
Ask HN: Best way to block the sound of human voices in an open office? - afarrell
Hi folks,<p>I work in an open-plan office with about 60 other engineers&#x2F;designers and I find that the conversations happening in the background make it much more difficult to focus. I&#x27;d like to know the most effective means of blocking out the sound of human voices if I am willing to both spend money and to look ridiculous.<p>My current strategy is to wear foam earplugs in my ears and Bose QC-35 headphones over them. However:<p>- It seems I need to play music in order to make enable the active noise cancelling of the headphones. I can play classical music and that is okay, but I really would prefer silence.<p>- I still am able to hear some conversation through these two layers.<p>I suspect that I need a third layer like a head wrapping or large fluffy earmuffs that can go over the headphones without interfering with the microphone used for active noise cancellation.<p>Has anyone else dealt with this problem and come up with a creative solution?
======
k4ch0w
I have the same problem. You know I have tried 3 different types of noise
canceling headphones and you and still hear the conversations. The other
problem is when it's a particularly hard problem, I need no music to be
playing.

I just don't go into the office at all anymore. I stay home and I just
outperform people's expectations and that allowed me to negotiate to stay at
home.

Open office spaces just do not allow me to get that deep focus to solve the
challenging problems, also the constant tapping on the shoulders and the quick
"How's it going" conversations take me out of flow. I don't think businesses
understand how annoying the random noise is too introverted engineers. It's
more productive for salespeople and PMs but I doubt it increases engineers
ability to get features built. I think it severely hinders them.

~~~
rahimnathwani
"It's more productive for salespeople and PMs"

The main job of a Product Manager is to make the product successful. This is
in part by driving prioritisation and ensuring that colleagues (e.g.
engineers) are not blocked.

If I were a PM in team where engineers' productivity were being hindered
through excessive noise or distractions, I would see it as part of my job to
find ways to solve that.

And if I were the _source_ of that noise/distraction, I would definitely not
see that as my being more productive, even if it meant I could write PRDs
faster or whatever.

------
dogma1138
Any closed back headphones with music. (I use the beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro)

Without music get construction or gun range safe ear pro (if you can still
hear anything through that it’s quite likely that it’s coming trough your desk
or floor, and no I’m not kidding).

I wouldn’t recommend ANC headphones for day long usage at least from my
personal experience I did find them to cause some issues with my hearing over
a long period of time.

I’ve been using Bose QC for 10+ years they work well but I limit their use to
the tube and flights only these days after about a year of permanent 8h a day
use I’ve noticed some hearing loss most of it returned after a few months of
not using them but ANC isn’t magic it does put quite a bit of sound pressure
on your ears.

------
duxup
I have a similar issue where I need less noise to focus. At the same time I
find music distracting... it is a pain.

Have you tried earmuffs made for shooters?

Example:

[http://a.co/hHvMr8e](http://a.co/hHvMr8e)

That's kind of thing I use. If people are close (one cube away with no walls)
you can still hear them but they are very muffled. Distant voices (three cubes
away with no walls) and noises you can't hear at all.

~~~
afarrell
I have tried Ear Defenders for a while, but found that the pressure they put
on my head gave me a headache.

------
davideous
I wear Etymotic Noise-Isolating Earphones in my ears (they are real earplugs
with a small hole in the middle through which sound is piped), then I put Bose
noise cancelling headphones over my ears, and then I play a rainfall noise
through the Nose-Isolating Earphones. This multi-layer approach this works
very well for me. The rainfall noise is not distracting to me the way music
can be.

I have excellent hearing, and it's impossible for me to solve this problem
with a completely passive or noise cancelling approach. Ears will increase
their sensitivity until they are able to hear something.

