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 3

AirPods Pro 3 — The world’s best in-ear Active Noise Cancellation, heart rate sensing during workouts, and an improved 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?

 

[bdhsfz6]

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

They provide protection for steady noise, like the drone of a tractor engine, or on a plane, but not for sudden loud sounds, like a gunshot.

For loud variable noise environments, you're better off with muffs.

 

[rScotty]

For a constant sound like a tractor engine, the noise canceling headphones work by creating a pressure wave of noise in the headphones that counters the pressure wave from the outside noise. Together, the two waves sum to zero in the sensory part of your brain.....& you don't register hearing a noise.

But the pressure waves are both still there right next to a person's eardrum. In fact the energy from that pressure is now doubled, being the sum of the noise the headphones generated plus the incoming noise.

So is damage to a person's hearing caused by the pressure of the sound wave against the ear drum? Or by the perception of sound in the mind?

rScotty

 

[Jims1025R]

I like my 3M Work Tunes. You can bend the wires a little if you need to.

For glasses wearers, try David Clark "Stop Gaps"

Amazon.com

 

[bdhsfz6]

For a constant sound like a tractor engine, the noise canceling headphones work by creating a pressure wave of noise in the headphones that counters the pressure wave from the outside noise. Together, the two waves sum to zero in the sensory part of your brain.....& you don't register hearing a noise.

But the pressure waves are both still there right next to a person's eardrum. In fact the energy from that pressure is now doubled, being the sum of the noise the headphones generated plus the incoming noise.

So is damage to a person's hearing caused by the pressure of the sound wave against the ear drum? Or by the perception of sound in the mind?

rScotty

I suppose it depends on the condition of your hearing. Most age related high frequency hearing loss is caused by damage to the nerve endings inside the cochlea, not the ear drum itself.

There are many causes of hearing loss though, and everyone is different. The best approach would be to consult an Audiologist for a hearing evaluation. The one I see said noise cancelling technology won't damage your ears, but he does not recommend it for hearing protection in noisy varied sound environments. It is effective though for constant frequency sound like the drone of an airplane.

I particularly like the noise cancelling earbuds in the tractor cab. They deaden the steady engine noise but allow me to hear other sudden sounds, like a failing implement.

 

[3Ts]

They provide protection for steady noise, like the drone of a tractor engine, or on a plane, but not for sudden loud sounds, like a gunshot.

For loud variable noise environments, you're better off with muffs.

I wear the noise cancelling ear muffs the entire time I'm at the range and they work better than regular muffs. I'm at the range every month for 2 to 3 hours at a time and comfortability is very important. I've found the deeper muffs are more comfortable than the thin ones. I've also been told that gel cushions work better than foam, I've recently received a set of the gel cushions that I'm going to try out. I also wear glasses and I'm expecting the gell cushions to seal better and be more comfortable based on reports from others at the range.

For a constant sound like a tractor engine, the noise canceling headphones work by creating a pressure wave of noise in the headphones that counters the pressure wave from the outside noise. Together, the two waves sum to zero in the sensory part of your brain.....& you don't register hearing a noise.

But the pressure waves are both still there right next to a person's eardrum. In fact the energy from that pressure is now doubled, being the sum of the noise the headphones generated plus the incoming noise.

So is damage to a person's hearing caused by the pressure of the sound wave against the ear drum? Or by the perception of sound in the mind?

rScotty

That's not my understanding of the physics involved. Yes, the electronics in the muffs create a counter pressure wave, and it's almost 180 degrees out of phase with the incoming noise. Because it is out of phase the resulting amplitude is reduced significantly and it is the combined result that reaches your eardrum - It not combined in your brain, it's combined in the air space inside the ear muffs before reaching your ear drum. You can see the same effect on a wave table, or in a still pool of water, or an oscilloscope.

 

[rScotty]

That's not my understanding of the physics involved. Yes, the electronics in the muffs create a counter pressure wave, and it's almost 180 degrees out of phase with the incoming noise. Because it is out of phase the resulting amplitude is reduced significantly and it is the combined result that reaches your eardrum - It not combined in your brain, it's combined in the air space inside the ear muffs before reaching your ear drum. You can see the same effect on a wave table, or in a still pool of water, or an oscilloscope.

I think our understanding of the physics is close enough for this..

The oscilloscope doesn't count; we know that the depictions of waves it is displayng are not pressure waves, and that electromagnetic waves sum entirely differently from pressure waves in air. Movement of electromagnetic fields vs movement of mass are two different worlds.

A still pool of water is a little better. It shows a standing wave on the surface due to a vibration. A vibration in a fluid or solid is still not the same thing as a pressure wave in air. But it does involves mass, and seems to have enough similarities to use for an analogy.

But if we do use a wave in a still pool of water as an analogy, I think you will see that when waves going in opposite direcctions meet, the result is a higher amplitude wave. Not a reduction, but an increase.
And that's my concern.
rScotty

 

[etpm]

For a constant sound like a tractor engine, the noise canceling headphones work by creating a pressure wave of noise in the headphones that counters the pressure wave from the outside noise. Together, the two waves sum to zero in the sensory part of your brain.....& you don't register hearing a noise.

But the pressure waves are both still there right next to a person's eardrum. In fact the energy from that pressure is now doubled, being the sum of the noise the headphones generated plus the incoming noise.

So is damage to a person's hearing caused by the pressure of the sound wave against the ear drum? Or by the perception of sound in the mind?

rScotty

I believe what happens is that the sound energy is turned into heat energy.
Eric

 

[2manyrocks]

There is another type of ear protection which combines a standard ear muff that has an external microphone circuit so that it muffs really loud sound but you can still near normal conversation levels.

But for hours and hours of wearing, the soft 3m muffs seem the most comfortable to me out of all the ones I've used.

 

[etpm]

I think our understanding of the physics is close enough for this..

The oscilloscope doesn't count; we know that the depictions of waves it is displayng are not pressure waves, and that electromagnetic waves sum entirely differently from pressure waves in air. Movement of electromagnetic fields vs movement of mass are two different worlds.

A still pool of water is a little better. It shows a standing wave on the surface due to a vibration. A vibration in a fluid or solid is still not the same thing as a pressure wave in air. But it does involves mass, and seems to have enough similarities to use for an analogy.

But if we do use a wave in a still pool of water as an analogy, I think you will see that when waves going in opposite direcctions meet, the result is a higher amplitude wave. Not a reduction, but an increase.
And that's my concern.
rScotty

When the peaks coinside the peaks get higher. When peaks and troughs coinside the peaks get lower. When the amplitude of the waves are identical then exact coincidence will either double the peak height or make the peak zero.
Eric

 

[AirOpsMgr]

I use various types of hearing protection depending on the situation (I too have a big melon). The simplest and cheapest option would be soft foam ear plugs inserted correctly (Howard leight, etc), which are nice when it's hot out.

But if your preference is ear muffs, I have experience with several sets of Bose noise cancelling over the ear headphones as well as noise cancelling earbuds that I use on the ZRT or when using gas tools, but not a fan of over the ear when it's hot out & not a fan of earbuds for more than 2 hrs at a time. I wear glasses with my over the ear headphones without any issues.

When at an indoor range, I double up with foam plugs and electronic impact muffs, when shooting outdoors, just electronic muffs.

If $ isn't an issue, for overall comfort, I prefer the newer Bose Ultra noise canceling over the ear headphones, their newest offering has larger cups and more adjustment, 3 levels of noise canceling adjustment, but are pricey at close to 4 bills. They are hands down the most comfortable over the ear headphones I've ever used.