Hearing protection + Music

[N80]

Wired is fine with me. As someone mentioned, I keep it inside my shirt. It comes off as soon as I leave the tractor seat. Would not use a wired device around woodworking tools however. Or around a moving PTO. Risk is probably low but even having them snatched off your head would be unpleasant and then you might get smacked by them a few times if they did not come unplugged.

I find Bluetooth to be fickle.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Good to know. I'm not exactly the guy your signature quote is referring to, but I'm close. I love finding a good value....especially the best bang for the buck. Sometimes you have to buy and experience the 'junk' before you find the best quality vs price point. I've always thought Bose stuff was overpriced and over-hyped but I've heard such good things about these headsets that I'm actually considering them. But the $300 price tag makes me feel faint ;-) . The Beats don't get as good reviews and cost about the same. I don't fly very often and I'm not an audiophile but I do like music and do fly occasionally so I might could justify the cost or find a used pair on eBay.

How much do you sweat? How much do you work in the rain and/or dust? How would the Bose hold up in those conditions?

 

[jerrybob]

What? Can you guys speak up?

 

[N80]

How much do you sweat?

A lot.

How much do you work in the rain and/or dust?

Lots of dust.

How would the Bose hold up in those conditions?

Not sure. That's part of what I'm trying to find out. They do not look very tough but I don't really know. The Bose ads say they are for "work". That can mean a lot of things. Do not want anything bulky and heavy if possible.

 

[Egon]

Check with one of your professional friends and see what they recommend. Or, make a visit to a safety supply store. They may have a solution.

Whatever, do not procrastinate. Sitting in a room full of people and being alone may not be total joy.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

FWIW I plug one of these:

Mpow Streambot Mini Bluetooth 4.0 Receiver A2DP Wireless Adapter for Home Audio Music Streaming Sound System Amazon.com: Mpow Streambot Mini Bluetooth 4.0 Receiver A2DP Wireless Adapter for Home Audio Music Streaming Sound System: Cell Phones & Accessories

Into one of these:

Stanley RST-63011 Sync Stereo Hearing Protector with Mp3 Connection Stanley RST-63011 Sync Stereo Hearing Protector with Mp3 Connection - - Amazon.com

This combo works well for me. No wires, long rechargeable battery life, reasonable sound, easy/reliable Bluetooth to my phone. And reasonably priced for something I too may run over someday. Never use the fm/am radio tuner so I can't comment on that.

 

[otherpinz]

And here is the funny thing.....for us older guys: hearing going bad so need protection. Try ear plugs. Great but no music. Try ear muffs + ear buds, works okay but my glasses make ear muffs not work as well. Go without glasses. Now have trouble seeing iPhone to turn music on. Also, have sun damage on nose and cheeks. Don't want skin cancer. Need hat while mowing. Regular hat won't fit over ear muffs and has wide brim so ear muffs don't fit over hat. Find hat big enough to fit over ear muffs. Look like doofus.

Moral of the story: I need a cab. Which I would destroy within a day.

:confused3::banghead::grumpy:

 

[JFoy]

I've used the MPow bluetooth receiver and it works fine. Guess I can endorse it.

 

[aczlan]

Into one of these:
Stanley RST-63011 Sync Stereo Hearing Protector with Mp3 Connection Stanley RST-63011 Sync Stereo Hearing Protector with Mp3 Connection - - Amazon.com
This combo works well for me. No wires, long rechargeable battery life, reasonable sound, easy/reliable Bluetooth to my phone. And reasonably priced for something I too may run over someday. Never use the fm/am radio tuner so I can't comment on that.

We have one of these headsets (the black non-stanley version), the wife likes it, but I find it too small for my big head (the bottom of the "cup" is halfway up my ear).
What I use is a pair of earmuffs (currently orange Stihl ones) with the speakers out of a pair of headphones in them.
I then have an iPod Shuffle (free from a family member) that clips to the top of the headphones so I can control it without fussing with my phone.

Aaron Z

 

[yankeerider]

And here is the funny thing.....for us older guys: hearing going bad so need protection. Try ear plugs. Great but no music. Try ear muffs + ear buds, works okay but my glasses make ear muffs not work as well. Go without glasses. Now have trouble seeing iPhone to turn music on. Also, have sun damage on nose and cheeks. Don't want skin cancer. Need hat while mowing. Regular hat won't fit over ear muffs and has wide brim so ear muffs don't fit over hat. Find hat big enough to fit over ear muffs. Look like doofus.

Moral of the story: I need a cab. Which I would destroy within a day.

I love my earmuff hat from Newcastle hats of Australia:

http://www.hatsbythe100.com.au/newcastle-hats-ear-muff-hat-silver-grey-nh-estsg.html

I ordered mine direct from Newcastle hats in khaki and paid more than the hatsby100 website price, but it was well worth it.

 

[Greenland South]

How much do you sweat? How much do you work in the rain and/or dust? How would the Bose hold up in those conditions?

I have an enclosed cab with heat and AC. I don't wear the headphones when doing hard physical labour, I find they just .... me off when I'm sweating. They likely would not hold up very well in an actual work environment.

