Ear protection

Royce Williams royce at techsolvency.com
Wed Sep 23 15:17:36 UTC 2015


On Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 1:34 AM, Nick Hilliard <nick at foobar.org> wrote:

> What are people using for ear protection for datacenters these days?

For me, it depends on the use case.

If I need to monitor for other sounds, or listen to music:

Bose QuietComfort 15 - discontinued, but still at Costco.com for $240.
Their closest current model is the 25:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1NEUKK, $300).  On one AAA battery (I use
rechargeables), they last ~30 hours of continuous active use. The
sound cancelling is excellent, and voice ranges come through well. The
ear cups are almost unnoticeable - I can wear them for 8 hours, with
glasses on, without discomfort. They come with a semi-rigid carrying
case, and detachable cords with controls for either Samsung or iPhone.
Always in my daily-carry bag.

If I need pure focus, but will need to take them on and off a lot:

The discontinued Howard Leight Thunder 29. (The current Howard Leight
equivalent appears to be the Thunder T3, NRR30.)  Full muff with
headband, passive, 29dB, no frills.  New old stock is still available.
I have three - one at home, one at the data center, and one at the
office. If you enjoy having your Cow Orkers tease you about the 747
you're about to guide in, these are great. :)  The ear cups are a
little more rigid -- wearing for 8 hours with glasses is noticeable,
but tolerable.

For reusable portability:

The Etymotics mentioned elsewhere in the thread.
http://www.amazon.com//dp/B0044DEESS.  Long-term durable; I've had
them for years, but only use them on the go.  If you're actively
having to talk to people in the data center, these are great, but if
you're going to work alone, I recommend more NRR just to keep the
average down over time.  Also good for mowing the lawn, so you can
hear if someone is yelling at you. I don't have any SilentEar
(silentear.com, NRR32), but they look promising, and I'll be trying
them.

Disposable / backup / utility plugs:

Flents "Quiet Please" - rolling foam, NRR29. Good for handing out to
friends at concerts, and good for hotel sleeping -- good NRR, and no
irritating external components.  They come in packs of 25 pairs.  And
according to my wife, they take the edge off of my snoring. :)

I'm not affiliated, but I've had good luck with earplugstore.com over
the years. Their site is informative, and very NRR-aware - they list
NRR in product title, and let you sort search results by NRR.

Royce



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