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Get any generic in-ear earphones and thread those under a pair of 3M peltor optime III ear defenders. You can listen to even fairly quiet music and you won't h

Get any generic in-ear earphones and thread those under a pair of 3M peltor optime III ear defenders. You can listen to even fairly quiet music and you won't hear any conversations around you.

thomk 8y ago
Thank you! I'm going to hunt for some 3M peltor optime III ear defenders on Amazon right now.
- Jaruzel 8y ago
  Tbh, a good pair of 'closed back' full size headphones with noise cancellation would do just a good job (if not better musically) as wearing ear defenders over earphones.
  - InitialLastName 8y ago
    ...and probably be more comfortable. Which is something one doesn't think about until one is wearing headphones for 8 hours straight.
your-nanny 8y ago
I've used typical ear plugs plus headphones playing whitenoise.
tomjen3 8y ago
I consider a set of bluetooth headphones a part of any office now. I got a really good pair for personal use and work provided one set at work. Wouldn't be necessary if we had actual offices, but there you go.
the_jeremy 8y ago
Any passive, over-ear firearm hearing protection also works (and most are cheaper than $40).
- cimmanom 8y ago
  Finding over-ear gear that works well with glasses can be problematic, tho
  - ThrustVectoring 8y ago
    Laser eye surgery is a fantastic choice as well, tbh.
    - cimmanom 8y ago
      I've heard too many nightmare stories, even from people who went to the most reputable providers. Not gonna screw with my vision, thanks.
    - pseudalopex 8y ago
      Laser eye surgery is a fantastic choice for many people, especially people who are nearsighted, under 40, and don't have any contraindications. It's less effective[1] and riskier[2] for farsightedness, and there's only so much it can do for presbyopia. It's also riskier for people who have autoimmune disorders, immune deficiencies, diabetes, or dry eyes. [1] https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-results/ https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-results/ [2] https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-explained/farsightedness-hyperopia/ https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-explained/fars...
      - ThrustVectoring 8y ago
        It's also great for correcting astigmatism. The nearsightedness that I got corrected was reasonably well managed by glasses, but my astigmatism was compensated for by my brain. I got noticeably more well-coordinated after laser eye surgery freed up visual processing ability this way, and I've heard other anecdotal evidence of this phenomena as well.
    - Graham24 8y ago
      I pity the poor fool who tries to point a laser at my eye.
loco5niner 8y ago
I've done this. I have a whole collection of over-the-ear ear-protection. I can still hear my co-workers. It also made my tinnitus worse. Thanks though.
- telchar 8y ago
  You could go the opposite route: good earplugs with good noise canceling over-ear headphones. The advantage of this over the other setup is that the minimum effective volume from music is lower, protecting against tinnitus. I had the same issues and found this setup works well for me. As an added bonus the obvious rigamarole I have to go through when a coworker taps me on the shoulder makes them more likely to send an email next time.
  - kingbirdy 8y ago
    What's the difference you notice in the "earbuds + noise cancelling headphones" setup vs using the noise cancelling headphones to also play music?
    - thfuran 8y ago
      earplugs + noise canceling headphones is better noise suppression than earplugs or noise-canceling headphones alone.
    - telchar 8y ago
      I prefer the music to come from the headphones because my in-ear phones can be overly loud, even on the lowest volume setting on my phone. Having music coming from them hours every day had me feeling like I was damaging my hearing. With earplugs inside noise-canceling phones I still get two layers of sound isolation but have a layer of sound isolation between me and the phones, providing finer volume control so I can add just enough music to finish the job of drowning out loud people around me without hearing damage.
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    Thanks, I've tried this and it works slightly better. Can still hear noisy co-workers though. It seems the best solution is to not have loud people around.
enraged_camel 8y ago
I did this at my previous job and got in trouble for “trying to isolate myself from the team rather than making myself available.” Glad I got out of that hellhole.
mlthoughts2018 8y ago
This unfortunately doesn’t work because these types of over-ear sound blockers are extremely physically uncomfortable. I can’t get work done while wearing anything like that because it feels like my head is being squeezed. This is the big problem with headphones as a solution. You just trade sound disergonomy or physical discomfort, and it solves nothing. Like breaking your finger to distract from the pain of a gun shot wound. Combine it with the fact that managers have repeatedly told me that wearing earplugs is “rude” and it’s just more of the no-win optics that drive open plan offices in the first place.

