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Listening with background noise
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Jenn
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Aug 23, 2014 03:00PM
How do you do it? I can be sitting at my computer and listening from a website, but the noise my family makes moving around and talking makes focusing impossible. The car is even worse; I can't hear anything over the sound of the car/road. Do you guys normally use noise-cancelling headphones or something? I've only got regular ear buds, for the record.
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Listening at home without headphones equals disaster for me. If I listen at home its usually with headphones via my phone so I can move around. If I listen without headphones I'm usually home alone or at least the only in the room. At work I use headphones, well just one side so I can hear if someone comes to my desk for something. I'm pretty good at blocking out outside/background news around me when the book is good. I listen in the car no problem as well. The car and road noises take a back seat to my audio. None of my headphones are noise cancelling but if you have a problem blocking out noises around you then you probably need them for your at home listening. I don't suggest headphones for driving of course.
I tried listening to a book while on vacation and others were in the room... disaster. Question: do you have trouble hearing the words to songs in your car? If loud white noise such as road noise in a car makes it difficult for you to understand words, then listening in a car may not be possible for you unless the volume is high enough to block road noises--and then you have to be extra vigilent for road hazards, emergency vehicles, etc. Many people have what is called a secondary auditory processing deficit which means they have difficulty understanding words when there is noise in the background--air conditioning unit, Musak, restaurant chatter and clanking dishes, etc. If this is the case, noise-cancelling headphones will help in some situations, but as mentioned above, they can't be used everywhere.
Does the stereo system in your car have a USB or auxiliary outlet? If so, you can use a USB or auxiliary cable to run your audio through the speakers. Turn it up as loud as you need to. Like Natasha said, don't use headphones while driving.Noise cancelling earphones should do the trick at other times. Also, skip the earbuds, use in-ear earphones instead.
Sandi wrote: "Does the stereo system in your car have a USB or auxiliary outlet? If so, you can use a USB or auxiliary cable to run your audio through the speakers. Turn it up as loud as you need to. Like Nat..."Also, if you have an older car (mine is 12 years old), there are converters. I have a cassette tape converter through which I can play my devices over my car's speakers at the same volumes as I would the radio, etc. It works very well, and I use it pretty much whenever I drive. I think it was in the $10-15 range when I bought it a few years ago.
There's another FM device that you plug into the cigarette lighter. You set it to a free FM station (maybe 82.4). You plug it into your iPod, iPhone, or whatever device you have your books on. Turn your FM radio to the same station (82.4) and voila! I've forgotten what that device is called, but I used one for years before I bought my new car. Now I connect via Bluetooth or iPhone cable.
Janice wrote: "There's another FM device that you plug into the cigarette lighter. You set it to a free FM station (maybe 82.4). You plug it into your iPod, iPhone, or whatever device you have your books on. Tu..."That didn't work well at all for me. Almost every frequency is taken in LA and Orange county.
Sandi wrote: "Janice wrote: "There's another FM device that you plug into the cigarette lighter. You set it to a free FM station (maybe 82.4). You plug it into your iPod, iPhone, or whatever device you have you..."I live in a less populated area and still didn't have much luck with that one either.
I find that the FM devices are not your best choice, especially if you want to listen on car trips. Even around town- I would lose and pick up my own station multiple times. Even if my station was not being used- if there is a station close to the one I chose- the bleed over was still strong and would drown out whatever I was listening to.The cassette adapter is your best bet- unless you have an audio jack in your car.
I wonder what the difference was then. Maybe it's the strength of the frequency used in your areas. We have 5 radio stations in my small city, plus I go into the major cities quite frequently. I did have a bit more trouble finding a free channel in the big cities but not enough to make listening impossible. I had far more trouble with satellite radio picking up interference than I did with the FM device. Pass a big semi on the highway and be prepared for a blast to the ear drums. LOL! I guess the trick is finding what works best for you.
