Noise cancelling safety

[Andy_2341]

Hey everyone.
With the hearing health feature being added to APP2, I’ve been inspired to use them when mowing the grass. However, I don’t want to damage my hearing by playing music and that combining with what sound from the mower makes it past ANC. Is this a valid concern? For example, I listen to music at 56 db, and according to my apple watch the mower is 91 db, lowered to 68 db by noise cancelling. Is the noise in my ear a mix between 56 and 68?

 

[russell_314]

That’s an interesting question. My guess would be yes because you’re still getting the pass-through noise from the lawnmower and you have the music. I don’t think it’s combined, but rather they’re both going on at the same time. It’s kind of like having two people yelling at you at the same volume doesn’t double the volume. The noise is going to be 68 dB with 56 dB music playing.

If someone is an expert in this field, please correct me.



If you’re concerned about your hearing, there’s several approaches you can take. The first one I would look at is reduce the lawnmower noise. You could get a quieter gas powered mower. I haven’t used a mower in ages while, but 91 dB sounds like an awful lot. Also consider a battery powered mower if you have a smaller lawn. They are a lot better than they used to be.

If neither of those two options are available, consider over the ear hearing protection. You could wear these on top of your AirPods and still listen to music. I would caution you on this one though because at that point you’re going to be completely isolated from the outside sound. This can be dangerous when you’re operating machinery or even walking around. I’ve used hearing protection that had Bluetooth audio, and I was always careful about visually paying attention to my surroundings because I felt isolated from noticing possible danger.

 

[Andy_2341]

That’s an interesting question. My guess would be yes because you’re still getting the pass-through noise from the lawnmower and you have the music. I don’t think it’s combined, but rather they’re both going on at the same time. It’s kind of like having two people yelling at you at the same volume doesn’t double the volume. The noise is going to be 68 dB with 56 dB music playing.

If someone is an expert in this field, please correct me.



If you’re concerned about your hearing, there’s several approaches you can take. The first one I would look at is reduce the lawnmower noise. You could get a quieter gas powered mower. I haven’t used a mower in ages while, but 91 dB sounds like an awful lot. Also consider a battery powered mower if you have a smaller lawn. They are a lot better than they used to be.

If neither of those two options are available, consider over the ear hearing protection. You could wear these on top of your AirPods and still listen to music. I would caution you on this one though because at that point you’re going to be completely isolated from the outside sound. This can be dangerous when you’re operating machinery or even walking around. I’ve used hearing protection that had Bluetooth audio, and I was always careful about visually paying attention to my surroundings because I felt isolated from noticing possible danger.

I have to have the 32HP zero turn and its absurd noise due to the 5 or so acre area I am mowing, unfortunately. The problem with adding over the ear protection is it crams the airpods and makes them uncomfortable. I used to use over the ear radio muffs, but they were let through more noise than my airpods and I couldn't hardly hear the music (and for $89!).

If the noise isn't adding though, it shouldn't be a problem. 60-70ish decibel range is great in my opinion, considering that the old over the ear ones I used had me in the high 70s to mid 80s most likely.