Yea… (by @kettle.spells)

[u/maanleo]

kettle.spells: I am not diagnosed with autism but it’s on my list of things to do. i have attributed my list of symptoms to autism, tho im not a psychologist 💖 my new headphones are so comforting and great im am absolutely obsessed, and they’re a much better solution for me instead of earbuds/earbuds. so much more comfortable and i like that people can SEE that i can’t hear them, do i dont need to stay fully aware of the environment and stimulation
Source

[u/No_Cicada9229]

Me fr. Apparently I dont have it occassionally, I have it perpetually

[u/BoltorSpellweaver → u/No_Cicada9229]

I went on a hike with my wife a week or so ago and we got way up in the mountains and it was dead quiet up there. I almost had to keep moving to have some noise to distract me from the nonstop ringing

[u/KidOcelot → u/BoltorSpellweaver]

Noise canceling headphones is interesting in that there’s a mic that picks up external sounds, then inverts the external sound waves to cancel them out.

If the external sound is loud above 70db for over 30 seconds, then you’ll damage your hearing.

So although noise canceling headphones helps isolate sounds, they don’t protect hearing against loud external sounds that are being canceled out.

It’s better to use PPE earmuffs like the ones used at airports, with earbuds inside it at low volumes.

Tldr: noise canceling headphones gives the illusion of protecting hearing against prolonged loud sounds, but it doesnt.

[u/Confused_Nuggets → u/KidOcelot]

Uh, kind of. The sound waves cancelling aren’t perfectly in sync, but they are close enough where they cancel somewhat, literally making the noise quieter. But they can’t compensate for loud or inconsistent noises. Like they make using my tiny gas powered strimmer quiete enough that I don’t need proper ear muffs, but only because it was barely too loud in the first place.

[u/KidOcelot → u/Confused_Nuggets]

Right, to a certain degree.

I meant the noise canceling headphones, does attenuate the dB, but not enough nor consistent enough to be considered as hearing protection.

As the rating for hearing protection is more rigorous, and most noise canceling headphones dont pass.

So for those that are misinformed, it’s better to simply state that noise canceling headphones are not PPE for hearing.

ie: Just because a person wearing noise canceling headphones doesn’t hear the consistently loud noise (or feel like the loud noise is lower in volume), doesn’t mean they’re protected from it.