[baoluofu]

My AirPods Pros are the best headphones I have ever had. I use ANC as my default unless there is a reason not to.

Also, pro-parenting tip: ANC earbuds without even playing anything are effectively a "turn down the volume" button on your kids screaming!

[hagbard_c]

> pro-parenting tip

Uh-oh...

> ANC earbuds without even playing anything are effectively a "turn down the volume" button on your kids screaming!

That is more of a "non-parenting tip", really. The solution to screaming children is to tell them to tone it down a bit, no to isolate yourself from them. That way they not only learn something but also interact with you instead of considering you to be part of the furniture.

Source: my two daughters who can be quite noisy at times. Sometimes this is fine but they know to tone it down when they're in company of others.

[baoluofu]

I'm not suggesting using them to isolate oneself from them, just taking the edge off the noise while working to get them to tone it down as you say. It's not always as easy as just asking them as I'm sure you're aware.

[Eric_WVGG]

I’ve always written off ANC as “fine for others, not for me”; loud children don’t bother me, I’m not an audiophile, etc.

Then I remodeled my kitchen with a friend who had a new pair of AirPod Pros. While we were sawing countless plywood boards, I had foam in my ears, he listened to podcasts; while we were sanding for hours, he listened to music. Etc.

Now I see ANC earbuds less as a comfort thing than a tool: a flexible and pocketable solution to all kinds of things that come up (ambulances, jackhammers, overhead trains). Swiss Army knives for ears.

[mumblemumble]

I would be very careful about using ANC in such a noisy environment, though. It isn't necessarily eliminating the pressure waves that can cause hearing damage; depending some variables it may just be making them less perceptible to you. Which could then be making the noise more dangerous, since you're less able to judge whether it's at an acceptable level or not.

For a noisy work environment like that, I would strongly recommend you get real hearing protection with built-in headphones. I suggested Etymotic in-ear headphones elsewhere, but there are also ones that are based on over-the-ear hearing protection like is more commonly used on construction sites.

[dsizzle]

What variables are you referring to? It sounds like you are implying that ANC is just an illusion? Your eardrum/cilia/etc are either vibrating or not -- I'm not aware of any fundamental difference between that being due to cancelled waves or absorbed waves or "true silence." Could you elaborate?

[mumblemumble]

For example, here's an info sheet talking about active noise canceling headphones not being an acceptable option for occupational hearing protection.

https://ehs.umass.edu/sites/default/files/Noise-Cancelling%2...

The only generally accepted way in which they might protect your hearing is by reducing the urge to crank the volume on your music too high in an effort to drown out environmental noise.

[dsizzle]

That's just stating that commercial ANC headphones aren't designed as hearing protectors, which is true enough, but that doesn't mean they don't protect your hearing compared to nothing. Here's a paper analyzing ANC designed specifically for that purpose (and indeed it starts with the premise that it's possible) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1260/095745606776985...

[mumblemumble]

Sure, but, according to the abstract (it appears fulltext is not available?), that's a device developed specifically for the task. Which is not the case for AirPods.

The difference matters. AirPods and similar devices are engineered to reduce the loudness of the sound. But hearing damage is caused by intensity, which is not the same thing. One is about how the sound is perceived, and the other is about the amount of energy being carried by the sound waves. It is possible to reduce a noise's loudness without reducing its intensity.

[falcolas]

A good set of Etymotics would give you more overall noise reduction while letting you listen to music, without ANC.

I’m with the author on this, ANC is too fatiguing to my ears to use. Passive noise reduction is much better.

[ortusdux]

I have two pairs of Samsung buds, both without ANC, that allow me to angle grind or run a table saw while listening to podcasts without needing to turn up the volume. The passive nose cancelation of closed IEMs with a good fit should be on par with ear plugs.

My issue is that most of the loud noises I am trying to block out are non-repeating. ANC is great for rhythmic sounds, but terrible for everything else. A blacksmith friend of mine hates ANC.

My issue now is that the newer Samsung buds all are open, to allow for better ANC. This rules them out for my use case.

[johnyzee]

I had a pair of gun range earplugs when my kids were small. Putting them in was like taking a valium some days.

[qzx_pierri]

ANC without anything playing is also an excellent “isolation chamber” for meditation.