
Best method to cancel human voices at work or public space? - PabloR
I have tried silicone ear plugs and in-ear headphones with good plugs but can’t find anything that completely stops human voices. I have read that the noise-canceling headphones are good for some type of frequencies, human voices <i>not</i> being one of them. What methods do you use to cope with it? If ear plugs or headphones, can you specify?
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kafkaesq
Ultimately, technology is limited. What you need is a culture of "library
voices". To wit: "Don't raise your voice unless you absolutely have to.
Better, don't use your voice, period, if you can just do a chat session with
the person. If you must use your voice -- just keep the volume down, and and
the duration minimal. If you must have a full-volume conversation for any
length of time -- get a room."

Basically, people in office environments get used to "yapping" for a whole lot
of reasons not related to any actual need to exchange information (to vent and
shoot the shit, basically) and to do so in rollicking, loud "party" voices
without any regard to the downsides. Meanwhile, all it takes is a bit of
introspection to realize that about 80% of this noise is just that. And a
little bit of discipline to institute a culture of (relative) quiet and
solitude -- even in an open plan office.

What, you say -- no time for introspection? No interest in discipline? No way
to even bring up the idea of "library voices" in your culture?

Then your problems are much bigger than can what be helped by any advanced
technology.

~~~
PabloR
Thanks for your reply. I agree with your "library voices" concept and I'm very
respectful in regards to keeping volume down and minimal duration if there was
a need for a chat. The issue is when others are not and you have no control
over it, making it difficult to focus on the task at hand.

~~~
db48x
Agreed, that type of cultural change takes time, and is particularly difficult
if you're a newcomer.

In the mean time, get some nice headphones. I second the recommendation of the
HD-280s; they're great. Note that over-the-ear headphones come in both open-
ear and closed-ear varieties; the former don't provide any isolation (they're
designed to let you keep your situational awareness, which is often
desirable).

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edlucas
I've had great success over the last 10 years with a pair of Sennheiser 280 HD
Pro over-the-ear headphones ([https://en-
us.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro](https://en-us.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro)). They
are great at passive noise attenuation across the spectrum (32 dB) and are
extremely comfortable for long periods. It doesn't hurt that they sound great
(if you like a flat frequency response) and since they are made for pro DJ and
studio use, they're durable and the cord, ear pads, and headband pad are
replaceable.

If I don't want the distraction of music, but still need to wipe out the sound
of people talking nearby, I fire up
[https://rain.simplynoise.com/](https://rain.simplynoise.com/).

~~~
PabloR
I found this list for best noise-isolation headphones:
[http://headphonesaddict.com/best-noise-isolating-
earbuds](http://headphonesaddict.com/best-noise-isolating-earbuds). There's a
Sennheiser in the top 2. I may consider noise-isolation over noise-canceling.
Would be great if there was a noise-canceling pair with amazing noise-
isolation properties as well.

The simplenoise.com site is great. Thanks

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enigmango
A few folks have mentioned white noise already. I used to work in an open-
office layout with about 50 people, and I found it was much easier to mentally
cancel out the chatter with consistent, light, inoffensive background noise
than to try to create silence.

[http://mynoise.net](http://mynoise.net) was great, and I only had a $10 pair
of in-ear earbuds. I haven't used the site since changing jobs, but I remember
liking Rain On A Tent, Wooden Chimes, and mumbly-voice environments like
Laundromat and Airport Terminal.

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geoelectric
Voices, especially high ones, are kryptonite for NC, but the very latest
models do better with them than I've ever heard before. My Bose QC35s and
QC20s both do a great job of making a voice six feet away sound at least 20
feet away, and voices over 10-15 feet away not sound at all. I think the QC25s
and QC30s will be similarly good. The new Sony MDR-1000X are also supposedly
showing next-gen NC performance, according to early reviews.

A set of one of those will probably do the job of _lessening_ voices to
something acceptable--they do to the point that my very, very distractable
self can work in an open office, whereas older NC headphones did not--but they
won't completely remove it.

If you really want that, I'd suggest a set of 34dB+ reduction earplugs. If
that doesn't work, put them underneath NC over-ear headphones. If that doesn't
work, play white noise on the headphones. I'll be surprised if you heard
anything external after that.

