Head phone ear protection

[Mtsoxfan]

I use ear protection when operating lawn mowers, and brush hog. I have a set of electronic (?) noise canceling from Ryobi which has served me well for years. One issue is wearing glasses, as it allows noise in, which I have addressed by glasses placement. My neighbors, whom I purchased my property from, have had a turn of health, so I take care of the lawn for them. The issue I have is between the two yards, it is about 3 1/2 hours to do both. After 2 hours, the earmuffs pinch my ears to the point of hurting. My ears are not big/long, but my melon is larger. The headset is extended all the way open. It seems all the ones I try on are set for the "average" joe. Does anyone have a set that opens wider and/or have larger earmuffs? I'd prefer to not try a set unless someone can vouch for it personally.

 

[bmaverick]

Look thru the Dewalt products. They have one or two for larger heads just for this reason.

Hearing | DEWALT

www.dewalt.com

I have a pair of the Dewalt, seems to work nice. The radio headset is better at reception than my vehicle. Living out in the sticks radio AM or FM reception is crap.

Our local farm store carries the Dewalt brand, so I was able to try a few out for comfort.

 

[2manyrocks]

3m makes a high noise reduction set with very soft padding, but not cheap.

 

[crazyjake8493]

I have a couple pairs of 3M WorkTunes with bluetooth that I use for operating any power equipment outdoors. Mostly listen to podcasts, but they sound great for music as well.

My initial impression was that they weren't loud enough, but they cancel out so much noise that you don't need to crank the volume up to hear adequately.

 

[bdhsfz6]

I have the same problem with glasses interfering with ear muffs. I switched to noise cancelling ear buds, which work much better than over the ear muffs. Some are better than others but I've had good luck with these:

AirPods Pro 2

AirPods Pro 2 — Pro-level Active Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Audio, Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio, and a total hearing health experience.

www.apple.com

They also pair with my smartphone for music and phone calls.

Yeah, there are those who claim noise cancelling technology can harm your hearing but there is no clinical evidence of this. I've been using them for over 5 years and have not noticed any hearing degradation. Of course, if you listen to loud music, that's a different story.

 

[bigtiller]

I bought a pair of banded ear plugs from Menards. They work okay but they would work better for people with only one chin.

I don't know if someone makes them with a longer band to keep it from touching my throat.

 

[ruffdog]

For big-head syndrome, I have found the Bilsom Viking ear muffs to be the best. I have the old Viking 29 muffs but they have the same side adjustment as these new ones.

Howard Leight by Honeywell Bilsom Viking V1 Multi-Position DiElectric (non-metallic) Ear Muffs (NRR 25) - Columbus Supply

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I wear glasses also and use AirPods. It seems to provide very good noise cancellation. And I connect to my iPhone so I hear any incoming phone calls.
I can also listen to music from my iPhone at a fairly low volume.
I recently went to a Cody Johnson concert at a large indoor venue (the Smoothie King Center) and I was able to hear and understand the singers better, with the AirPods in place.
It is easy to push a button on one of the AirPods to turn off the music, and the noise cancellation so that you can have a face to face conversation with someone.
They are small and can easily be carried and recharged in your pocket in their carrying case.
I know there are other ear buds that will work similar, but I only have experience with AirPods.

 

[WM75Guy]

I wear the 3M WorkTunes Connect + Gel for hours on the tractor and mower. I wear sunglasses with them. They are comfortable. With the one button operation I can take a phone call easily with my gloves on. Not cheap, $90, but worth it for me.

https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/cbgnawus1817/

 

[rScotty]

Noise cancelling headphones reduce the amount of noise that I hear, but do they protect my hearing?
Anyone know?