Ah….this explains a lot.
What use are noise cancelling headphones and subtitles on the front line...
- Thread starter Hagar
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This seems quite interesting, I remember watching or reading something about a deaf couple who were given ocular implants but then were discovered to have stopped using them after the initial stages.
Apparently it was because they found the world around them too noisy and had never developed the skill of filtering out background noise.
I can see anyone who uses these devices for extended periods potentially losing that ability too.
I'm lucky, perhaps not according to my family, that I have the ability to zone right the **** out in almost any situation without resorting to noise cancelling headphones.
Apparently it was because they found the world around them too noisy and had never developed the skill of filtering out background noise.
I can see anyone who uses these devices for extended periods potentially losing that ability too.
I'm lucky, perhaps not according to my family, that I have the ability to zone right the **** out in almost any situation without resorting to noise cancelling headphones.
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Soldato
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I worked out I have some auditory processing issues in my mid 20s. I always thought it was too many gigs and playing guitar too loud for years that had buggered my hearing, struggling to understand people. But I noticed that my "hearing" gets significantly worse when I'm stressed out. I was in the middle of moving house and my girlfriend was 2 feet away talking directly to my face, I was staring right at her and just could not work out what she was saying. It varies a lot on how busy and tired I am.
And all along my actual hearing is annoyingly good. Love hearing detail in music, finely tuned ear for timbre and pitch, and I can pick up fans and other background noise 2 rooms away. I simultaneously struggle to understand what people are saying to me, and get bothered by a piece of electronics in the kitchen while in bed. It's not my ears it's my brain that's the issue.
I've tried noise cancelling headphones and they make me feel really uncomfortable. It throws off my sense of environment in an uncanny valley way, like it's an unnatural background situation. And I'm painfully aware of the fake signal being piped in to cancel the real noises I'm still detecting.
And all along my actual hearing is annoyingly good. Love hearing detail in music, finely tuned ear for timbre and pitch, and I can pick up fans and other background noise 2 rooms away. I simultaneously struggle to understand what people are saying to me, and get bothered by a piece of electronics in the kitchen while in bed. It's not my ears it's my brain that's the issue.
I've tried noise cancelling headphones and they make me feel really uncomfortable. It throws off my sense of environment in an uncanny valley way, like it's an unnatural background situation. And I'm painfully aware of the fake signal being piped in to cancel the real noises I'm still detecting.
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Soldato
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I use my N/C headphones when sat next to Herself in the living room and I’m watching something on YT and she’s watching some utter brain rot on TV.
Funnily enough I was the same as you but have lost the ability to filter noises in noisy environments. Overall I have fantastic hearing and often pick up on things others don't (which is useful for work when I can hear bearings or shafts having issues). I'm particularly bad with multiple loud people talking and cannot filter the louder conversations to hear quieter things.
Soldato
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Had one these GenZ Muppets walk right into the bed I was pushing the other day, headphones on and head down. The dumb **** actually asked me why I did't move out of his way.
Yeah mate, give me a second and I'll engage the physics breaking device they issue to us all and negate the momentum of a ~400kg bed. Or, how about this for a counter solution? Don't walk around in a semi-coma, look where the **** you're walking and not at the ground and when somebody pushing a heavy object towards you and shouts at you to move out of the way - ******* move out of the way! ****!
Yeah mate, give me a second and I'll engage the physics breaking device they issue to us all and negate the momentum of a ~400kg bed. Or, how about this for a counter solution? Don't walk around in a semi-coma, look where the **** you're walking and not at the ground and when somebody pushing a heavy object towards you and shouts at you to move out of the way - ******* move out of the way! ****!
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I'm not.
Yeah Me too - I don’t know how your missus watches that rubbish!
Badum tshh
Seriously though I do the same when missus is watching some Korean box set
I do find it hard to listen when overloaded with noise , I can hear but can’t decipher what people are saying in loud pubs etc
Not the best of ideas long term my brother. Give it a googles. I've had some fun stuff going on (low frequency tinnitus/"The Hum") and I put it down to this.
I recently got s pair of pixel pro 2 buds with some of the best noise cancelling I've ever used. Perfect for the days I'm working in a noisy kitchen/cleaning room.
They have this awesome (to me at least) pass through feature that the minute they hear you talking they switch to boost environment/pass through mode, si you can easily hold a limited conversation.
I sometimes wear headphones when I go shopping as a warning to my fellow swedes don't interact with me at all please... Lol seems to work.
Nothing surprises me about the current teenage student generation. Growing up in a weird panda'd perma social media environment, of course they are all ADHD weirdos and trans genders. Why wouldn't you be...my cousins kids age 19 and 13 both ADHD, autistic and a long list of other letters and diagnosises..... Poor sods.
They have this awesome (to me at least) pass through feature that the minute they hear you talking they switch to boost environment/pass through mode, si you can easily hold a limited conversation.
I sometimes wear headphones when I go shopping as a warning to my fellow swedes don't interact with me at all please... Lol seems to work.
Nothing surprises me about the current teenage student generation. Growing up in a weird panda'd perma social media environment, of course they are all ADHD weirdos and trans genders. Why wouldn't you be...my cousins kids age 19 and 13 both ADHD, autistic and a long list of other letters and diagnosises..... Poor sods.
