Ear plugs and noise filtering

You all must be experts on noise reduction, but I imagine that you are
dealing with very loud noises.

I sometimes have to work in noisy environments such as open offices
and airplanes. Most of the noise is conversation, background music,
and the like. I'm not concerned about damage to my ears -- just to my
concentration. Are there any ear plugs (or other devices) that are
effective at filtering out this kind of background noise so I can
think and concentrate?

I think I would prefer ear plugs rather than headphones because they
would be lighter and cooler, but I am open to any suggestions.

Thanks

While I am here, let me ask a seemingly opposite question. One of the
reasons I hate cocktail parties is that once the background noise gets
to a certain level (and not that high), I have a very difficult time
hearing what is being said right next to me. I can't follow a
conversation at all. This sometimes even happens in restaurants if
they are fairly noisy.

Is there anything that will filter out everything but nearby
conversation? Kinda the iopposite of the above.

Thanks, again.

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 16:55:52 -0800, Top Spin
wrote:

. . . Are there any ear plugs (or other devices) that are
effective at filtering out this kind of background noise so I can
think and concentrate?

Drugstore earplugs work fine. I prefer the wax kind that you knead
until they are soft and then stick into your ear canals. The rubbery
ones that you knead until they squish try to expand again when they
are in your ear and can be annoying after a while. Way, way back,
before pilots used headphones (early '70s and before), I used wax
earplugs in the cockpit because they reduced my fatigue level
enormously.

. . . opposite question. One of the
reasons I hate cocktail parties is that once the background noise gets
to a certain level (and not that high), I have a very difficult time
hearing what is being said right next to me.

According to my sister, who has similar symptoms, a physician will
probably diagnose this as a genuine neurological/hearing problem. She
also says no one has offered her a cure for it.

Don

According to my sister, who has similar symptoms, a physician will
probably diagnose this as a genuine neurological/hearing problem. She
also says no one has offered her a cure for it.

It's called mid-range deafness, and is common in anyone over 35. It's a
condition that is supposedly exacerbated by exposure to loud noises when you
were young -- like those old Iron Butterfly albums we used to play at 160
decibels... ;-)

There is no cure -- which is one reason I don't "do" cocktail parties very
often anymore.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 02:25:52 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

According to my sister, who has similar symptoms, a physician will
probably diagnose this as a genuine neurological/hearing problem. She
also says no one has offered her a cure for it.

It's called mid-range deafness, and is common in anyone over 35. It's a
condition that is supposedly exacerbated by exposure to loud noises when you
were young -- like those old Iron Butterfly albums we used to play at 160
decibels... ;-)

There is no cure -- which is one reason I don't "do" cocktail parties very
often anymore.

Rats. And I never even listened to any loud music as an adolescent (45
years ago) and I have never heard of Iron Butterfly.

Thanks

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 01:59:51 -0800, "Morgans"
wrote:


"Top Spin" wrote in message
news
You all must be experts on noise reduction, but I imagine that you are
dealing with very loud noises.

Try the shooting supplies area of a major store. The kind I like best has
about three rings, or flanges, around the core, and gets a good seal,
without a lot of pressure. There are two kinds of those; ones with just a
solid rubber inner core, and another with an insert that is supposed to let
through most of the normal conversation, but keep out the loud peaks. Get
them both, and try them out; they are pretty cheap.

I will look for them. If you happen to find the brand/model, please
let me know.

Thanks

I wear them in the work van, on longer drives to knock down the wind noise.
I arrive much more rested.

I never thought of that - I'll have to try it.

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

"Top Spin" wrote in message
news
You all must be experts on noise reduction, but I imagine that you are
dealing with very loud noises.

Try the shooting supplies area of a major store. The kind I like best has
about three rings, or flanges, around the core, and gets a good seal,
without a lot of pressure. There are two kinds of those; ones with just a
solid rubber inner core, and another with an insert that is supposed to let
through most of the normal conversation, but keep out the loud peaks. Get
them both, and try them out; they are pretty cheap.

