Noise cancelling headphones! Oh Joy! (and other ways to block sound)

[Utsikt]

do you wash them?

I use clean ones only, then wait till I have 10 or 20 pairs & run a bowl of warm water with antibac soap (about 3 hand pumps of soap to about 2L of water) & rub them all together in the water & then leave them to soak in that for a few hrs. Then rinse multiple times until the water runs clear after squeezing them.

That’s far top much work for me, unfortunately. I just swap them out after a while (but the old ones are much more comfortable than the new ones..)

I’ll see if I can find some of those you mention to use in the meanwhile. I don’t like them either, but it might be the best option short term.

 

[JemPD]

That’s far top much work for me, unfortunately.

yes I'm not as sick as you. I just do it when i go to the bathroom, in the bathroom sink which is next to the toilet so i can sit down, it only takes a few seconds to run the water & put them in out of my dirty bag. But I get that you wouldnt be able to do even that.

I was hoping you might be able to get someone else to do it for you.

I hope you can find some of the others

 

[JemPD]

@Utsikt I wipe the silicone tips for my Bose earbuds with a tissue soaked in this, which seems to work well without irritation. I havent tried it on the foam but I will & let you know how i get on. It's food safe & non toxic & kills bacteria & fingal spores.
Not sure if you can get it in your country but I imagine there might be a similar product based on hypochlorous acid I think there are a few.

 

[JemPD]

In case anyone happened to be interested I edited my post about washing them. Just washing mine & thinking what I wrote was possibly misleading.
You could also wash 1 pair at a time while washing hands - but have some ready diluted soap to use because the sponge absorbs it & using it neat makes it a pain to rinse.

They wash well I have some I been washing for many yrs still going strong.

 

[JemPD]

@Utsikt I wipe the silicone tips for my Bose earbuds with a tissue soaked in this, which seems to work well without irritation. I havent tried it on the foam but I will & let you know how i get on. It's food safe & non toxic & kills bacteria & fingal spores.
Not sure if you can get it in your country but I imagine there might be a similar product based on hypochlorous acid I think there are a few.

Yes it works fine to clean. Sprayed on liberally squeezed so they absorb. Leave for few mins then wipe with wet cloth & allowed to dry.

Maybe others will share how they wash theirs?

 

[Utsikt]

Thank you, @JemPD - I’ll see what I can find in Norway. I’ve got a few leads now - appreciate it.

 

[JemPD]

Yeah. All sounds are terrible. To me a hum is less bad than acute blips, so if i could I wouldn’t mind having whitenoise just for caregiver visits to drown out their sound.

I been thinking about this for ages kept forgetting to come here to comment. Wanted to warn you, as yr issue is worse with short blips… I’d avoid Bose because although they amazing they do make a sound when they turn on. And it’s for me quite loud. I know it’s coming so I hold it away from me. All brands make a tone to let you know they’re on. but Boses is louder than soundcore or Sony.

They also talk to you when you turn on.

So short sound, then “battery 80%”

Then when battery is low they say “battery low” when they running low. This can make me jump if I had them in several hrs eg at night!

Also You hold your finger on them to cycle through the modes - eg noise cancelling on or off. Soundcore and Sony make a beep but the Bose ones say the words. I can’t remember what the beeps mean they all sound the same to me I get v confused frustrated so I better with the voice.

For me the upsides far outweigh the negatives because the occasional moment of sound is much better than the ongoing racket of neighbs etc.

but wanted to mention it in case it would would be worse for you. I mean at least with Bose you can try them get a refund if no good but didn’t want you to be taken by surprise!

 

[DHagen]

They also talk to you when you turn on.

So short sound, then “battery 80%”

Then when battery is low they say “battery low” when they running low. This can make me jump if I had them in several hrs eg at night!

Seconding this - beware!