~~~
PabloR
I knew about the Bose models but did not know about the Sony MDR-1000X. As you
mentioned, none seem to completely stop voices, although your experience is
very good at least at lessening them.

I was actually thinking of wearing earplugs and headphones at once. Thanks for
the info

~~~
geoelectric
The 1000X is bleeding new. It's been out in Europe for a few weeks, and is
just now coming out in US I believe.

After having gone through a number of pretty expensive NC headphones, I can
say confidently that up until now nothing matched late-model Bose for NC
specifically (music sound quality is another discussion). Parrot came closest,
but everything else was way behind and really only blocked
airplane/subway/bus-type loud hum, nothing more random or higher-pitched.

However, the initial reviews for the 1000X have all been pretty adamant that
the 1000X matches and possibly beats the QC35 for NC. That's an amazing
accomplishment for Sony, no lie.

At any rate, you're welcome. I have really bad noise sensitivities that make
productivity hard in shared spaces, so your question is near and dear to my
heart.

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pravula
I have good experience with foam ear plugs. Silicone doesn't fill up your ear
canal as these do.

[https://www.cvs.com/shop/personal-care/ear-care/ear-
plugs/cv...](https://www.cvs.com/shop/personal-care/ear-care/ear-plugs/cvs-
superior-soft-foam-earplugs-prodid-942245)

~~~
PabloR
I think I have used them in the past but did not have a great experience.
Maybe I didn't rolled/tested them properly. Will try again. Thanks for the
link.

~~~
cauterized
There are also different sizes that may work better for different people's
ears.

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kohanz
Whatever you do, don't go for an office that has a "noise suppression" system
in it. A company that I used to work for has one, when I first joined I
thought it was just a loud HVAC system (until I was informed what it really
was). It took a lot of getting used to, or so I thought, then the headaches
started coming. Headaches that would start at work and then dissipate an hour
or two after leaving the office. After doing some reading and discussing with
a relative who designs buildings for healthcare, I realized the connection
between the two. I started working from home, no headaches. Apparently a not
insignificant percentage of people have this reaction to a constant "barely
audible" white noise. I'm not sure if I would have the same reaction to the
headphones, but at this point I'm not trying it.

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p333347
For me it is the sharp spikes in sound curve that is annoying and distracting,
like honking of vehicles, screaming kids etc in an otherwise quieter
environment. Any uniform/sustained sound, for that matter even constant
blaring of horns on busy roads or bunch of noisy kids playing, will quickly
melt into the background. I suppose this is what happens to most people too.
So I just have to tolerate a bit for the easing up to happen. Earplug like
contraptions make me claustrophobic of sorts. Also, I like to do things
"naturally" and condition myself in general, so this approach might be due to
that as well.

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finthecity
The best $50 I've ever spent has been on a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-ANC2
noise cancelling earbuds. Are they as good as Bose or other over-ear versions?
No, but they are significantly better than non noise canceling and pretty
cheap. Paired with a white noise generator (I use Spotify that has many), and
the loud coffee shop chatter fades away and I can get work done.

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IpV8
Just jam them: [http://www.extremetech.com/computing/120583-new-speech-
jammi...](http://www.extremetech.com/computing/120583-new-speech-jamming-gun-
hints-at-dystopian-big-brother-future)

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Zelmor
I used to listen to 7 hours of white noise with my earphones from YouTube for
noise canceling. It kicks in in about 4-6 minutes.

Not doing it since I changed jobs and work remote.

~~~
PabloR
I wasn't planning to add noise, but it may be a good option. I'll try this as
well. Thanks

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jicri
I do noisli with noise cancelling headphone, works the best

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stray
A door.

~~~
db48x
Preferably with walls around it.

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ensiferum
Tell the people to STFU?

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nicomfe
headphones and music man! cant work without music

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el8950
You could surgically remove your eardrums.

