When a person is driven spare by external noise, what could they use please?
Options for Noise Cancelling for Sensitive Adult in Supermarket, Cafes, etc?
anna10 on 28/11/2022 - 14:36
Comments
When people ask these questions there are usually many more factors at play.
Do they wear glasses?
Are they going to wear for 30 minutes or 4 hours at a time?
Does portability matter?Here is a table I use to filter on Rtings which give thorough reviews on headphones.
Personally I use the Sennheiser PXC 550 (V1) for shopping or when there is too much noise around home.
I find them comfortable and portable, and battery life lasts me a week using it here and there.The touch panel on the side makes it easy to swipe up and down for volume and forwards or backwards for tracks.
Best of all a double-tap allows "active listening"Some people might find over-ear unflattering in public settings so perhaps another thing to consider is do you want in-ear? There are plenty of ANC in-ear these days too.
Agree - I got overears for my Neuro-daughter and she wears glasses - absolutely useless!
I wear glasses and have overears (XM3) and I like them. YMMV, I find in-ear uncomfortable or mediocre sound
Colesworth have quiet hour which could help.
https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/au/en/media/news-archive/…https://www.coles.com.au/about-coles/community/accessibility…
I thought that was pretty good of coles tbh - i mean its probably more like that's the time when it would traditionally be dead anyway, so its marketing genius - but still more than what woolies/aldi is doing (as far as I know)
Woolies certainly have the same.
Ah - fair enough. It's not advertised anywhere I can see at my local woolies, but the coles in the same complex has at least TWO big signs advertising this.
@anna10: to be fair i dont think either of my other two coles do it either, the main coles I go to is a format A store - the other two I believe would be classed as format c…doesnt even have a Deli section…
Marketing genius from Coles when Aldi is like this all the time, with no in-store music. Only automated noise is the checkout counter opening/closing.
I've been very happy with my Sony WH-1000XM5
I 2nd that, one of the best and are on sale now. WH-1000XM4B WH-1000XM5B are better.
Thanks for that. Where did you see them on sale at the moment please?
Thank you, I have ordered these now to get immediately whilst I continue the research for the other suggestions. Thank you very much for that.
I personally find the Loop earplugs uncomfortable, so if you're ever in the market for another brand, I highly recommend trying the Alpine series of earplugs, e.g. Alpine SleepDeep. Extremely well designed and comfortable, I've been using these for over a year now and they have changed my life. Super easy to insert and remove, which is important as well.
They also make other earplugs for parties and concerts, but I'm not sure what the difference is exactly.
https://www.alpinehearingprotection.com/collections/partyAlternatively, as Davo1111 said, you could get some ear defender muffs or electronic hearing protection headphones — these let you tune exactly how much of the outside world you want to hear. I own the Peltor RangeGuard headphones — they're designed for shooting sports, but they have many other uses as well. They have a volume knob that lets you select how much you want to hear.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Peltor-RangeGuard-RG-OTH-4-Electro…Another popular model is the 3M WorkTunes, but I have never used that so I can't speak to that personally:
https://www.amazon.com.au/3M-WorkTunes-Protector-Bluetooth-T…Note that these hearing protection headphones clamp tightly to your ears to create a seal, so they may feel uncomfortable for some people.
If you want something that is more comfortable on your ears, then headphones or earbuds with active noise cancelling (ANC) such as the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd generation may be better suited, but they cost WAY more.
Interesting that you find the loops uncomfortable. There is very little instructions from what I read, but it says that you can change the sizes to get one that is comfortable and you should not be able to see them from the front. I got them for $18 so it’s worth a try and if they don’t work I’ll have a look at what you use.
I use Bose over the ear for flying. Thanks
Loops vary significantly in how they work.
The Quiet are just silicone earplugs which you can get from any chemist for loads cheaper.
In addition, silicone earplugs themselves can cause other sensory issues. They have a suction feel to them, and I know many people who find that very unsettling. Your own voice feels weird and for me, silicone earplugs affect my balance.
The other Loops all use an acoustic channel which actually works really well at reducing the volume, but personally even those ones with the silicone tip cause the suction/unbalanced feeling.
The “Plus” range comes with a foam tip which eliminates this feeling completely.
Thanks, may order a Plus pair. Would that be the ‘Experience” range?
@anna10: Yes I have the experience plus. I was wearing them at a street festival with live music a few weeks ago and they were absolutely incredible. I could still hear the people near me (as much as I could without them, given the loudness of the stage), but the music was just softened and nowhere near as harsh. It was excellent. They also have the “mute” add on, and even without it it was still heaps better.
And if you’re really unhappy - they have a 100 day return policy.
Tuesday mornings around 10 am (Victoria)they have old timer's hour , music's down low with the lights !
Or ear plugs are the cheapest choice.That one hour a week is to give relief to people who find the overstimulation and the overbearing music noise just too much. It also cuts out the dinging noise from various things, and there’s no over the speaker announcements from people who have no idea what an indoor voice is.
