
Ask HN: Do headphones exist with noise muffling capabilities? - Kepler-295c
People constantly post about how distracting open-plan offices are. The solution that is often proposed, noise cancelling headphones, don&#x27;t really work because noise cancelling headphones stop background hums, not the sound of talking.
Actual earmuffs DO block sporadic sounds like talking. However you can&#x27;t really wear earmuffs in an open plan office (that would be weird, and also earmuffs don&#x27;t play music).<p>What would be amazing, would be headphones with earmuff material between the earpiece and the outside of the headphones. Then you can listen to music without any sound bleeding in.<p>If anyone is looking for a hardware startup this may be a good idea. I would pay good money for this. I&#x27;ve tried the usual recommendations eg Sennheiser HD280&#x27;s but the sound muffling isn&#x27;t that high.
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quantumwannabe
There are some hearing protection earmuffs that allow you to plug in music
players such as these:
[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001T7QJ9O/](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001T7QJ9O/)

I bought these a while ago and while the sound quality is not the greatest
they will block a lot of sound. They also have microphones so you can listen
to conversations without taking them off (useful for protecting hearing in
dangerously noisy environments - not that useful in an office).

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thecrumb
You want a good pair of 'closed' studio headphones.
[http://www.wirerealm.com/guides/top-10-best-studio-
headphone...](http://www.wirerealm.com/guides/top-10-best-studio-headphones)

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borkt
Have you used good or custom IEMs? I have fairly standard Westone IEMs and I
do not notice anything on a flight, talking or otherwise

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GrumpyNl
We have Bose at work, with those on i can hear the conversation in the next
room much better, they do the opposite.

