Shop noise: noise-canceling headphones?

[Tom Porter]

I have a shop problem that I suspect is not uncommon. The noise from my basement shop really bothers my wife. She's a teacher and spends a lot of time working in her home office. To make matters worse, she has MS, which makes concentrating even harder at times. As a result, I have a lot of difficulty finding shoptime. I'm considering buying her a pair of noise-canceling headphones and wonder if anyone has any experience with them.

I've tried doing a little research, both here and on the web in general. I haven't had much luck on the web because most reviews discuss blocking out airplane or office noise or discuss sound quality. Searches on Sawmill tend to discuss using them for the woodworker as hearing protection. And also, the posts I found are a couple of years old and technology and models change so quickly, I'd like more recent info.

I'd be willing to drop $300 on the Bose models if need be, although I'm also looking at the well-rated (and much cheaper) Monoprice model. But before I spend a lot, I'd like to know if anyone has any relevant experience with someone in their household using noise-canceling headphones while you're working in your workshop.

[Mike Chalmers]

Not sure that would make her happy. Wearing headphones all the time could be a little annoying.

Whatever you do, good luck.

[Al Launier]

Hate to sound obviously stupid, but I use 33 dB foam ear plugs (purple 40 pk @ Walmart) ( http://www.walmart.com/ip/Flents-Quiet-Time-Comfort-Foam-Ear-Plugs-40-pr/34729649 ) to cancel out my wife's snoring - nothing could be louder than that! Might consider that first???
Don't know what frequencies you want address, so just a thought..
Or noise cancelling ear plugs by SportEAR (http://sportear.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAuremBRCbtr-1qJnKi-4BEiQAh0x08OaYb01Yq9my7pC5I1V_78_-5E3swRnzUkNDAzi3TQgaAmQj8P8HAQ). No experience with these, just a thought.

[Ken Frohnert]

Is the ceiling insulated between your shop and the first floor? Is there drywall? I find that insulation and drywall add to sound proofing - not that that would eliminate the higher pitched sounds. To me they seem to travel the most.

[Bruce Page]

I have both the Bose and Logitech NC headphones. For pure noise reduction these are FAR more effective: 3M Peltor X-Series Over-the-Head Earmuffs (http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Over--Earmuffs-X5A/dp/B00CPCHBCQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422824452&sr=8-2&keywords=3m+earmuff)

I use them with my CNC Router, I have not found anything better at reducing noise.

[Ray Newman]

I wear hearing aids and use a set of Peltor noise cancelling ear muffs when shooting. Very comfortable and effective and work off batteries in the muffs. In the shop I have a pair of non-noise cancelling ear muffs that work well.

One thing I learned about ear muffs is buy from a store that will accept returns. What feels good in the store may not feel as well after wearing them for a period of time. Also some ear muff materials are uncomfortable and caused the ear to sweat. Before I purchased the Peltor muffs, I tried and returned several brands as all were uncomfortable for one reason or another. If your spouse wears glasses, try the muffs on while wearing the glasses.

It might be an idea to contact an audiologist/hearing aids store or a company that specialize in industrial safety products for more advice and ideas.

As another posted, insulation would help.

[Tom Porter]

I appreciate all the input. The basement is unfinished. I may finish the shop off soon, at least partially and that should help somewhat.

As for the other comments, I can't ask her to wear out-and-out ear protection like I would in the shop itself (I mean, I might ask but I don't know if she'l go for that). Mike's point is well-taken; the reason I'm looking at noise-canceling headphones is that I suspect they would be more comfortable and she could listen to music when she felt like it. I'm looking for a compromise with her that would allow me to get a few hours to work on projects with minimal sacrifice on her part.

[Charles Lent]

Be careful when buying noise canceling headphones. Some limit the loudness by just switching off during the excessively loud sounds. What comes through is H___o Th_er_ instead of "Hello there" (just an example). These are mostly the lower priced versions. Then there are the really good ones, like the Bose which have sophisticated electronics in them that actually creates a negative version of the sound and when this is mixed with the incoming sound the result is nearly zero. These work very well and are designed to allow normal levels of speech through, but block most everything else. You can still hear some noise, but it will be very low when compared to not having them on.

A more expensive solution, but one that I chose because it also keeps the sawdust out of the house, is to build a detached shop. My last shop was in the basement and when we moved a very high priority on the list was to have a detached workshop.

Charley

[scott vroom]

Unfinished basement shop? What size ceiling joists? If nominal 2 x 10 you can put R30 batts between the joists....that'll go a long ways toward muting the sound. Drywall doesn't add much noise insulation but it would keep the dust out of the ceiling insulation. I'd try that first and see if it is sufficient to address your wife's concern.