Using the Bose app, you can turn off some of the sounds and voices, but not all, and the "battery low" warning is the worst. For those using the headphones to block sound rather than to listen to things, or if listening to, say, a podcast at the lowest volume, it is like someone shouting in your ear - and unlike when you turn on the headphones, it cannot be predicted, it just comes out of nowhere when you're lying in the dark. I have been pretty impressed with most other aspects of the headphones, but the battery warning is a killer. At present, I just make sure to charge them whenever I am not actually wearing them; it's obviously not a perfect solution.

Edited to add: I am not giving them up, however, as they remain the best NC solution for noisy environments I have found - better than the comparable Sony and Sennheiser options (though I much preferred Sennheiser back when I could listen to music). I don't know how I would have survived the roadwork in front of my flat during the summer without them.

For clarity, I have the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).

 

[JemPD]

Yes that’s exactly how I think feel about them @DHagen !! A voice in the dark in the early morning is the worst! But if I use the headphone rather than buds I put ear plugs in under them so the voice is lower volume then!

Im curious to know whether you had the NC700 ones before you got the QC ULTRAs. ?… wondering whether to upgrade to the Ultras but not sure how much better the NC will be whether it worth it

 

[DHagen]

Im curious to know whether you had the NC700 ones before you got the QC ULTRAs. ?… wondering whether to upgrade to the Ultras but not sure how much better the NC will be whether it worth it

I did not previously have the NC700 myself, but my father owns a pair and I was able to try them out and compare a bit. I would agree with what I've seen written online, namely that there does seem to be a noticeable difference; it's not huge, but the QC Ultras do seem to have an edge. I also think they're a little more comfortable, but I know people who feel the opposite, so this is likely just a matter of find the best fit for one's head and ears.

Whether or not the difference is worth paying for an upgrade is a difficult question - if you have money to burn and you're looking for some minor improvements, I would say go for it. Likewise, if you are going to be purchasing new headphones any way because your old ones are having battery issues or have been damaged, or for whatever reason, I would recommend opting for the QC Ultras. If, however, your NC700s are still serving you well and your funds are limited, I might suggest holding off - the new cans are unlikely to dramatically change your life.

I hope that helps - sorry I am not able to give a more definite recommendation!

 

[hotblack]

I found this site useful with reviews of noise cancelling including of the QC Ultras

 

[JemPD]

That very helpful @DHagen than you so much.

Actually even a small improvement in sound reduction would make a big difference to my life. Especially when I have to go to appointments.

 

[Kitty]

My Black Friday self-Xmas present was a set of Sony WH-1000XM6 noise cancelling headphones.

I wasn't planning to buy them, I'd been impressed by the reviews but they seemed very expensive. But I saw an offer of £100 off the full price and decided it was too good to miss, especially as my winter fuel payment had just arrived. I don't really need it to help with heating costs, so...

Oh my, they are good. I can't hear the council gardening team using a petrol strimmer right outside my window, or the high pitched voices of children playing over the fence.

Not only that, the sound reproduction is superb. I was listening to a piper called Liam O'Flynn earlier, and because uilleann pipes produce frequencies all over the place it's hard to hear any other instruments clearly. I've been able to appreciate the subtlety of some wonderful guitar backing for the first time.

They also have gesture control, which is really handy. On my other, non-noise cancelling set I've never been able to change the volume without experimenting by pressing buttons randomly—there are three close together that are so small you have to press them with the end of your fingernail, and you never know which one you're aiming at.

Pretty much a five-star review from me!

 

[Utsikt]

I might have found a new favourite disposable earplug.

Honeywell Max Lite /
Howard Leight Max Lite


I don’t like wearing disposables because I get pressure points inside my ears and sore spots that can be really painful. So I stick to wax plugs when I don’t need 30 db reduction. I tried these on random and they are by far the most comfortable ones I’ve used.

Very little pressure, very good seal, best noise reduction so far, and they are so soft that there is no pressure when lying on them. I haven’t used them enough to judge long term irritation, but I often forget I’m even wearing them.

They are also used in industry, so you can buy them in bulk for very cheap. Like the equivalent of £0.2 per pair in Norway.

