The world is a nosy place, especially in my little corner over in Asia. On a daily basis I have to deal with construction noise outside, construction noise inside my building, people playing loud house music on the street outside at night, planes flying overhead and wild dogs barking.
I love where I live except for the noise. But it’s gotten so bad recently that I was planning on moving until I picked up a pair of 3M, Optime 105, Peltor, Over The Ear, Noise Cancelling Earmuffs. They’re the kind of ear muffs guys where on construction sites and are easily the best things I’ve bought this year, and at $17 you can’t go wrong.
Before that, I was relying on a $40 pair of noise cancelling ear buds and blasting music all day. I love listening to music, but it’s definitely not good for the ear drums to have it going all day. And if I want to really focus on my work, or get deep into a meditation, music isn’t the best option. You can pick up a pair of $300 Bose Noise Cancelling headphones, but you’re looking at spending a lot more money, and apparently you need to play music for the noise cancelling technology to work.
With the 3M headphones on, construction noises, kids screaming, dogs barking, planes flying overhead and even the hum of your air conditioner is blocked out. I just put them on and go into my own quiet little focus bubble. I’d say I’m at least 10% focused with them on, and my meditations are 20% better.
Every day I lie down and focus on feeling loving, happy thoughts, and feelings in my body, while gently releasing negative thoughts. With the headphones on it removes the sense of sound completely allowing me to focus and not be jolted by a jackhammer outside. I feel like I get part of the benefits of being in a floating sensory deprivation tank at a fraction of the cost.
They’re also great for drowning out the noise at a coffee shop, and especially on planes, where no matter how short the flight is, there is always a crying baby on the plane. And for travel they’re a must, especially in Asia, because it doesn’t matter how nice your hotel is, if they’re is constant construction noise and dogs barking outside, you’re not going to be able to have peace of mind.
I highly recommend you pick up a pair either in the Amazon link above, or you can probably find them at your local big box hardware store.