Etymotic Noise-Isolating Earphones: [https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-
Noise-Isolating-Ear...](https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Noise-
Isolating-Earphones-Cobalt/dp/B003YTROIU?th=1)

The noise app that I use:
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mynoise/id813099896?mt=8](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mynoise/id813099896?mt=8)

~~~
jmpman
I’ve used the Etymotic, but tend to go back to my Shures. On top of that, I’ll
run the active noise cancelling headphones - a pair of Sony’s which function
without audio. Depending on my mood, it’s white noise (actually a custom pink
noise created in an iPhone app), or music. With the Pink noise, even without
the active noise cancellation, I’m oblivious to the world.

------
agitator
hmm...It sounds like a very challenging problem to solve with the "passive"
approaches you have tried, and others have suggested.

I think maybe moving onto an "active" strategy might be the way to go. You can
easily devise a device using an Arduino, a mic, and an air horn. Anytime
people are being loud and annoying, and the decibels exceed a certain
threshold, you automate the system to sound the airhorn.

I guarantee within a week everyone in the office will be trained to keep
quiet. Either that, or you won't be allowed in the building. In any case, you
won't need to deal with the loud office environment anymore!

------
finaliteration
I use a pair of Sony MDR7506 headphones. They’re meant to be used in a studio
setting, but they block out enough noise if I have music or white noise going
and they are relatively comfortable. Plus they sound pretty good music-wise.
They’re also relatively cheap (normally around $100 but I got mine for around
$80 on sale).

~~~
ThrustVectoring
Seconding the MDR 7506. They're optimized pretty hard for sound isolation,
fidelity, and cost. The only kind of awkward thing about them is that they
have a 9.8 foot coiled-up cord that's designed to give you a good chunk of
slack between your head and what you're plugged into. Office listening doesn't
really need this slack and it can get in the way or get tangled up sometimes.

IMHO they're the best headphones at their price point. You can get better
headphones, but you have to pay a lot for very small improvements. Cheaper
headphones tend to be _significantly_ worse.

------
borplk
This thread is so sad. Companies pay 6 figure salaries but somehow when it
comes to the office environment they treat the same people as if they are
chickens.

------
sbr464
I found the Sony wh-1000xm2 (prev gen also) to be quieter than the Bose 35s. I
just listen to silence 90% of the time. There are some white noise playlists
on Spotify to avoid needing Youtube. Also rain, storms, rivers etc. If doing
sound or music, I almost always use a single song loop, or a playlist with
only a few songs looping to avoid interrupting thought. Music is just a couple
of soundtracks/songs I've added to a playlist. Few examples:

    
    
      Clint Mansell (random ost, fountain ost)
      M83 Oblivion (Starwaves/ title track)
      Random Hans Zimmer
      Interstellar ost
      Only God forgives ost
    

Adderall helps also, makes most visual distractions/sounds have less affect,
if any. (have prescription)

Phone in airplane/do not disturb helps also.

~~~
jimpudar
All good suggestions except Adderall. Don't start using drugs to get by in
your career lest you make it a short one.

------
bsvalley
Shooting earmuffs + 33db foam earplugs will block a lot. Though, it’s painful
to wear this all day. Fun fact, dbs don’t add up if you layer up like that.
It’s about an additional 5db on top of 33db. Best advise would be to search
for another job in a much quieter place.

------
evadne
Yes, I ordered a moving van and started working from home again… the only way
to win is not to play.

Besides audible noise there is visual noise too. And you can’t exactly demand
that people leave you alone, not unless if you are jwz [1]

[1] see tent-of-doom

~~~
notdang
Don't click on the link. Copy and paste it directly to the browser.

------
olleromam91
Here's a fun invention for ya.

[https://hochurayu.com/product_design/helmfon/](https://hochurayu.com/product_design/helmfon/)

------
mstaoru
I wear 3M Peltor X5A earmuffs, rated at -37 dB (European version). It seems to
be the highest rated earmuff on Earth in 2018. It's not particularly heavy,
but if you have a big head, it might create a bit of a pressure over time. It
doesn't completely block the voices, but it "muffs" them down to something
that disappears eventually if you don't actively listen for it.

------
jmalicki
I'm surprised noone mentioned Gucci Mane yet... while he was incarcerated he
released a new album every month!!!!

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gucci_Mane#2014%E2%80%932016:_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gucci_Mane#2014%E2%80%932016:_Incarceration;_multiple_project_releases_from_prison)

~~~
jnichols35
I believe was meant for another thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17642751](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17642751)

------
ranc1d
I use this websiite to drown out background noise with the sound of
rain/thunderstorm, it can be combined with music as well, find it good when I
need to focus on something

[http://www.rainymood.com/](http://www.rainymood.com/)

~~~
afarrell
I use that when I go to sleep, so I wouldn't want to use it for working, but
in general, it is a good suggestion.