I wear them in the work van, on longer drives to knock down the wind noise.
I arrive much more rested.
--
Jim in NC

I use wax earplugs when I'm traveling, because I'm very alert to
noise. (For two years in the U.S. Army, I was the last person to go to
sleep and the second one to wake up.) They've very effective. I have
to trim them down a bit, and you do have to be careful to keep them
clean.

Sporty's Pilot Shop sells a pair of ear plugs that I think are foam;
they're connected, so they don't get lost, or you can wear them around
your neck.

At the gym, where I find the music objectionable, I use a CD player
with Sony noise-canceling earphones that work very well with low-level
noise like airplane engines (jetliners, I mean) but not so well with
sudden noise like people speaking. I love it when the earphones go on
and the world gets quieter. Bose makes an even more advanced and more
expensive version.

Your cocktail party problem sounds like the complaints I hear from
people who wear a hearing aid!

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

For a second there I couldn't picture an iron butterfly getting off the
ground, then I remembered the drugs..
denny
"Top Spin" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 02:25:52 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

According to my sister, who has similar symptoms, a physician will
probably diagnose this as a genuine neurological/hearing problem. She
also says no one has offered her a cure for it.

It's called mid-range deafness, and is common in anyone over 35. It's a
condition that is supposedly exacerbated by exposure to loud noises when
you
were young -- like those old Iron Butterfly albums we used to play at 160
decibels... ;-)

There is no cure -- which is one reason I don't "do" cocktail parties
very
often anymore.

Rats. And I never even listened to any loud music as an adolescent (45
years ago) and I have never heard of Iron Butterfly.

Thanks

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

TopSpin

From all my hours of flying and other areas o high noise I am hard of
hearing.

Picked up a (expensive) hearing aide several years ago.

1. It is controlled by a TV like remote. You can turn on and off and
change the programs and volume with remote.
2. Unit is programmed by plugging into the hearing aid sellers
computer.
3. There are 3 modes of operation.

a. Normal setting for your hearing. This and all three modes level can
be raised or lowered by the wand.
b. This mode is for the cocktail party and cuts out the base line
noise.
c. This mode if for talking on the telephone to keep units from
feeding back and squealing.

I wear them about 18 hours a day and get a week out of the batteries.

If you are interest in something like this, post a reply to this
thread and I'll give you how to contact company for more info.

Big John
Pilot ROCAF


On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 16:55:52 -0800, Top Spin
wrote:

You all must be experts on noise reduction, but I imagine that you are
dealing with very loud noises.

I sometimes have to work in noisy environments such as open offices
and airplanes. Most of the noise is conversation, background music,
and the like. I'm not concerned about damage to my ears -- just to my
concentration. Are there any ear plugs (or other devices) that are
effective at filtering out this kind of background noise so I can
think and concentrate?

I think I would prefer ear plugs rather than headphones because they
would be lighter and cooler, but I am open to any suggestions.

Thanks

While I am here, let me ask a seemingly opposite question. One of the
reasons I hate cocktail parties is that once the background noise gets
to a certain level (and not that high), I have a very difficult time
hearing what is being said right next to me. I can't follow a
conversation at all. This sometimes even happens in restaurants if
they are fairly noisy.

Is there anything that will filter out everything but nearby
conversation? Kinda the iopposite of the above.

Thanks, again.

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 23:11:16 -0600, Big John
wrote:

TopSpin

From all my hours of flying and other areas o high noise I am hard of
hearing.

Picked up a (expensive) hearing aide several years ago.

1. It is controlled by a TV like remote. You can turn on and off and
change the programs and volume with remote.
2. Unit is programmed by plugging into the hearing aid sellers
computer.
3. There are 3 modes of operation.

a. Normal setting for your hearing. This and all three modes level can
be raised or lowered by the wand.
b. This mode is for the cocktail party and cuts out the base line
noise.
c. This mode if for talking on the telephone to keep units from
feeding back and squealing.

I wear them about 18 hours a day and get a week out of the batteries.

If you are interest in something like this, post a reply to this
thread and I'll give you how to contact company for more info.

Big John
Pilot ROCAF

Sure, I'll take a look at them.

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com