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#1
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of
disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. |
#2
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Continuous sound raises your hearing threshold. The threshold will gradually
fall back when it's quiet. * For this reason, when I reviewed audio equipment, I usually listened early in the morning, and stopped after about an hour. I would sometimes rest with my ears plugged, then listen for another half-hour. Actual damage occurs -- as far as I know -- only at high levels. So I doubt white noise would harm your hearing. Of course, you should go to your manager and complain. * There's also a short-term effect. You can hear it when you abruptly lower the volume. |
#3
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On 4/28/2011 9:42 AM, William Sommerwerck wrote:
Continuous sound raises your hearing threshold. The threshold will gradually fall back when it's quiet. * For this reason, when I reviewed audio equipment, I usually listened early in the morning, and stopped after about an hour. I would sometimes rest with my ears plugged, then listen for another half-hour. Actual damage occurs -- as far as I know -- only at high levels. So I doubt white noise would harm your hearing. That's good to know. Of course, you should go to your manager and complain. Or I could **** in the ocean and try to cause a flood. Seriously, it never ceases to amaze me how UNaware people are about audio things. They are oblivious to the external world. * There's also a short-term effect. You can hear it when you abruptly lower the volume. Yes, the short-term effect is what prompted me to make this post. When I take the ear buds out, the effect is abundantly clear. It really sucks that my hearing is challenged from age and abuse yet I can hear this idiot loud and clear. Thanks for your response. |
#4
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
"neumannu47" wrote in message
... So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. We have a couple of peoplr in our office who use noise cancelling headphones with a little music, and they seem to be pretty happy withg the results. Sean |
#5
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:14:06 -0400, neumannu47
wrote: So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. There is no reason for you to have to resort to noise masking. d |
#6
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On Apr 28, 9:14*am, neumannu47 wrote:
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. I used to work at a place where they had a "white" noise speaker in each office room. I didn't even realize what it was at first - I thought it was a little fan or something. It sounded like wind or something. It wasn't very loud but most of us found this annoying. If you've already spoken to the guy, then I would recommend going to your manager as well (if that is an option and is politically safe to do). Mike C |
#7
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On 4/28/2011 10:12 AM, Don Pearce wrote:
Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. There is no reason for you to have to resort to noise masking. As I posted, going to management is not an option. I approached one to get her read on the situation. She thinks it's silly that such small things irritate me. Chuckle, chuckle. Of course, she doesn't have to hear it. A dripping water faucet is not a loud, obtrusive noise, but it can drive people crazy. |
#8
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400, neumannu47
wrote: On 4/28/2011 10:12 AM, Don Pearce wrote: Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. There is no reason for you to have to resort to noise masking. As I posted, going to management is not an option. I approached one to get her read on the situation. She thinks it's silly that such small things irritate me. Chuckle, chuckle. Of course, she doesn't have to hear it. A dripping water faucet is not a loud, obtrusive noise, but it can drive people crazy. Record the noise. Sneak a mic into his booth as close as you can get it, then do a little processing to emphasize it. Play it to your boss at a decent volume - make a loop so it doesn't stop. Tell her that if she can stand it for eight hours non-stop you will withdraw your complaint. d |
#9
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
"neumannu47" wrote in message
... On 4/28/2011 10:12 AM, Don Pearce wrote: Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. There is no reason for you to have to resort to noise masking. As I posted, going to management is not an option. I approached one to get her read on the situation. She thinks it's silly that such small things irritate me. Chuckle, chuckle. Of course, she doesn't have to hear it. A dripping water faucet is not a loud, obtrusive noise, but it can drive people crazy. I believe that people have very different sensitivities to extraneous sound. I work (writing, phone calls, etc.) without music, radio, or TV in the background. I find that distracting. My wife, on the other hand, has to have a radio on or TV sound, when she works. For her the sound is there but she 'tunes it out'. This difference may be at the root of your boss's lack of concern. I think it is up to you to find a solution. A move to a different cubicle? To a different job? Steve King |
#10
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
neumannu47 wrote:
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. Can't hurt you.... Consider the noise the teenagers listen to all day. If that stuff doesn't hurt them, then how could white noise hurt you? |
#11
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
In article ,
Don Pearce wrote: On Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:14:06 -0400, neumannu47 wrote: So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. What's the chance the annoying person IS the line manager? --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#12
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
neumannu47 wrote:
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. Take up whistling obscure tunes - loudly. A few hours of Edwardian musical comedy hits has worked wonders for me in the past. -- ~ Adrian Tuddenham ~ (Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply) www.poppyrecords.co.uk |
#13
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On Apr 28, 1:01*pm, (Adrian