Get any generic in-ear earphones and thread those under a pair of 3M peltor optime III ear defenders. You can listen to even fairly quiet music and you won't hear any conversations around you.

thomk 8y ago

Thank you! I'm going to hunt for some 3M peltor optime III ear defenders on Amazon right now.

Jaruzel 8y ago
Tbh, a good pair of 'closed back' full size headphones with noise cancellation would do just a good job (if not better musically) as wearing ear defenders over earphones.
- InitialLastName 8y ago
  ...and probably be more comfortable. Which is something one doesn't think about until one is wearing headphones for 8 hours straight.

your-nanny 8y ago

I've used typical ear plugs plus headphones playing whitenoise.

tomjen3 8y ago

I consider a set of bluetooth headphones a part of any office now. I got a really good pair for personal use and work provided one set at work. Wouldn't be necessary if we had actual offices, but there you go.

the_jeremy 8y ago

Any passive, over-ear firearm hearing protection also works (and most are cheaper than $40).

cimmanom 8y ago
Finding over-ear gear that works well with glasses can be problematic, tho
- ThrustVectoring 8y ago
  Laser eye surgery is a fantastic choice as well, tbh.
  - cimmanom 8y ago
    I've heard too many nightmare stories, even from people who went to the most reputable providers. Not gonna screw with my vision, thanks.
  - pseudalopex 8y ago
    Laser eye surgery is a fantastic choice for many people, especially people who are nearsighted, under 40, and don't have any contraindications. It's less effective[1] and riskier[2] for farsightedness, and there's only so much it can do for presbyopia. It's also riskier for people who have autoimmune disorders, immune deficiencies, diabetes, or dry eyes. [1] https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-results/ https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-results/ [2] https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-explained/farsightedness-hyperopia/ https://www.la-sight.com/services/lasik/lasik-explained/fars...
    - ThrustVectoring 8y ago
      It's also great for correcting astigmatism. The nearsightedness that I got corrected was reasonably well managed by glasses, but my astigmatism was compensated for by my brain. I got noticeably more well-coordinated after laser eye surgery freed up visual processing ability this way, and I've heard other anecdotal evidence of this phenomena as well.
  - Graham24 8y ago
    I pity the poor fool who tries to point a laser at my eye.

loco5niner 8y ago

I've done this. I have a whole collection of over-the-ear ear-protection. I can still hear my co-workers. It also made my tinnitus worse. Thanks though.

telchar 8y ago
You could go the opposite route: good earplugs with good noise canceling over-ear headphones. The advantage of this over the other setup is that the minimum effective volume from music is lower, protecting against tinnitus. I had the same issues and found this setup works well for me. As an added bonus the obvious rigamarole I have to go through when a coworker taps me on the shoulder makes them more likely to send an email next time.
- kingbirdy 8y ago
  What's the difference you notice in the "earbuds + noise cancelling headphones" setup vs using the noise cancelling headphones to also play music?
  - thfuran 8y ago
    earplugs + noise canceling headphones is better noise suppression than earplugs or noise-canceling headphones alone.
  - telchar 8y ago
    I prefer the music to come from the headphones because my in-ear phones can be overly loud, even on the lowest volume setting on my phone. Having music coming from them hours every day had me feeling like I was damaging my hearing. With earplugs inside noise-canceling phones I still get two layers of sound isolation but have a layer of sound isolation between me and the phones, providing finer volume control so I can add just enough music to finish the job of drowning out loud people around me without hearing damage.
- loco5niner 8y ago
  Thanks, I've tried this and it works slightly better. Can still hear noisy co-workers though. It seems the best solution is to not have loud people around.

enraged_camel 8y ago

I did this at my previous job and got in trouble for “trying to isolate myself from the team rather than making myself available.” Glad I got out of that hellhole.

mlthoughts2018 8y ago

This unfortunately doesn’t work because these types of over-ear sound blockers are extremely physically uncomfortable. I can’t get work done while wearing anything like that because it feels like my head is being squeezed. This is the big problem with headphones as a solution. You just trade sound disergonomy or physical discomfort, and it solves nothing. Like breaking your finger to distract from the pain of a gun shot wound. Combine it with the fact that managers have repeatedly told me that wearing earplugs is “rude” and it’s just more of the no-win optics that drive open plan offices in the first place.