These home-made hifi headphones work as well or better than Sony or Bose noise-cancelling headphones.
Cost: $20
Time to make: one minute.
Difficulty: none.
As seen in my article in Make Magazine volume 5
Unlike the commercial products, these block outside noise instead of cancelling it.
Listen to music or books on tape without hearing traffic noise, screaming babies, etc.
I've been making these for more than a decade. People sometimes ask "isn't it dangerous not being able to hear?" No. Talking on a cellphone shuts off most of the brain whereas listening to headphones is no more dangerous than say, being deaf.
Lots of my friends use these units and no harm has come to anyone.
Now on Know How! Click on the steps above for more details.
When you're done with this episode, check out episodes two, three, four, five, six, and
seven!
Cost: $20
Time to make: one minute.
Difficulty: none.
As seen in my article in Make Magazine volume 5
Unlike the commercial products, these block outside noise instead of cancelling it.
Listen to music or books on tape without hearing traffic noise, screaming babies, etc.
I've been making these for more than a decade. People sometimes ask "isn't it dangerous not being able to hear?" No. Talking on a cellphone shuts off most of the brain whereas listening to headphones is no more dangerous than say, being deaf.
Lots of my friends use these units and no harm has come to anyone.
Now on Know How! Click on the steps above for more details.
When you're done with this episode, check out episodes two, three, four, five, six, and
seven!
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1) Industrial ear-protection earmuffs from McMaster-Carr, etc.
These are Peltor model H10A, my favorite.
2) Airline or walkman headphones of the one-wire-per-ear variety.
3) A cutting tool.
These are Peltor model H10A, my favorite.
2) Airline or walkman headphones of the one-wire-per-ear variety.
3) A cutting tool.
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First, if you block out a lot of ambient sound while, say, biking in traffic, yes, you do increase your risk of injury. It's fine to say it's just like being a deaf person, but people who are born deaf learn to pay attention to other cues, whereas people with some hearing learn to depend on hearing for peripheral alerts. (I also wouldn't recommend distracting yourself with a cell phone while in traffic.)
Second, if you use these in industrial or noisy recreational settings, don't crank the volume up too high! There's a reason you're required to wear the hearing protection, it's because loud sound will cost you your hearing. If you drill into muffs, you may change their attenuation enough to make them inadequate for the noise level you're in, and if you crank the music up too high, it becomes your noise source.
Keep in mind that while hearing protection isn't required until 90 dBA (time weighted average, so an 8 hour/ day exposure), decades of research have indicated that risk begins around 75-80 dBA, and the equivalent energy doubles every time you go up 3 dB. So if you spend your day working in noise just below OSHA's limit without hearing protection, and then come home and pound away with these, you will end up damaging your hearing. The hearing loss from noise is permanent, incurable, and comes with a bunch of other horrible symptoms like tinnitus (ringing), diplacusis (one ear hears tones differently than the other, which will make all your music sound like a heap o' suck), and hyperacusis (louder sounds make you cringe in pain, so no more concerts). Oh, and just for funsies? Too much loud sound also increases your risk of heart disease, ulcers, and colitis. Yay, don't those sound like a good time?
I'm not telling you not to enjoy your music, or even not to make these...if they get you protecting your ears while mowing the lawn, DJing, or using the miter saw, awesome. As long as you don't crank the volume too high, these should beat the heck out of nothing, and Peltor is a very solid brand. But I've spent quite a few years seeing the damage done by excessive noise, fitting hearing aids on some shockingly young people, and having to explain to them that we have no cure, the ringing doesn't go away, we can't fix the hearing, those hearing aids are the best we can do, and they're limited because the sound still goes through those damaged ears. By the time most people realize that yeah, loud sound really is destroying their hearing, they already have significant damage.
Oh, and to the guys who want these to sneak music into work: you might check on your state's worker's comp laws first. In some states, deliberate non-participation, failure to use required hearing protection, etc. can make you ineligible for compensation if/ when you develop hearing loss. The thinking seems to be that you're an adult, and if the employer has done their best, and you've sabotaged their efforts, well, kinda your own fault if you lose hearing. Which means you'll be popping the $3-8k for hearing aids every 3-4 years.
ON the plus, a lot of those hearing aids will play your music via Bluetooth.
Thank you TimAnderson!
I'll post the results. (and procedure if it differs)
The local Lowes sells Jackhammer earmuffs that also double as a musical apparatus with built in radio and headphone functions. (The brand is Worktunes)
However after testing them out with an ipod, I discovered that even with the music at max volume they only go up to a medium/low.
Noise cancelling headphones don't work with me, their noise cancelling functions just create more noise. I think this is because I haven't reached a certain age.
just check your local laws first.
Any ideas how to hide a MP3 player in there, and some sort of "fail-safe" in case anybody tries them on?
I was still able to hear people as long as it wasnt loud. My productivity went up about 15% because I was not bored listening to air all day. They say no music due to safety but its more of a power trip and to make your job suck. IMO of coarse.
You also make a good point. It's important to read, understand and follow the safety instructions that come with all equipment, unless you're modifying it for an article on instructables.
I used a 3 wire coiled guitar amp cord. Use a piece of 2 conductor shielded wire or some of the cord the earphones came with to bridge from one side to the other of the ear muffs (Suguru or Tywrap to keep secure to headband).
Drill tight fitting holes in carefully selected spots to admit wires. I put ear pieces under the foam inserts in the ear muffs. A bit of thin foam, bubble wrap or a few layers of paper towel under the ear bud to prevent "rattling", then the ear bud, then the ear muff foam insert. Solder new wire directly to ear piece speaker. If you can remove the speaker from whatever it is encased in, that saves space in the ear cup.
I made a 1/4" stereo connector to 1/8" stereo plug adapter. There are ready-made ones, but they are heavy and put a lot of stress on the 1/8" plug. By having a one or two inch piece of wire between the 1/8" plug and 1/4" connector, there is considerable relief of stresses to the 1/8" plug.
Gun (sporting goods) shops sell the best ear protectors (Remington). Better than the hardware store, industrial types.