Noise cancelling headphones - great for those with a sound sensitivity; horrible for those with a significant other. ;)

[RU72]

I saw a post about those with sound sensitivities and thought that I would create a new thread to highlight advancements in noise cancellation. My understanding is that an inverse ambient sound wave is created, greatly reducing external noise. The first time I put on the Sony 1000XM3 over-the-ear headphones was a surreal experience. Unlike other noise canceling headphones, there was no hint of white noise or suction. It was like watching a silent movie. Very trippy. Added bonus - the headphones are super comfy and sound amazing!

To quote a devotee, 'It's a love/hate relationship. I love them! My wife hates them!'

 

[eva luna]

I love them too!

 

[RU72]

Did you get the same headphones?

 

[Rich D]

I'd like to know whether it is worth spending $300+ for the noise cancelling effect, since I don't want to use them to listen to music because of my sound sensitivity. Has anyone compared the more expensive models to cheaper ones that are under $100 in terms of how quiet they make things?

 

[Jani]

The first time I put on the Sony 1000XM3 over-the-ear headphones was a surreal experience. Unlike other noise canceling headphones, there was no hint of white noise or suction. It was like watching a silent movie.

Can you please test without music, only noise cancelling, e. g. with a running vacuum cleaner, how good reduces the Sony the noice?

 

[Hipsman]

I've been rocking Cowin e-7 (bought for 59$) since January 2018 to this day and I still love them. There is distinct white noise when using noise cancel, but I don't find it bothering me. I have fairly mild noise sensitivity, mainly induced by being generally fatigued all the time, but I still find them extremely helpful at situations like: running vacuum cleaner, people talking, loud neighbors or just when I'm very very tired. I would get more expensive model and brand if my financial situation was better thou.

 

[Emmarose47]

I'm looking for better noise cancelling headphones to include mic for calls for Android phone..
Any ideas?

 

[hapl808]

I'm looking for better noise cancelling headphones to include mic for calls for Android phone..
Any ideas?

All of the top-of-the-line ones do this. Samsung Galaxy Buds, Sony, Bose, etc. Not sure if Apple Airpods works with Android, but everything else should.

Personally, I found the pressure feeling from noise cancelling unpleasant and I tried many different kinds. In the end, I use the 3M Worktunes for listening or making calls if there's outside noise. It won't block the noise for the caller if it's really loud, but they're quite cheap and there's only noise isolation rather than the active noise cancelling. Not the most comfortable, but not terrible.

If you can afford and the pressure feeling isn't bad, something like Bose NC700 or Galaxy Buds may be a better option for ease of use, but I love the 3M Worktunes.

For anyone who just needs noise blocking at home, the 3M X5A are the best thing available, super comfortable, and quite inexpensive. They're also laughably big, but amazing. Someone next door had a loud party last night and I put them on and could not tell it wasn't silent.

 

[Emmarose47]

Thanks so much hap very helpful.. Glad u found something that works for u

 

[hapl808]

@BrightCandle - did you say you've used bone conduction headsets (Shokz or something)? I've always wondered whether crashing from talking on the phone would be affected by the type of headset or audio. My guess is it's just the cognitive load, but always looking for something that would allow me to talk for longer.

 

[BrightCandle]

@BrightCandle - did you say you've used bone conduction headsets (Shokz or something)? I've always wondered whether crashing from talking on the phone would be affected by the type of headset or audio. My guess is it's just the cognitive load, but always looking for something that would allow me to talk for longer.

Before I suffered from ME/CFS I used to play Airsoft, which is paintball with camouflage dress up and a plastic projectiles, we shoot each other with airguns. With that I had a radio and a bone conduction headset for speaking and listening to radio calls.

The only practical advantage I feel it gives is that you can hear the world around you completely clearly and you maintain situational awareness, at times it was too quiet and too garbled in transmission. They are made by Code Red. They don't work with anything but my radios they don't have a standard plug and I have tried them with a phone/headphone output and hear nothing ( I was trying to use it for vestibular training after my initial onset of brain injury symptoms).

I didn't note any less mental impact from it at the time but it wasn't a consideration at the time because I was doing 15KM hikes in tough terrain a day carrying 20KG of gear, my body and leg fatigue were more pressing thing to manage and the brain fog of ME/CFS came some months later.

 

[hapl808]

The only practical advantage I feel it gives is that you can hear the world around you completely clearly and you maintain situational awareness, at times it was too quiet and too garbled in transmission. They are made by Code Red. They don't work with anything but my radios they don't have a standard plug and I have tried them with a phone/headphone output and hear nothing ( I was trying to use it for vestibular training after my initial onset of brain injury symptoms).

Thanks for the detail. I'm considering the Shokz which has a normal bluetooth connection and can be used for phone calls, audiobooks, etc. I highly doubt it'll make any difference since working on the computer with difficult tasks will also crash me, but I may try since Amazon US has their extended holiday return period.

Seems like there should be some treatment specifically for the cognitive load crash. My guess is that there is some, but the only way to find it is start trying all the drugs that specifically mess with your though processes. I've wondered if that's what LDA is doing on a lower level. But I think there's real risks with a lot of those drugs - bad results, good results that eventually lead to a lowered baseline, etc. Wish we knew more of their mechanism.

 

[LaurelW]

The Bose QuietComfort 45's are a lot cheaper than they were a few months ago. Because Bose just came out with two new headphones, it appears that they are trying to get rid of old inventory. They used to be $429 and now they're $329. I listened to a lot of reviews of all three headphones. It seems that the QuietComfort (no model number) is exactly like the 45's with added wind dampening if you're outside. The QuietComfort Ultra has some newfangled surround sound, which might be great for avid music lovers, but for me the added expense ($429) just isn't worth it since I use the headphones mainly for watching movies on my laptop and napping when there are barking dogs or yard machinery noise. The noise cancelling is pretty good, and I don't feel the pressure others have talked about. (I just got an e-mail that you can get refurbished ones for $159).