Phone & Music : hearing it in a noisy environment

[treemuncher]

For the past year plus, I've been using my wife's (disliked) Trekz By AfterShokz bluetooth headset with excellent results in and around very noisy work areas, as well as quiet areas. These speakers transmit through your skull bone direct to the inner ear which allows me to wear my foam earplugs for hearing protection as well as filtering out all of the background noise. They are actually listed as "Bone Conduction" headsets. I actually hear the music better with the ear plugs in with this type of headset. My only concern is the Bluetooth's radiation directly at my head.



I wear earplugs daily whether working in the shop or operating a machine. I've tried ear buds that plug into your outer ear and those that are inserts as well. These never work well for me at all. Buds and inserts never filter out the loud background noises and you need the volume maxed out to hear any music which is damaging your hearing. I wear ear plugs for a reason and the Buds defeat that purpose. The sound of outer buds coming through the earplugs sounds terrible IF I can make out a phone conversation or music.

With the direct bone conduction transmission of the AfterShokz, I am able to service machines, mechanic, drive and do most any of my daily activities within reasonable noise levels and enjoy my daily dose of the Wilkow Majority along with other shows and music. I can take phone calls with the tap of my left speaker and the phone is clear on both ends of the line with the noise cancelling technology. The only thing I can't hear over very well, unless the volume is really cranked up, is the chainsaw or impact hammers. Welders, pressure washer, engine bay, operating, even the lawn mower - not a problem. Battery life is a bit limited, maybe about 4-6 hours of continuous play time, but if I'm operating, I usually use the machine's stereo if it is bluetooth or aux in to hook up my phone for SiriusXM.

I thought some of you might want to know about this product and how well it is working for me in this industrial, noise filled work environment that we all have to deal with. When this unit dies on me, I will purchase a replacement. It has become my daily work partner almost as much as the cell phone has become. It's just an older basic model but I'm impressed with the results and I still get to protect my hearing.

 

[materthegreater]

Those bone conducting headsets are impressive. I am currently using a cheap pair of Mpow Bluetooth earmuffs. I also have often wondered about the radio waves so close to my body.

I haven't tried bone conducting headsets myself, but I would like to try them at some point. The benefit to earmuffs vs ear plugs is they are quicker to put on and take off. But they are much bulkier and don't block as much sound. The battery life is impressive though, about 40 hours I believe. I usually only charge them once a week when I'm using them regularly.

 

[treemuncher]

Personally, I can't stand earmuff style. I always end up with a headache after a few hours of head compression (assuming ear protective style). Also, I get too isolated from outside sounds with a muff style or noise cancelling technology. I need to hear my work environment in case of mechanical noises or other important auditory clues. With the bone conduction, I can still hear relatively the same as I did without their sound influence be it with or without ear plugs in.

 

[Welder Dave]

Some muff style are really uncomfortable and do give you a headache (and sore ears) because they squish yor head and ears. I don't prefer the foam ear plugs. I'll have to check out the bone conducting headsets.

 

[cfherrman]

I use Bluetooth shooting ear muffs. They cut out if you flick your fingers, can tell which direction someone is talking to you, listen to music, and talk on the phone. Last set was $100 and after several years I'm probably getting another one.

 

[92U 3406]

I can't do earplugs. I feel like I'm walking around in a daze. Must affect my inner ear or something. I can wear earmuffs all day with no problems though.

 

[Welder Dave]

For some people ear plugs throw off their balance and equilibrium. I can do ear plugs but don't like them. When the hospital went against their own rules that a shared room can't have 1 of the patients use a CPAP machine I used ear plugs and the highest rated ear muffs I could find. 32 and 30 NRR. The 1st night they didn't even tell me and the machine leaked so made even more noise. I couldn't figure out why I was so tired the next afternoon then it hit me. I was literally going insane listening to that /%$^@!ing CPAP machine all night. Then didn't tell me the 2nd night either but as soon as I heard it buzzed the nurse and he found some ear plugs. They helped but not enough so I looked online and had my partner pick up some 3M ear muffs and more foam ear plugs. It was absolute hell! I couldn't be moved to the visiting room for the night because of covid. The only other option was putting me in the hallway with all the lights on and of course noise from the staff. Someone on here suggested noise cancelling headphones with something else but I needed domething in a hurry that didn't cost too much. The next night no CPAP machine so I just wore the ear muffs and it was nice not hearing much of anything. They blocked the staff talking. It can be really annoying too when it's shift change at 7am and it sounds like they haven't seen each other for a year and are having a party outside your room with the door wide open. It was so nice to get moved to the cancer institute. Unbelievable difference! It was like a luxury resort in comparison.