------
briga
I recommend noise-cancelling headphones and ambient music. Ambient music is
non-intrusive by design so it doesn't interfere with your workflow as much as
more 'active' music.

~~~
balladeer
Problem is finding a headphone that:

1\. Sits just outside your ear; maybe softly hugging my ears but preferably
not touching at all.

2\. Doesn't at all press against the ears.

3\. Doesn't press too hard against your head either

4\. Doesn't feel heavy or slide down

5\. Kinda affordable.

~~~
bradknowles
For me, the Bose QC35s are the only headphones I've found to check all of
those boxes. Not as inexpensive as I would like, but IMO worth the money.

------
brudgers
Acoustic isolation/damping is unlikely to work on its own, the human auditory
system is complex. Masking noise needs to be added to the acoustic environment
to make conversations relatively quieter. In the design of open plan offices,
the traditional source of masking noise is the HVAC system.

Alternatives to music might include ambient nature recordings and white noise.

------
user7878
I use background white noise cancelling / rains / water tracks mostly for
cancelling the office noise around.Helped me lot to focus.

e. g.
[https://www.youtube.com/user/RelaxingWhiteNoise](https://www.youtube.com/user/RelaxingWhiteNoise)

------
jenkstom
Play white noise through your headphones. Or pink, brown, etc, depending on
which sounds better to you.

~~~
wortelefant
I can confirm this works, I have been using brown noise for years in crowded
open offices as well as in busesand trains and I find it a more predictable
help to focus than ambient or classical music.

An effective principle: It does not block sounds, but rather help the brain to
ignore them. Individual sounds lose their specifics in an ocean of randomness,
and after a few minutes you don't hear them anymore. Privacy through
obscurity.

~~~
mmagin
On the other hand, I find white noise exhausting. Not sure if this is a
neurological difference between people.

~~~
cchubitunes
I find white noise harsh as well. Brown noise works perfectly for me.

------
bitlax
I did a combination of earplugs and headphones playing white noise which
worked pretty well. But I still had visual disturbances and had to yank the
earbuds out when someone tapped on my shoulder, which was weird for both of
us. Now I work remotely and love it.

------
bradlys
Can't speak for QC35 but my QC35 II do ANC without anything playing.

Construction earmuffs plus ear plugs usually are effective enough to kill
almost all normal sounds.

~~~
koube
I use the QC35 every day and it can do ANC without anything playing as well,
in fact it is impossible to have the power on without ANC active, just like
the QC35 II. IIRC the only difference between the I and the II is the Google
assistant button.

There's a marked but subtle difference between having the headphones on and
off, which can be confirmed by having the headphones on and turning the power
on and off without removing them. The difference is not huge, and the
headphones will block noise much better if you play music or white noise to
cover up ambient noise.

The headphones take forever to power up and down because of the voice prompts,
and this will be faster if you turn off voice prompts and use beep mode
instead. The comparison is easier this way.

------
captain_perl
You can compensate for distractions by completely mastering your tools so that
less focus is needed. That's a technique that you have control over.

~~~
afarrell
True, but this takes time and tools change. Any suggestions on how to do this
faster?

------
amorphous
Mentioned already, but let me repeat: mynoise.net. Huge range of excellent
noise blocking sounds.

------
j88439h84
I have the same Bose QC35 and mine don't require playing music to enable
cancelling.

Try another pair?

------
AtomicOrbital
I suggest you create a culture where if a quick chat turns into a discussion
people know to move into a conference room or office ... take this up with
management and once in agreement get this announced to the entire floor ...
this approach does work once folks realize this helps everyone

------
DEADBEEFC0FFEE
I listen to white noise, or recordings of rain/thunder/waves.

------
NullPrefix
Best solution would be not working in a sweatshop.

~~~
whatsstolat
Yeah but most people need to earn a $, and most places offering a $ or two are
open plan.

------
itronitron
you should try listening to long tracks of the Chinese Pipa, for me at least
the music disappears after about 4 minutes of listening

------
bradwood
white noise youtube vid with my Beats (by Dr Dre) over ear hadphones...

------
sunflowerdeath
Walls

------
megaman22
If you ball up a sock, and stuff it into the offending mouth, that tends to
cut the sound level quite abruptly. Your mileage may vary on how ridiculous
this will make you and how much money it will cost.