 

[Kitty]

They look excellent, thank you. Have ordered a big pack.

 

[Evergreen]

My Black Friday self-Xmas present was a set of Sony WH-1000XM6 noise cancelling headphones.

Pretty much a five-star review from me!

That's brilliant, @Kitty. They sound perfect for you.

I did the same during Black Friday. I need two pairs of noise-cancelling headphones on the go (I have learned this the hard way), and my B pair are really on their last legs - they're Bose QuietComfort 25, yes, twenty-five! My A pair are Bose QuietComfort 45s.

I must have read or watched a dozen head-to-head comparisons, and read hundreds of reviews. I realised I didn't need noise cancelling better than the 45s, which gave me a bit of leeway. Comfort was priority, and buttons rather than touch controls.

If Bose still made 25s, that's what I would have bought, because you can put those on and get noise-cancelling immediately, without the sounds that the bluetooth versions make.

I really, really wanted to go with Sony, not least because Bose products now stink (literally) and really considered the XM4s, which reviewers said were more comfortable than the XM5 or XM6s, but from reviews comparing Sony and Bose, it seemed unlikely they would be comfortable enough for me to wear almost all the time.

I love buttons because I need to wear gloves a lot (indoors, a dry skin thing). Touch controls don't work with gloves. The buttons on the Bose 45s are brilliant for me.

In the end I went for another pair of Bose QuietComfort. They are airing, but I did try them on and they felt more comfortable than my 45s, woo hoo! I was able to get a different colour so that I will be able to tell my new and old pair apart. Excited to use them in a couple of months when they stop stinking.

Got a couple of pairs of replacement ear cushions too (another thing I've learned the hard way), so am all set for a good few years. Did have to pay through the nose for those as I could only get the colour from the UK, but worth it.

 

[hotblack]

Did have to pay through the nose for those as I could only get the colour from the UK, but worth it.

A pretty good way of getting replacement pads for headphones, if you’re okay with it and know exactly what you want, is aliexpress. I was replacing some cushions in an old pair of AKG headphones and originally found some in the UK, but then found and bought basically the same for a fraction of the cost.

 

[Evergreen]

A pretty good way of getting replacement pads for headphones, if you’re okay with it, is aliexpress. I was replacing some cushions in an old pair of AKG headphones and originally found some in the UK, but then found and bought basically the same for a fraction of the cost.

Yes, I use fake ones from Amazon for my 25s and they're great! I couldn't get the right colour for the right model in fake, so I had to get the real deal.

 

[Evergreen]

see my post here;

I got those earplugs, thanks for recommending them @JemPD.

I love that you can put them in without getting your hands dirty, because that saves me a trip I'm not able for. And the noise reduction is very good.

But I do find them more uncomfortable than foam earplugs. For me, they're not wearable on my side, and I would not be able to wear them overnight.

I'm still using them lots because of the great advantage of being able to shove them in and not wash hands.

I put them in the same way I put in foam earplugs, which I learned from the side of a pack! Pull up and back on the Dr Spock/elf corner of your ear, and then pop it in slowly. Apparently that straightens out your ear canal.

I might have found a new favourite disposable earplug.

Honeywell Max Lite /
Howard Leight Max Lite

I might try the ones @Utsikt recommended again. I had these years ago and they were very soft. I think I switched to others because they were very visible and I could only get them in a pink and yellow colour combo (like Fruit Salad sweets - anyone remember them?) At the time I was able to be out and about so was less keen on that aesthetic.

 

[Utsikt]

I might try the ones @Utsikt recommended again. I had these years ago and they were very soft. I think I switched to others because they were very visible and I could only get them in a pink and yellow colour combo (like Fruit Salad sweets - anyone remember them?) At the time I was able to be out and about so was less keen on that aesthetic.

If you’re out and about I would seriously consider custom earplugs. I haven’t tried myself because I can’t get out to get the moulds made, but you rarely see people have bad experiences if they pick the right product for the use case.