That’s everybody from little young people to little old people and in between.Are you sure they turn the lights down for 'oldies hour'? Sounds like a hip waiting to be broken
It is not oldies hour. It is an hour for people who are overwhelmed by all the noise of annoying music and bright lights, etc etc.
Sorry I mean no offence, just poking fun as they had already coined it oldies hour. I understand the purpose of reducing the noise
Do they really turn the lights down though?
@cheaplee: They just make the lighting a bit subtler. When you go there during this more gentle hour, it does seem a lot calmer.
Airpods pro gen 2, if you're after discreteness.
buy some yellow work ear protectors. pop some disposable earplugs in first.
Nobody bothers the person wearing work earmuffs
Thank you very much everybody for your comments. I’m going to research the expensive ones. In the meantime, I am buying the loop quiet air plugs that were recommended on special at Amazon and a free month prime which I haven’t use for a long time so works out well so far.
The USA has long found that shoppers prefer a quiet environment! Same in Europe.
Sometimes I do tell Colesworth managers to keep it withing limits!
I do sometimes wonder who in the world decreed that everybody must have loud music inflicted upon them that somebody else chose, and is usually crap.
Never mind pleasant background music. BUT useless advertising on high volumes NO WAY !!!
Do you need music playback or just looking for masking noise?
The reason I ask is there are a bunch of good noise isolation ear plug type devices (from the basic yellow foam to something like these
https://www.mannys.com.au/etymotic-ety-plugs-er20-high-fidel…
which reduce the sound levels but let through a balanced soundscape. (foam plugs muffle some sounds more than others).
Most in-ear headphones can give a level of sound isolation (ensuring you have good fit, maybe worth buying some better tips)A lot of options depending on your requirements. I'm currently using jabra elite 7 for music with a good degree of sound isolation as well as ok levels of ANC. Pretty good for that, but microphone quality (esp in noisy environments) isn't nearly as good as say my old plantronics voyager.
Good luck in your hunt - JenUPDATE - I received the Loop quiet earplugs -27 dB this morning from Amazon on sale for around $18.40. I fiddled around round for a while trying to get them in the right place and finally managed it and then they were quite comfortable.
Having finally got them in, I didn’t want to take them back out.
I wore them to the shopping centre, listening to the car radio (needed it a bit louder), the pharmacy and cafe.
They make a huge difference. I was aware that there was a bit of background noise, but none of it impinged upon my concentration and calm peace of mind. I could hear the pharmacy assistant, but had to lean in a bit and probably looked slightly deaf.I may not be able to wear them to the movies, and will just revert to the el cheapo flexible ones to cover all the overly loud adverts. Didn’t try them yet to see if I could use and hear on the phone.
Thanks all for the comments and hope others find all this shared info useful.
Nice to hear back from you, and that it's helping.
I am rather sensitive to noise (and scents) as well so am appreciative of the suggestions provided so far thanks to your question. I find supermarkets, shopping centres and cafes very overstimulating. Whilst I don't mind a slice of cake and beverage, I tend to opt for cafes that have outdoor seating especially in a garden type environment. The greenery and scenery helps provide a sense of calm. I cannot stand sitting in a shoebox size cafe right next to the coffee machine!! However, I understand finding a garden cafe isn't always possible due to location and other factors. I always carry my earphones with me regardless.
If I end up in a busy city cafe or a shopping centre it can be a bit overwhelming. The loud music played overhead is particularly distracting and certain sounds irritate me. I always find Myer the worst with music and it is a big shop that you can't quickly exit if it gets too much. The loud, clicky security tags in Myer also drive me crazy! Hence, my old Soundpeats Q30 earphones come in handy. They are wireless but not true wireless meaning they have a cord attaching the two earbuds. This is handy as the earbuds are magnetic and I have them hanging around my neck like a necklace. If I found myself overwhelmed, I used to pull my phone out, search for music, turn earbuds on, press play etc which took a while. Now, if I know I will be in a supermarket or shopping centre for more than 30 mins, I turn my earphones and music on beforehand and leave them dangling round my neck so they are ready to put straight in my ears if required.
I think the 'Quiet Hour' in supermarkets suggested above is a great idea. I vaguely remember hearing something about it years ago but am not sure if my local stores partake in it. I will have to check as it would be useful for me. Hopefully you can get some peace of mind and calmness with the suggestions of everyone here :)
My daughter worked for a concession at Myer for years and the music was a real issue. Many of the staff complained, especially at Christmas when the songs are dreadful and twice as loud. The supervisors said it helped sales, so the staff just had to put up with it.
I avoid stores with loud music, because sometimes it is so invasive it is hard to think.
Re the perfume, I'm not too bothered by it, but it can trigger migraines in a work colleague, so we tend not to wear it in the office. Some perfumes and aftershaves, particularly the cheap ones made with synthetic oils can have a very strong scent, and linger in the air long after the wearer has left.
Drat, am enjoying the Loops but I have lost one. If anybody would like to sell their unused one/pair Please let me know.
headphones? My son has sensory issues and just wears his headphones around. Earbuds if you dont want anything too obvious