[Robb White]

I'm going to be putting this in: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Roxul-Safe-n-Sound-3-in-x-15-1-4-in-x-47-in-Soundproofing-Stone-Wool-Insulation-12-Roll-RXSS31525/202531875

[ken masoumi]

Noise cancelling earphones are just a short term remedy ,she will not wear them after a while (IMHO),sound proofing the shop is by far the best solution .

[Gary Herrmann]

I have both the Bose and Logitech NC headphones. For pure noise reduction these are FAR more effective: 3M Peltor X-Series Over-the-Head Earmuffs (http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Over--Earmuffs-X5A/dp/B00CPCHBCQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1422824452&sr=8-2&keywords=3m+earmuff)

I use them with my CNC Router, I have not found anything better at reducing noise.

Agree with Bruce. I have one for my shop, and another in my range bag.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

High magnetic field MRIs (3T & above) produce an incredible amount of noise. One solution to minimize the noise be heard outside the scan room is not only insulating the walls, and ceilings but also using 2 layers of 5/8" sheet rock with staggered joints. It makes an incredible difference.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I don't know all those brands, but my Bose have been excellent for 10 years - and I can plug them into whatever - usually shop laptop - to listen to the radio or music or whatever.

I dunno if your wife wants to just shut out the world, or listen to something in the meantime?

[Bob Falk]

Unfinished basement shop? What size ceiling joists? If nominal 2 x 10 you can put R30 batts between the joists....that'll go a long ways toward muting the sound. Drywall doesn't add much noise insulation but it would keep the dust out of the ceiling insulation. I'd try that first and see if it is sufficient to address your wife's concern.

I understand that mineral wool batts work well for noise reduction.

http://reviews.homedepot.com/1999/202531875/roxul-safe-n-sound-3-in-x-15-1-4-in-x-47-in-soundproofing-stone-wool-insulation-12-roll-reviews/reviews.htm

[Judson Green]

High magnetic field MRIs (3T & above) produce an incredible amount of noise. One solution to minimize the noise be heard outside the scan room is not only insulating the walls, and ceilings but also using 2 layers of 5/8" sheet rock with staggered joints. It makes an incredible difference.

I've heard of folks puting a bead of silicone between the sheets of drywall, letting it cure before adding the 2nd sheet. Not sure exactly what it does.

Also look in to "mass loaded vinyl". Also google " green glue"

[Keith Outten]

I use the Bose noise canceling earbuds, they are by far more effective than the headsets and more comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The earbuds seal better then headsets, won't cause you to sweat and don't add any weight to your head. They will completely block out sound from a TV and any conversation but you can flip a switch to turn off the noise canceling feature at any time.

Obviously they work with your computer or portable MP3 players and your mobile phone but they are often used without music just to block out background noise. I never miss a phone call anymore when working in my shop.

Mine are used in the shop when I'm running my CNC Router, when I'm cutting grass on a 25 HP mower and they do an amazing job when I'm bush hogging on a diesel tractor. The Bose noise canceling earbuds are the best of the best IMO.
.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I use Bose QC-15 noise cancelling headphones.

With a cochlear implant on one ear which requires me to wear a hearing-aid like sound processor on it and a very large hearing aid on the other ear, ear buds aren't an option. The noise cancelling headphones work well!

How well? 3 years ago this coming March, right after I purchased them, my oldest son and I flew to Knoxville, TN. There a tour bus picked us up each morning at our Knoxville hotel and took us to Bristol, TN on Saturday and Sunday for the NASCAR races. We arrived into Knoxville very late Friday night and only a got 4 hours sleep before having to get up, eat breakfast and get picked up. Wearing those headphones at Thunder Valley on Saturday, I slept through 40 minutes of the race. :confused::o

I will proudly admit I managed to see the entire race on Sunday!:)

Being deaf and using either a CI or a HA, background noise is a problem. The nice thing about using the noise cancelling function of either headphones or ear buds particularly while flying, you get rid of the jet engine noise but can still hear the announcements. It's amazing how the 3 bones in the middle ear of a normally functioning human ear minimize those background noises so you can hear speech or music in a normally noisey environment like a restaurants, bars, or markets etc.

[Phil Barrett]

I gave my wife bose over the ear nc headphones (QC-15, iirc) and she uses them a lot. She says they are very comfortable and I know they do a fantastic job of NC. She uses them a lot. I have an older bose model and prefer them when using headphones to anything else. While I think bose speakers are overpriced and average, their headphone products are by far the best in the market.

I'd suggest getting something like that for her AND doing some sound proofing in the shop. Between the two, you'll probably be OK. I would not recommend just ear protection as that will likely not see a lot of use.

[Dale Murray]

I know I have written a few lengthy replies on this subject in the past year or so; I believe they were in the workshop thread. There are many options to help your cause but you first need to know how to sound is getting to her then you can treat your space.

Search in the workshop area for a post by me. I am not the most prolific poster here so it should not be difficult to find.