 

[dickfoster]

I've been wearing ear buds under a simple earphone style hearing protector while mowing for long periods. I find I'm turning the music up so much to over the noise of the tractor that I'm probably damaging my ears as much with the music as I am the tractor noise.

Has anyone tried noise cancelling earphones for this application. I've tried them in the tech department stores and they seem to work over the noisy store environment. Not sure if they would work over tractor noise of hold up to sweat and abuse. They are very expensive.

Anyone tried it?

I've got a set of Sony MDR-NC11 noise cancelling earbuds that I use while on airline flights. It works then but don't know how well they would work while mowing. They reduce background noise by 10db which is a pretty good hunk. If you put hearing protectors over these that would also block the microphones used to pick up background noise so I don't know how well that would work out. I think they were about 50 bucks.

 

[ovrszd]

I will be following the thread, thanks

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...3-noise-cancelling-headphones.html?highlight=

I did have a thread on this. Take a look and it might help you out.

My Son In Law bought me a Dewalt Headset Radio several years ago. I use it every time I run the JD mowing. Works great. Here's a Google link to various models, brands. Worst part about it is you lose hearing management of your tractor/mower.

Google

 

[lostcreekranch]

I bought the Howard Leight am/fm/MP3 headphones a couple of years ago to use on my JD Zero turn. They work very well on FM but, the AM is very directional i.e. work great going north / south but, lose signal going east / west.

Howard Leight by Honeywell 1331 Sync Radio Digital AM/FM/MP3 Earmuff - Ear Protection Equipment - Amazon.com

I also have a set of the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones that I used when I spent lots of time on planes between Houston and SE Asia. They have a little over 1M miles on them in 7 years. I may try them on the ZT. Probably will work well but then I'll have to put up with wires.

 

[Jim Timber]

I've been running the new Bluetooth 3M worktunes for a couple weeks now, and I find them very agreeable. I used to snag my cord and pull my earbuds out or pull the plug out of my phone (which was in a pants pocket). No more!

I'm getting 4 solid days out of a pair of AA's, but switched to Li-Ion rechargeables after the first pair of ni-cads. I'm still on my first charge with the better batteries.

Sweaty ears is an issue, but that's the case with anything stuck over your head while working. I don't find them to get too bad, but it's also not Summer yet. We've only hit 80F one day so far.

 

[Jkott]

I had custom fit, silicone injection molded ear buds made. A lady that came around to sporting clays shoots made a set of molds that get send in and they turn into both hearing protection and ear buds. People that make the injection plugs usually also do it for industrial as well as shooting sports. If it's really loud, you can even wear muffs over it.

https://earinc.com/shop/type/custom-fit-passive/iplugz-custom-series/iplugz-sports-monitors/

I still use the 3m muffs when it's cooler, and have a small Bluetooth receiver velcroed to them, but they kinda suck when it's hot out.

I tend to use the molded ones the most, and have been incredibly durable, since I have used them for close to a decade mowing, doing yard work, and tilling fields.

 

[newbury]

I've been wearing ear buds under a simple earphone style hearing protector while mowing for long periods. I find I'm turning the music up so much to over the noise of the tractor that I'm probably damaging my ears as much with the music as I am the tractor noise.
<snip>

I've been doing that for about 40 years - 29dB rated earmuffs and a decent set of buds. The last time I looked for the muffs was several years ago and the higher rated ones "topped out" at 30dB.
Well today I hit Amazon and read some muffs are claiming 37 dB NRR and selling for $20. And they look exactly like ones selling for a few bucks more with a few less dB NRR.

Anyone have experience with these SilentSound?

 

[TractorGuy]

I will put in another vote for 3M Work Tunes. I recently purchased the wired version from my local Walmart for $40. The pair I received had obviously been returned as they had batteries in them and the package says it comes without batteries. When I tried plugging them into my phone with the supplied wire it had static but using another cable I had laying around did not. I have since just been using the built in FM radio so it's moot point on the wire. Sound quality is good and volume can be turned all the way up and not be too loud. You can still faintly hear the mower. I can even get a hat on over them to shield me from the sun.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Tekk-Protection-Worktunes-Ear-Muff-Headset/15574016

 

[lostcreekranch]

I will put in another vote for 3M Work Tunes. I recently purchased the wired version from my local Walmart for $40. The pair I received had obviously been returned as they had batteries in them and the package says it comes without batteries. When I tried plugging them into my phone with the supplied wire it had static but using another cable I had laying around did not. I have since just been using the built in FM radio so it's moot point on the wire. Sound quality is good and volume can be turned all the way up and not be too loud. You can still faintly hear the mower. I can even get a hat on over them to shield me from the sun.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/3M-Tekk-Protection-Worktunes-Ear-Muff-Headset/15574016

I'm curious what kind of hat fits "over" headphones and antenna?

 

[Jim Timber]

I'm curious what kind of hat fits "over" headphones and antenna?

Red 4 Gallon Hat

So I've been using my Bluetooth worktunes for a couple hundred hours now, and I'm still happy as could be. They warn you before auto-shut off (gives a countdown so you can bump the volume or track dial to let it know you're still listening), and also warn you when the batteries are running out. I got a solid 4 days out of alkaline batteries, and I'm doing a little better out of NiMH rechargeables.