White Noise and Ear Fatigue

[neumannu47]

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.

[William Sommerwerck]

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.

[neumannu47[_2_]]

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.

[Sean Conolly]

"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

[Don Pearce[_3_]]

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

[Mr Soul]

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

[neumannu47[_2_]]

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.

[Don Pearce[_3_]]

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

[Steve King]

"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

[Bill Graham]

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?

[Scott Dorsey]

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."

[Adrian Tuddenham[_2_]]

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

[PStamler]

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

[hank alrich]

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/HankandShaidriAlrichwithDougHarman

[geoff]

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

[Scott Dorsey]

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."

[William Sommerwerck]

> 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.

[LAB]

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

[Bill Graham]

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.

[Arny Krueger]

"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.

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

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

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

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

[ChrisCoaster]

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

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

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

[alex]

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...

[Bill Graham]

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.....

[Randy Yates]

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/public/QNkxWAhFLghxeluiV24SFibFLNhDBCUwttJPsh1EKzKu80-1dB_CiEjNhiQUZ8yzAMedzLINahulw2vpYAbHYLX39hSE0d3--be6719HTtKWwgwxSd1m1aZp9koQ6-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

[Randy Yates]

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

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

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

[Steve King]

"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

[Bill Graham]

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....:^)