the other in transparent mode

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#505

Post by Imagenuity » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 6:18 AM UTC

lowercased wrote: post #502

Ragib_Zaman wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also hate external noise. Here's my nuke option. 1) Sony XM3 headphones. They are the 2nd most comfortable after the Bose headphones and have the best NC. So far, nothing you haven't done before. 2) High quality foam earplugs. I have the Mack's Ultra Soft plugs, with 32 decibel noise reduction rating. Anything with 27 decibel reduction or above should be good enough though. You may need to alternate between a few b…

I find brown or grey noise to be better - I prefer the 'deeper' aspect to it. white/pink is too tinny for my ears.

I agree with the brown noise over white or pink noise. Calming and low pitched. Try this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqzGzwTY-6w

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#506

Post by Ragib_Zaman » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 10:38 AM UTC

lowercased wrote: post #502

Ragib_Zaman wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also hate external noise. Here's my nuke option. 1) Sony XM3 headphones. They are the 2nd most comfortable after the Bose headphones and have the best NC. So far, nothing you haven't done before. 2) High quality foam earplugs. I have the Mack's Ultra Soft plugs, with 32 decibel noise reduction rating. Anything with 27 decibel reduction or above should be good enough though. You may need to alternate between a few b…

I find brown or grey noise to be better - I prefer the 'deeper' aspect to it. white/pink is too tinny for my ears.

I agree that brown noise generally sounds more calming and pleasant, for example some people enjoy falling asleep to brown noise. In my personal use case of shutting out external noises, I find that it's only the higher frequencies that can make it through the noise cancelling headphones and earplugs, and pink noise helps my brain ignore those better than brown noise, as it melts into the pink noise more closely. It's definitely worth trying both out, in various environments, to figure out what works best for you.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#507

Post by lowercased » Thu, Nov 21, 2019, 6:29 PM UTC

Ragib_Zaman wrote: post #506

lowercased wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find brown or grey noise to be better - I prefer the 'deeper' aspect to it. white/pink is too tinny for my ears.

I agree that brown noise generally sounds more calming and pleasant, for example some people enjoy falling asleep to brown noise. In my personal use case of shutting out external noises, I find that it's only the higher frequencies that can make it through the noise cancelling headphones and earplugs, and pink noise helps my brain ignore those better than brown noise, as it melts into the pink noise more closely. It'…

sure. my personal is a mix of brown and grey with some airline and rain sounds blended in. using the "whitenoise" on iOS and macOS. I think the airline and rain sounds are some of the 'higher' ones that block out other stuff (and I'm usually using qc20 headphones as well).

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#508

Post by Circeberman » Wed, Nov 27, 2019, 12:12 AM UTC

noelsusman wrote: post #492

vraivroo wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, you can also work for an established company with cramped offices in a dense, expensive city. Or you can take a massive pay cut, tank your career, and go live in the middle of nowhere. Sounds great.

RedHat's office is in downtown Raleigh. It's not in the middle of nowhere and it's also not a dense, expensive city.

But it's Raleigh > NC > the South > the middle of everywhere I wouldn't want to be :(

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#509

Post by Circeberman » Wed, Nov 27, 2019, 12:14 AM UTC

nvarsj wrote: post #446

rtpg wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Theoretically, the brain can get used to certain kinds of regular noise and filter it out, and then, if the disruption is a small sound that occurs irregularly... if you add constant white noise that's louder than the sound, then the sound should get quite literally lost in the noise. Just an FYI, while this is basically true for neurotypical people, for some people (for example those with ADHD or who might be on t…

I don’t think you’re correct. Stimulating background music (like EDM or video game OSTs) can do wonders for ADHD sufferers as it helps stimulate their brains which helps them focus (this is a similar mechanism to ADHD drugs).

chiptone and EDM might work for some but it would drive many people insane- try techno