Hey all,
Once again I turn to you for help and advice. My girlfriend and I are living in a really cute, but really small one bedroom in Boston. She has just started at Northeastern Law School and is reading copious amounts.
The problem is that I like to watch TV in the living room, which is also her study and our dining room and lounge and foyer…you get the point. She can’t read when I’m watching TV and the bedroom is really not good for her to read in. I have a really nice surround sound system from Bose (Lifestyle 28) and I’m looking for earphones. Either for her to wear while I watch TV to cancel out the noise, or for me to wear that are wireless so that I can watch TV. Should I wear them or her?
Any thoughts my briliant dopers???
Thanks,
Graham
She should wear them as noise-canceling 'phones. If they can kill the noise of an Allison turboprop seven feet away, they can kill the noise of your Bose stereo. I’m not sure what decibel reduction they’ll achieve, but it’s pretty close to total; besides, if you’re wearing the headphones, she can still hear the car crashes and shootings!
“besides, if you’re wearing the headphones, she can still hear the car crashes and shootings!”
No, I was referring to the wireless headphones you can get so that I can listen to my TV from my couch.
Hmm…
Anything wrong with a 50/50 split? Or having her wear them for general reading, and having you wear them when she’s getting ready for something really major?
Or you can road test it both ways, then whoever hates the headphones least gallantly dons them.
Good luck to you both! 
Tell her she is just going to have to move out. 
[sub]Just kidding. You should wear them, if you can only afford one set. Obviously, yours would be different than hers. On this I’m dead serious.[/sub] 
Why do you have to pay extra to get wireless? You can get an extension cord for the headphones.
I just bought a pair of RCA Wireless headphones (39 bucks before tax) for my bedroom so that my “early to bed” wife can sleep while I still surf the channels. Works wonders.
I say get it.
I have a set of standard old Sony headphones for my stereo. After an hour or so they get kind of warm on my ears, kind of sweaty. Also I am somewhat prone to ear infections, and I believe the headphones made them even more likely. I would recommend wireless over a long extension. I did the long extension thing, the limitations are just kind of a hassle. There are also ear-plugs, like people wear in noisy work conditions. I always carry a set of them when I am traveling, they come in handy on a long flight, or a noisy hotel room. I always carry a cotton ball to rock concerts too, that works well for ear plugs.
Noise canceling technology is reactive. It only works on predictable repeating noise. Your T.v Is not predictable nor repeating. Thus you should be the one wearing the head phones.
Or she could get some ear plugs. 20 db of noise isolation does wonders.
Exactly the point i was going to make, and the reason why chaparralv8’s comparison with the airplane engine is not really relevant to this situation.
Since you’re looking for advice more than hard facts, I’ll move this thread to the IMHO forum.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
She could double up the ear protection – earplugs and can-style earmuffs – and you should wear a set for the TV. She’ll still be able to hear an astonishing range of sounds just by feeling the vibrations, and you should probably sit near the telephone so one of you will hear it if it rings. The double layer of silence should provide her plenty of solace.
Tell her to study in the library with the rest of the law students!