this post was submitted on 18 Feb 2025
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Did the boomboxes-next-to-heads and the walkmans of the '80s and discmans of the '90s not count? I think a lot of game boy users also used headhpones.
I actually didn't use them that much at all, but I still have trouble hearing with background noise. Noise-cancelling headphones have actually been an amazing thing in my life because (a) it helps overstimulation and anxiety and (b) it actually helps me hear someone talking to me because it filters out the other stuff. I suspect my problems are a combination of mostly-neurological (ADHD and probably (though not officially) ASD) and maybe impacted by loud concerts and general aging-related stuff. I can still hear really high-pitched sounds and the like whereas many of my peers around my age and younger can't as well, but it's all mud to me when there's a lot of sound.
this isn't a hearing loss issue, the hypothesis is that noise-cancelling headphones specifically are causing our brains to not filter out random noises neurologically.
True. They also mention the person's rural upbringing and then moving to the city. That mirrors my experience and my hearing issues pre-date using noise canceling headphones. I always had a rough time anywhere there were lots of people and noise, but it just wasn't super common previously (I grew up in rural Ohio and have lived in some big US cities.followed by nearly a decade in Tokyo).
I have ADHD and sometimes can't focus to do more brain intensive work if I'm in a room with a bunch of people talking. Street/background noise doesn't bother me at all. I grew up suburb rural adjacent but I've worked in huge cities for long periods and it just doesn't bother me like six people having two conversations would.
The woman in the article is also just a single example. They mention that this condition is on the rise in general.