Noise-Cancelling Headphones

[cevert73]

Hi,

I work in a very noisy wind tunnel environment and have recently exposed myself to increased hours of operation and, as a result, I'm starting to suffer from mild headaches which I've never had a problem with at any time in my life in the past so I want to do something about it.

I presume some of you work in noisy environments so would anyone have some suggestions for good noise-cancelling headphones?  I currently wear standard passive ear defenders but could use something more substantial.  I'm not overly concerned with the sound quality of the headphones for playing music etc.

The source is rated (approximately) as 100dB @ 1m and the tunnel's running at a constant speed so it's not as though the headphones need to be particularly responsive.

I need more than the (probably £3) efforts I have been provided at the moment but don't want to spend crazy amounts.  How much ear protection, passive and/or active, should I be looking at to get things to an easily comfortable level?

Cheers.

[Ben]

I'm not a medical type but I would be concerned the headaches are signs of damage being done.

Ear muffs AND ear plugs are the only thing I can suggest.

I am curious bout others suggestions as well.

Ben

[LV_Pro]

I second Ben's comments, if you are getting headaches it is time to go to serious ear protection, or find a way to be out of the noise environment. Not sure over there, but in the US the health and safety regs would require protection or moving out of the area. In instances of working in high noise areas I've resorted to "ear muffs" and ear plugs, but I will caution that doing that for an extended period carries other risks. I was working in a environmental testing lab where we were testing train brake assemblies and it was quite warm as well as noisy. My test had a visual count down to warn the operator when the air brakes would activate, but I kept levitating off of my chair when an adjacent test rig would do a simulated emergency stop). The bottom line was that after a couple of months I had an ear infection, caused by having the ear plugs in so much. All good now, not at that customer either.

I would also have a hearing test performed, so that you can have a metric to catch if you are getting damage.

I'm wearing noise cancelling headphones as I write this, moderate priced ones, more to supress conversations in other parts of the cube farm I'm currently working in, wouldn't want them for real noise supression in a loud industrial environment though, they are only rated for about 12dB reduction, enough to suppress adjacent conversations, or the background hum on an airline flight, not nearly enough for your application.

[JÞB]

Not a medical type either but, where I work we have a government agency, OSHA, that requires the use of personal protective safety equipment in specific enviornments and the quality of that equipment.  If you have a safety co-ordinator that is the first place to go!  and yes ,you need to see an audiologist! NOW!

[pallen]

The BOSE quiet comfort headphones are rated among the best.  I've tried them and can say they are indeed both quiet and comfortable. 

I have found though that the noise cancelling doesn't work quite as well if you aren't actually listening to something with the headphones. 

You should however heed the good advice from others here.  Check the dBA of your work enviroment and get some proper hearing protection rated for those levels. If you're sitting in 100dBA all day, you'll probably need some heavy duty gear. 

Also, if you're getting headaches....get your hearing tested.  A job is just a job, but you hearing is for life. 

[Darin.K]

I am not one prone to physical violence but if you were standing next to me I would probably smack you upside the head.  Not really, but you get the idea.  100 dB@1m is in jack hammer territory.  I believe the threshold for damage from long term exposure is about 85 dB, and above 70 dB you still get some side effects (exhaustion, sensory deprivation, etc).

Noise cancelling headphones are for drowning out the guy snoring next to you on the plane.   Chronic exposure like you are describing (especially indoors) requires properly fitted, PROPERLY USED, protective equipment.  In the US it is up to the employer to provide this, I would imagine the UK would have similar regulations.  Most employers (and employees) think that ear muffs and plugs are one-size-fits-all and plug-and-play, but that is not the case.  Achieving the full benefit requires some custom fitting, and proper application.  For mowing your lawn, you can slap something on, but not for long-term protection.  I would suggest seeing an audiologist for some flat-frequency ear plugs.  They are slightly less attenuating than the solid foam plugs, but they allow you to hear things more naturally and lessen occlusion.  I like my pair a lot.  (What good are the plugs if you where them loosely to avoid discomfort, or to hear voices).  Plus, the audiologist can show you how they are supposed to fit and feel (hint: they always go in just a wee bit further than you would naturally choose). 

The plugs alone will probably put you below the damage threshold, but still in the discomfort level.  I would probably add muffs for long exposures, or add frequent breaks if possible.

If your desire for noise cancellation is to be able to rock out, you should also beware that this is dangerous as well.  There are ear muffs with headphones built-in for connecting your MP3 player.  With high background noise levels, your natural impulse is to jack the volume.  You don't think it is loud, but that is because your brain is already in audio shutdown, your eardrums are still being punished.  Go to a quiet area, set the volume to the maximum comfortable level, THEN KEEP IT THERE OR BELOW.

Side story:  I have experienced the noise cancelling headphones used by attack helicopter pilots.  Awesome, but those will probably set you back more than 3 pounds.   On the plus side, you can still catch some tunes while standing behind a jet airplane.  In the absence of external noise, it is so quiet that you can hear your own pulse, an eery sensation.

[_Ian_]

The following from the UK Health and Safety Executive (and links contain within) is relevant here:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/noise/employers.htm

As said above, not only is your employer required to provide you with the appropriate equipment but they should be actively pushing you to get hearing checks. This is for your protection as well as theirs: a few tens of quid on tests and ear defenders is nothing compared to the potential legal costs if work damages your health.  Don't put yourself at risk for the job... in the long run it isn't worth it.

I can't add any more to the posts above other than to echo their comments.

Ian

[LV_Pro]

Sort of an spin off of the corporate responsibility thread.   I second the comment that a job is just a job. I have worked a long time (40+ years, wow I wish I hadn't done that calculation) and have seen too many times/locations were the workers "manned up, toughed it out", resulting in permant injuries, reduced life spans, etc. One of the motivations that encouraged me to get back into electronics, go back and finish my degree, get out of the job I had as a machinist, was I didn't want to become, as my buddies and I called them, an "old timer". That designation wasn't based on time of service, but was whether they were missing fingers, etc.!! Of course the older they were the more likely that they had "oops!", but some did it pretty early.

So, get your employer to spring for all of the above mentioned (good gear, ear tests, etc.) and don't forget approved safety glasses, either. I have to believe that there are projectile hazards in and around a windtunnel. (My current wind tunnel project is enclosed and the only particles are supposed to be sub-micron ones for testing ULPA and HEPA filters)

[Ben]

"back in the day" when steam was king and railroads ran the world...

If an applicant claimed to be an experienced brakeman and they had all of their fingers, they were concidered liars.

Ben

[cevert73]

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies.

I've actually been working with this tunnel for months (always wearing the ear protection provided - Bilsom Blue Comforts) but only for an hours stretch at a time, usually with the tunnel running at low speeds while I tried to eliminate issues with my LabVIEW vi's.  With this level of exposure I didn't feel any side effects but then  when my code matured I ramped up the speed and spent about 10 hours in there one day and finally noticed the protection was inadequate.

I had a look through the specs of various options, decided not to go down the active route and went for ER20 ear plugs + Peltor Optime III Premium ear defenders which have the following specs.  

Product Features

• H=40 M=32 L=23 SNR=35
• Conforms to EN 352-1

I've stopped using the tunnel until they arrive.  Hopefully they do the trick!  For the record this tunnel hasn't been used in a long time and we're always pushed about safety considerations.