Noise cancelling headphones for silence, not music

Thank you B.

That's very helpful.

Debbie said:

Or are there any other ideas at a budget of below £50?

Just thought I'd mention that the latest edition of the NAS's member magazine notes an approximately £50 product that's just been added to its "Autism-approved list" by its panel (comprised of autistic people and their families).

Mixx Streamq C4 noise-cancelling headphones by Mixx Audio:

Full product details are on the manufacturer's website:

Mixx Audio

They're currently available at Amazon in black and at HMV in sand.

I have no idea how well they compare to others in terms of active noise cancellation (ANC), but at this price I wouldn't personally expect it to come close to many of the (much) more expensive options.     

Pru said:

Enjoy your evening. I hope it is restful.

Thank you.

You too

I hope you are able to visit one day.

I hope you are feeling ok after your trip today. I've been to London twice and both times were challenging, I had to rest for days after visiting there, the noise, people and size of London is anxiety inducing.

Lucky you, visiting the National Gallery. I haven't been to the National Gallery. I'm a lover of art and it's one of my life goals to visit it, one day I hope I will be able to brave it but so far I can't face it. Enjoy your evening. I hope it is restful.

Thank you everyone.

I could have done with these today for my travel to and from London and there and well, everything really.

It's a nice place to visit and a great place to leave.

I would recommend the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery if you can get everyone else to depart first.

I've got those exact ones, they're really good and have modes to pass through sound if you want as well as noise cancelling and "normal" modes.

They feel like they're far more expensive than they were too.

Great for being able to focus when there's a lot of background noise as it blocks most of it out, Only thing I find is that I can get a little paranoid in busy places as you can't hear things around you in the same way.

I want to second this. I have tried several different headphones from Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser. For the money, the Bose QC45's offer some of the best noise-cancelling performance. 

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I am finding them very helpful.

It is a pain isn't it. Last year I bought some expensive Sony noise cancelling headphones but they were more for music, it could be turned off but I could still hear people and traffic around me. I don't think there is a noise cancelling headphone that takes out the noise completely, not that I've found.

At the moment I'm using Bose quiet comfort 45's.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bose-QuietComfort%C2%AE-cancelling-headphones-microphone-Triple-Black/dp/B098FKXT8L

They are more than £50, sorry!, but so far they are the best ones I have tried. You still hear but the stuff around you sounds almost muted or distant, definitely the best pair I own. If you can stretch to that price they might be worth trying.

Oh and if you wait for the Black Friday deals they might be a lot cheaper.

So I can see you've written a budget of below £50 so feel free to ignore this. I use my airpods pro 2nd gen. You can wear them without music and they have two settings, one where you can hear the background noise and the other where you can't. However I will say I do have bilateral hearing loss so they may not work as well as they do for someone who has full hearing ability, but they have helped me so so much and if you have the money to spend on them or if you can save up you definitely should. 

I hope someone is able to help you.

Hey there, 

I've had an awful lot of experience with noise-cancelling headphones and can confirm that, in isolation, active noise-cancelling technology is relatively ineffective at blocking out voices. It isn't until you combine that technology with white noise or music, that the headphones achieve a better effect of 'blocking out' sound. 

Given your budget and desire for silence, I suspect your best bet would probably be industrial ear defenders as another user suggested. I've had experience using these in the past and whilst I haven't been able to achieve 'true' silence in a noisy environment, they can be very effective.

If you want to try and isolate yourself from sound as much as humanly possible with your budget, I imagine earplugs combined with ear defenders could be massively effective. However, given you would like a practical solution that can be used in public places I strongly suspect that such levels of isolation could prove potentially dangerous, especially if you are completely unable to hear your surroundings. I'm a massive lover of silence, but it's important to stay safe!

Either way, I hope you find a solution that works best for you! 

No problem  - the ones he has are only £5.99 on Amazon, and they are lighter in weight than some standard headphones too.

Lotus said:

My partner uses cheap industrial ear defenders - his are red, and you might be able to get them in yellow too. 

I hadn't thought of that.

Not manufactured to play music.

Thanks

My partner uses cheap industrial ear defenders - his are red, and you might be able to get them in yellow too. 

TheCatWoman said:

I asked about this some time ago and was told that all noise cancelling head phones allow speach to be heard, which is a bit useless if you don't want to hear others on public transport or your neighbours in the garden.

Thanks CW.

Yes, I agree.

It's mainly for buses and restaurants I want them.

Oh, and shops playing Xmas music.

I asked about this some time ago and was told that all noise cancelling head phones allow speach to be heard, which is a bit useless if you don't want to hear others on public transport or your neighbours in the garden.

Having done some searching online, I think my budget may be too low.

So, has anyone used or heard of the use of over the ear headphones that are effective to cut out noise without playing music (any budget)?

Ta.

ps. Is that the longest link in the world?