Tuddenham) wrote: Take up whistling obscure tunes - loudly. A few hours of Edwardian musical comedy hits has worked wonders for me in the past. If you can hear the guy that well, there's obviously air circulation between your cubicles. I think if you spend a week or so eating baked beans, onions and broccoli, he will apply for a relocation on his own. Peace, Paul |
#14
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Don Pearce wrote:
On Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400, neumannu47 wrote: On 4/28/2011 10:12 AM, Don Pearce wrote: Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. There is no reason for you to have to resort to noise masking. As I posted, going to management is not an option. I approached one to get her read on the situation. She thinks it's silly that such small things irritate me. Chuckle, chuckle. Of course, she doesn't have to hear it. A dripping water faucet is not a loud, obtrusive noise, but it can drive people crazy. Record the noise. Sneak a mic into his booth as close as you can get it, then do a little processing to emphasize it. Play it to your boss at a decent volume - make a loop so it doesn't stop. Tell her that if she can stand it for eight hours non-stop you will withdraw your complaint. d +1 -- shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpqXcV9DYAc http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShai...withDougHarman |
#15
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Scott Dorsey wrote:
What's the chance the annoying person IS the line manager? --scott Or the chance that the OP has some traits annoying to others, that they themselves are unaware of ? Of course I have none, but my workmate must be borderline bipolar or schizo, and makes annoying little chirping noises (and such like) a lot of the time. I fear the only cure is a bullet, or for somebody to get a different job.... geoff |
#16
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
PStamler wrote:
On Apr 28, 1:01=A0pm, (Adrian Tuddenham) wrote: Take up whistling obscure tunes - loudly. A few hours of Edwardian musical comedy hits has worked wonders for me in the past. If you can hear the guy that well, there's obviously air circulation between your cubicles. I think if you spend a week or so eating baked beans, onions and broccoli, he will apply for a relocation on his own. My mother sings the Beatles song "She Loves You" except all that she can remember is "She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah Yeah" which she repeats until everyone in the room wants to throttle her. This also may be a worthwhile strategy. --scott -- "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis." |
#17
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
My mother sings the Beatles song "She Loves You" except
all that she can remember is "She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah Yeah" which she repeats until everyone in the room wants to throttle her. This also may be a worthwhile strategy. An even better choice would be "I Love You Truly" or "Oh, Promise Me". Any kind of sentimental drivel should work. |
#18
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Our manager is like rubber...
When a colleague of mine disturbs me I turn on the radio and listen to the Holy Rosary. He's like a devil... He's allergic to it. Some time ago he decided to speak no more to me, then he just lowers the volume so that I'll lower mine. -- Gianluca |
#19
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Scott Dorsey wrote:
PStamler wrote: On Apr 28, 1:01=A0pm, (Adrian Tuddenham) wrote: Take up whistling obscure tunes - loudly. A few hours of Edwardian musical comedy hits has worked wonders for me in the past. If you can hear the guy that well, there's obviously air circulation between your cubicles. I think if you spend a week or so eating baked beans, onions and broccoli, he will apply for a relocation on his own. My mother sings the Beatles song "She Loves You" except all that she can remember is "She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah Yeah" which she repeats until everyone in the room wants to throttle her. This also may be a worthwhile strategy. --scott Buy her a portable CD player, a set of earphones, and a couple of Beatles CD's. She will carry it around and listen to a lot of good tuneful Beatles tunes and you will have peace and quiet again. |
#20
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
"Bill Graham" wrote in message
Scott Dorsey wrote: PStamler wrote: On Apr 28, 1:01=A0pm, (Adrian Tuddenham) wrote: Take up whistling obscure tunes - loudly. A few hours of Edwardian musical comedy hits has worked wonders for me in the past. If you can hear the guy that well, there's obviously air circulation between your cubicles. I think if you spend a week or so eating baked beans, onions and broccoli, he will apply for a relocation on his own. My mother sings the Beatles song "She Loves You" except all that she can remember is "She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah Yeah" which she repeats until everyone in the room wants to throttle her. This also may be a worthwhile strategy. --scott Buy her a portable CD player, a set of earphones, and a couple of Beatles CD's. She will carry it around and listen to a lot of good tuneful Beatles tunes and you will have peace and quiet again. Forget the CD player and get her a Sansa Clip. Runs far longer on its built in rechargable battery, far more durable, and far more flexible musical content choices. |
#21
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
neumannu47 wrote:
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. Or perhaps they will help you learn to handle the tinnitus better, it is just a noise and it is generally a low or zero crest factor noise, something that it is easy not to get distracted from. I find ear plugs to be a great relief in public means of transport because I get less distracted by freak noises. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. I would't want to do it. My survival strategy in an office-scape is to come in early, fortunately I can flex my time with a large degree of freedom. Kind regards Peter Larsen |
#22
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Don Pearce wrote:
On Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:30:00 -0400, neumannu47 wrote: On 4/28/2011 10:12 AM, Don Pearce wrote: Tell your line manager that you find the situation unacceptable. He will have to talk to the guy in question. Give them two weeks to sort it out, then if it hasn't, demand that the noise maker be moved. There is no reason for you to have to resort to noise masking. As I posted, going to management is not an option. I approached one to get her read on the situation. She thinks it's silly that such small things irritate me. Chuckle, chuckle. Of course, she doesn't have to hear it. A dripping water faucet is not a loud, obtrusive noise, but it can drive people crazy. Record the noise. Sneak a mic into his booth as close as you can get it, then do a little processing to emphasize it. Play it to your boss at a decent volume - make a loop so it doesn't stop. Tell her that if she can stand it for eight hours non-stop you will withdraw your complaint. Not gonna work with a "she chuckle chuckle" type. They learn teflon at management courses nowadays, my boss boss who never really was bright at being a work leader got worse from the teflon training, "what is the worst that can happen" instead of "what is the best you can do for all involved". For the "she chuckle chuckle" type the worst that can happen is having to train a new employee, which is to say that I think the OP is right, management doesn't care. d Kind regards Peter Larsen |
#23
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On Apr 28, 9:14*am, neumannu47 wrote:
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. ___________________ Does your office have white noise? Mine does and it sounds like there's a faucet constantly running somewhere. LOL! -CC |
#24
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
ChrisCoaster wrote:
On Apr 28, 9:14 am, neumannu47 wrote: So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. Does your office have white noise? Mine does and it sounds like there's a faucet constantly running somewhere. LOL! The issue of white noise in headphones with a possibly peaky treble is different from the issue of white noise in a distributed loudspeaker system some distance away. -CC Kind regards Peter Larsen |
#25
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Il 28/04/2011 19.30, Bill Graham ha scritto:
Can't hurt you.... Consider the noise the teenagers listen to all day. If that stuff doesn't hurt them, then how could white noise hurt you? that "noise" actually HURTS teenagers a lot... But they not discovered it yet... |
#26
Posted to rec.audio.pro
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Peter Larsen wrote:
neumannu47 wrote: So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. Or perhaps they will help you learn to handle the tinnitus better, it is just a noise and it is generally a low or zero crest factor noise, something that it is easy not to get distracted from. I find ear plugs to be a great relief in public means of transport because I get less distracted by freak noises. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. I would't want to do it. My survival strategy in an office-scape is to come in early, fortunately I can flex my time with a large degree of freedom. Kind regards Peter Larsen Why must you listen to, "white noise"? Why not get one of these little Samsung MP3 players and listen to real music? You can buy an 8 Gig model for around 50 bucks..... |
#27
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On 04/28/2011 09:14 AM, neumannu47 wrote:
So there's a guy in a cubicle next to mine who is making a variety of disgusting personal noises throughout the day. Those noises make it very difficult for me to concentrate and do any productive work. Talking to him is a waste of time. He's oblivious to how disgusting he is. Ear plugs are not comfortable to wear all day because they allow me to hear and focus on my tinnitus. The only legal solution that seems to be of any value at this point is listening to white noise through ear buds. (Closed in headphones are not an option.) My question is whether listening to a constant stream of white noise albeit at a low level is going to severely fatigue my ears and further screw up my hearing. What exactly do you mean by "ear buds?" Are you referring to the typical ipod style devices, or something more like this: http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pub...d1m1aZp9koQ6-s ? If you are not referring to the former, then I highly recommend the latter for their superior isolation from external sounds. I am successfully using these at work, along with a good classical station feeding them, for fairly loud noise with excellent results. Even without any input signal, they may be adequate due to their high isolation. -- Randy Yates % "So now it's getting late, Digital Signal Labs % and those who hesitate % got no one..." http://www.digitalsignallabs.com % 'Waterfall', *Face The Music*, ELO |
#28
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
On 04/30/2011 09:35 PM, Randy Yates wrote:
[...] If you are not referring to the former, then I highly recommend the latter ... Doh! Correction: "I highly recommend the latter..." -- Randy Yates % "So now it's getting late, Digital Signal Labs % and those who hesitate % got no one..." http://www.digitalsignallabs.com % 'Waterfall', *Face The Music*, ELO |
#29
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Bill Graham wrote:
Why must you listen to, "white noise"? Why not get one of these little Samsung MP3 players and listen to real music? You can buy an 8 Gig model for around 50 bucks..... Yeah, but some people listen too much to music if it is available, the OP may be one of them. Kind regards Peter Larsen |
#30
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
"Peter Larsen" wrote in message
k... Bill Graham wrote: Why must you listen to, "white noise"? Why not get one of these little Samsung MP3 players and listen to real music? You can buy an 8 Gig model for around 50 bucks..... Yeah, but some people listen too much to music if it is available, the OP may be one of them. Kind regards Peter Larsen That's my problem. Music as background noise doesn't work for me. Steve King |
#31
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White Noise and Ear Fatigue
Peter Larsen wrote:
Bill Graham wrote: Why must you listen to, "white noise"? Why not get one of these little Samsung MP3 players and listen to real music? You can buy an 8 Gig model for around 50 bucks..... Yeah, but some people listen too much to music if it is available, the OP may be one of them. Kind regards Peter Larsen Yeah... Maybe he should buy one for that guy in the next cubicle....:^) |
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