We have an employee who suffered a stroke many years past, who among other things suffers with an increase in hearing sensitivity levels.  The end result as a software programmer, he is struggling to concentrate with the office hubbub around him when he comes on site.  To work with utmost concentration he would prefer near total silence.

My question, is there any over ear hearing protection on the market my colleague could comfortably wear (i.e, that does not make your head feel like its between the jaws of a vice), that would cancel all noise but would allow him to hear an alarm if raised.   I'm open to both industry and non-industry types by recommendation or web links.

Thanks in advance,

Badger

David

My colleague does work from home usually with a once a week come in for contact requirement.  Unfortunately he's required on site for a couple of days to ensure a bit of kit which is too large to take home, works.  It must also be dispatched Friday so we need him here.  Someone has suggestted to me to try their Honeywell Howard leight 1013530 Impact Sport earmuffs (retailing around £40 subject to where you go - this is not a recommendation) and I'm borrowing them for tomorrow.

I'm still open to other suggestions.

Badger

Gerry

Foam in ear plugs are not liked as they irritate, plus from working with a hearing specilist years ago (and now maybe biased) they said no to in ear plugs as they may cause damage to the attenuation hairs in the ear.

Zyggy

He's tried white noise but couldn't get on with it, one of my first suggestions.  Still prefers silence.

All things considered, in-ear buds are the obvious practical solution provided your employee can use them without discomfort. Once a week for a day or so shouldn't be an issue at all.

Why not ask ARCO for some samples? Howard Leight also do in-ear, SNR 37 dB.

At the end of the day this is not a noise (excessive level) problem requiring hearing protection to mitigate the issue but a personal issue with more general noise. Whilst accepting the employee may prefer silence (I will avoid suggesting they become a monk) the general background murmur of an office environment can prove distracting.

Have you considered commercially available "noise cancelling" headphones - not hearing protection but an adaptive system that basically emits a noise cancelling signal in reaction to input.

I personally have a pair of Senheiser (other makes are available) for flights involving turbo prop aircraft as I find the "hum" a problem. Even with nothing being played via the connection jack the noise cancellation is very good and certainly an improvement upon ear plugs which just attenuate noise levels.

Thank you to everyone for their suggestions which I will now put forward to my colleague and subject to costings we will take forward.

Badger

Hannah

Any late thoughts are always welcome when I'm seeking an answer, no matter how far they are of the radar.  I occasionally ask what I think is a silly question and hopefully I may receive a sensible answer!

Badger

Ron

Have looked at Sennheiser Hd 215 Closed Back Headphones With High Passive Noise Attenuation and SONY MDR-ZX110NAB Noise-Cancelling Headphones (not my recommendations).  Going by the reviews the best they can claim is 95% muffling.  Its up to my colleague now on his choice from all the options explored to date.

Badger