Lawn Care Service worker reviews his AirPod Max usage during work for months of usage

[OnePieceIsReal]

I have used mine now for 3 weeks but he has tested his out in all weather landscaping through sweat and dirt

 

[waw74]

AirPods Max (and any ANC headphone) should not be considered proper hearing protection.

it's still possible for frequency ranges outside of what's being cancelled, or sudden noises that are too fast or too loud for ANC to correct to damage your hearing.

For the best hearing protection, you should use PNC (passive noise cancelling) headphones, they block sound without the use of electronics by isolating your ears from the outside sound waves. It's possible to get them with speakers built in, so you can listen to music or other audio while wearing them. But the headphones themselves block out all the sound, so even if the battery dies, they will still work.

 

[Treebark]

AirPods Max (and any ANC headphone) should not be considered proper hearing protection.

While I agree one needs to be careful about using undedicated hearing protection headphones as hearing protection, I do wonder if the AirPod maxes have enough passive noise cancellation to warrant use for general homeowner tasks such as leaf blowing, lawn mowing, and snow blowing since unless the noise is >95 db there is an hours time component at play. At least for an average homeowner, perhaps not a mansion owner or a lawn care professional.

I wish Apple would have had them tested to determine their passive rating. I have various hearing protection earmuffs and foam inserts ranging from 18-30 DB reduction or so in ratings and from my perception the APM cuts out a decent amount of noise without the ANC on. It’d be interesting to know what level that is. Although I certainly would not rely on them for something like shooting, noisy lab/work areas all day long, or louder protection than yard work.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I wish Apple would have had them tested to determine their passive rating.

I have a feeling Apple is specifically NOT releasing a rating, so that people won't rely on them as hearing protection.

I do use my AirPods Pro when I'm doing lawn work or woodworking, and they do a fine job of it. Caveat though, my lawn mower - leaf blower - etc. are all battery powered, so nowhere near as noisy as a gas engine already.

 

[Fozziebear40]

Use AirPods Pro (shorter stems) with Passive Ear Defenders over the top 👍

 

[msackey]

I have a feeling Apple is specifically NOT releasing a rating, so that people won't rely on them as hearing protection.

I do use my AirPods Pro when I'm doing lawn work or woodworking, and they do a fine job of it. Caveat though, my lawn mower - leaf blower - etc. are all battery powered, so nowhere near as noisy as a gas engine already.

I wear my AirPods Pro also when I do lawn work but not because I need the hearing protection. It's because I'm listening to podcasts. My lawn mower, leaf blower, and weed wacker are all electric corded, so they are relatively quiet.

I do find it quite interesting that whenever someone brings up the use of APP during garden work (like I did in another post), one of the first remarks is how APP because of ANC is not adequate hearing protection. Well, I'm not using them for hearing protection, but thank you for the notice 🙂

If I really needed hearing protection, I would first go with ear plugs which provides WAY better sound protection than consumer noise cancelling headphones. Next level would be adding ear muffs over ears that are already plugged with ear plugs.

 

[perezr10]

I wear my AirPods Pro also when I do lawn work but not because I need the hearing protection. It's because I'm listening to podcasts. My lawn mower, leaf blower, and weed wacker are all electric corded, so they are relatively quiet.

I do find it quite interesting that whenever someone brings up the use of APP during garden work (like I did in another post), one of the first remarks is how APP because of ANC is not adequate hearing protection. Well, I'm not using them for hearing protection, but thank you for the notice 🙂

If I really needed hearing protection, I would first go with ear plugs which provides WAY better sound protection than consumer noise cancelling headphones. Next level would be adding ear muffs over ears that are already plugged with ear plugs.

Me too. Being able to listen to podcasts or music while mowing the lawn is one of the blessings of the modern era.

 

[msackey]

Me too. Being able to listen to podcasts or music while mowing the lawn is one of the blessings of the modern era.

Ain't that the truth! For those of us who tend to see garden work as chores (like I do) being able to listen to podcast really helps when doing that kind of work. I think when I'm retired, gardening might be more experienced as fun. But in the mean time, I really much rather not spend my free time doing gardening.

 

[cthompson94]

Use AirPods Pro (shorter stems) with Passive Ear Defenders over the top 👍

This is what I do when I need to wear ear protection for extended time. If I just need a short time period of hearing protection I just use the small foam inserts, but longer tasks I get the big ones and Airpod Pros.

I hope that the lawn care worker maybe at least does the opposite and uses the foam inserts while wearing the Airpod Max(I didn't hear him mention that he does, he just stated that he has been to concerts so he knows what the ringing in the ears and such would be/sound like).

 

[andyw715]

I use a 3M hearing protection earmuffs that have bluetooth (Worktunes?). Anyway they work great and provide good protection.
Not only that they are made for working so getting dirty is ok