 

[mitch504]

Yeah, I am like 92u, if I wear earplugs, or earbuds, it feels like my head is slowly inflating or something, ear muffs don't bother me at all. I have been using the cheapest mpow on ear headset for about 3 years. It has been great, except I would like a little more volume. I bought them to see if I would like them, I do, and I have been about to upgrade to more expensive ones for 35 of the 36 months I have had them. I probably will if these die.

 

[aighead]

I have a brand called Edifier that got very good reviews for a mid-range (I think they were like 130 bucks? High end in my book) in ear bluetooth headset. They are fine. The noise cancelling is pretty amazing as it takes the loudest stuff and reduces it in an interesting way to much less noise, but the headphones for music or the talk shows I listen to aren't loud enough and they feel like they'll fall out all the time, not sure how I haven't lost any yet. I also will typically only use one so I can hear things around me.

I love the idea of bone conduction but haven't ponied up the cash yet. I love the idea of being able to hear my surroundings clearly while also hearing whatever I'm listening to through the phone. I'll put a pair of them on my list when I inevitably lose one of my current ones tonight, since I mentioned not losing any.

Can you hear the music or whatever if you are standing nearby? That's another thing for me. I don't want there to be any noise for bystanders.

 

[treemuncher]

Can you hear the music or whatever if you are standing nearby? That's another thing for me. I don't want there to be any noise for bystanders.

Unless you have them cranked to the max volume, no one hears anything but the person wearing them. Things have to be really noisy to need the volume that high. I find that I actually keep the volume lower when I have ear plugs in, which is better for saving my hearing. While in waiting rooms, no one hears anything of what you are listening to and unless you have the volume way too high, you hear everything going on around you when your name is called. Phone calls are also clear without transmitting background noise to the other end of the conversation. I've had numerous calls within tractor or truck cabs that were without background noise for the other party.

Regarding foam ear plugs and audio: A few years back, I installed an Autocom bike-to-bike radio system on a friend's motorcycle before we headed out on a 6-7 hour ride to a meet. I told him to wear ear plugs and he would be able to hear better amongst the road noise. He refused. About a 100 miles into our trip, after every thing that I said, he said, "What?", he finally relented and asked for some plugs. He said it was like night and day difference and he was then able to understand everything that I said as well as hear his music better. Just like I told him to begin with. Besides the road noise, those plugs protect my ears from the loud, shrill alarm of my radar detector wired into my coms system. I can't comfortably ride without them and they significantly reduce the fatigue caused by the ambient noise. I can do a 500-600 mile day easy, without getting very tired, thanks to the ear plugs.

 

[aighead]

I just picked up a pair of bone conduction headphones, for 20 bucks, and they are interesting. This is my first hour with them and it's neat to hear music or podcasts or whatever while you also hear your surroundings.

 

[treemuncher]

My old set died last Spring. Sam's club had the newer version on sale for about $90. They're even better than the original pair that I had. Better sound and longer battery life.

I've also since learned that my ear-bone is still conductive behind the ear and a bit low. I use the new set under my motorcycle helmet in this position because they won't otherwise fit under the helmet in the normal position. They work just as well and I can listen to Sirius and still have my speakers feeding in the radar signal. The new ones last for about 8+ hours unless I really crank the volume.

 

[aighead]

I'll have to mess around with the fit and placement a bit. I wonder if my weird beard and side burns are in the way.

 

[Tinkerer]

I found that different brands of ear muff hearing protectors have different size ear enclosures.
If a new pair clamped my head too tightly, I used to heat the headband enough to permanently bend them enough to be comfortable, but still exert enough pressure to give a good seal around my ears.

I used ear buds inside of them for years and never felt uncomfortable.
I rarely turned up the volume any more then if I were not near a machine.

 

[Vetech63]

How are any of you going to hear your machine leave an axle behind you?