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How many near misses with a cow did you have on the piling rig?
Soldato
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I used to think I had this, but haven't noticed it in my new house. I was convinced it was our fridge at one point but it wasn't anything I could locate.
... And after saying this I notice it might still be there
Not on piling rigs but I also worked as a farm labourer for a neighbour a year after school and have had significant nudges when walking the beasts along a country lane. Carry a big stick and let the dogs do most of the work.
I was injecting a bit of humour into a sad situation.
I'm going to add a different angle to noise cancelling earphones and headphones. They have the potential to make tinnitus worse for those that already suffer from it.
As a tinnitus sufferer myself, I own a pair of noise cancelling earphones. I quite like them as it means noise doesn't distract you from what you're listening to. But during phone calls I noticed my tinnitus was loud until I took them out. And that makes complete sense, as the earphones are doing their intended task of filtering noise outside of the earphones from me. But this meant during moments of silence or quiet sounds, I can hear my tinnitus more.
I'm not saying noise cancelling is bad, because it isn't intended to be. But there are some users that it might not suit, or who need to be aware of such complications.
As a tinnitus sufferer myself, I own a pair of noise cancelling earphones. I quite like them as it means noise doesn't distract you from what you're listening to. But during phone calls I noticed my tinnitus was loud until I took them out. And that makes complete sense, as the earphones are doing their intended task of filtering noise outside of the earphones from me. But this meant during moments of silence or quiet sounds, I can hear my tinnitus more.
I'm not saying noise cancelling is bad, because it isn't intended to be. But there are some users that it might not suit, or who need to be aware of such complications.
There's a difference between noise cancelling and just having you volume up too high.
The former will allow you to run lower volume so you don't have to drown out the background noise by turning the volume up higher.
So the article is basically nonsense, if you use your headphones correctly and don't go crazy with the volume.
I suspect cheap headphones are largely to blame as the treble can often be ear piercingly loud to make up for the general lack of audio quality.
I personally don't feel I need to spend extra for 'proper noise cancelling' even on aeroplanes, as I like to have at least a bit of peripheral hearing of ambient noise, so my fifty quid Sony's are perfect for me.
Other peoples usage cases might differ.
The former will allow you to run lower volume so you don't have to drown out the background noise by turning the volume up higher.
So the article is basically nonsense, if you use your headphones correctly and don't go crazy with the volume.
I suspect cheap headphones are largely to blame as the treble can often be ear piercingly loud to make up for the general lack of audio quality.
I personally don't feel I need to spend extra for 'proper noise cancelling' even on aeroplanes, as I like to have at least a bit of peripheral hearing of ambient noise, so my fifty quid Sony's are perfect for me.
Other peoples usage cases might differ.
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Yeah The Hum™ is pretty much defined by being in all directions and as a result not findable. I stopped using any sort of headphones (not necessarily on purpose) for a while and I haven't heard it much/if at all really.I used to think I had this, but haven't noticed it in my new house. I was convinced it was our fridge at one point but it wasn't anything I could locate.
... And after saying this I notice it might still be there
Good point.. I actually don't use my headphones at all when I'm out and about unless I'm on a train or a plane.
The article is likely to cause all sorts of divisiveness, as already seen in this thread, as now people will think all those 'wearing headphones' in unexpected locations are just 'wrong'.
However, I will add a few points.
My wife suffers from tinnitus/"The Hum™"/hearing loss, and it's really not a pleasant situation. She has been given hearing aids, to limit certain frequencies and boost others. She rarely wears them (other issue) but they're effectively 'noise cancelling headphones' in many regards.
My daughter has sensory issues and wears 'loop earplugs' at school at some times. Some of the other students have those or headphones. No doubt many will suggest "they should just learn to tolerate it..." with zero understanding of where it comes from or how it affects them.
Personally, if I'm outdoors I wear bone-conduction headphones, so I have environmental awareness. Wife and daughter don't wear headphones/etc. when walking outdoors for similar reasons.
I do agree that anyone blocking out all environment, especially ignoring (head down, looking at phone) everyone else, when in public, is being massively inconsiderate. I doubt it applies to those who 'need' to block things, as they usually will try to avoid and/or respect others because they know how much it affects them.
However, I will add a few points.
My wife suffers from tinnitus/"The Hum™"/hearing loss, and it's really not a pleasant situation. She has been given hearing aids, to limit certain frequencies and boost others. She rarely wears them (other issue) but they're effectively 'noise cancelling headphones' in many regards.
My daughter has sensory issues and wears 'loop earplugs' at school at some times. Some of the other students have those or headphones. No doubt many will suggest "they should just learn to tolerate it..." with zero understanding of where it comes from or how it affects them.
Personally, if I'm outdoors I wear bone-conduction headphones, so I have environmental awareness. Wife and daughter don't wear headphones/etc. when walking outdoors for similar reasons.
I do agree that anyone blocking out all environment, especially ignoring (head down, looking at phone) everyone else, when in public, is being massively inconsiderate. I doubt it applies to those who 'need' to block things, as they usually will try to avoid and/or respect others because they know how much it affects them.