Best Noise Cancelling Headphones
The world is a noisy place. Heck, sometimes I wish I had noise-cancelling headphones. But if your child has Autism, ADHD or anxiety disorder, being out in noise can be brutal. These various conditions can make it near impossible to process what someone is saying if there is a lot of background noise. And, sometimes just the sheer volume of noise or conflicting sounds can be sensory overload for people with autism.
So, it’s becoming more and more common to see kids and adults wearing sound-canceling headphones out in public. Which, at first, might seem like you’re making a public announcement, right?
Not necessarily.
Autism Headphones (for everyone!)
Celebrities wear noise-cancelling headphones all the time. Particularly athletes. They use them for the same reason autistic people need them–to block out noise and distractions so that they can focus. To avoid sensory overload.
It makes no sense to me that athletes can do this and be cool, yet some feel the need to bully our kids for it.
If someone has a problem with someone wearing headphones out in public, that’s their problem. Not yours.
Choosing Best Headphones for your ADHD Child
I would engage the wearer in the purchase as much as possible. They need to like the way they look and the way they feel on the head. I’m also a huge fan of reading customer reviews online. Go to the store if you can and try them out. Do you want just muffling of the sounds around them? Or are you going to connect them to a device so that they can hear preferred sounds or music?
Ask about the return policy, particularly if they are out of the package.
How do you know which ones are best? You’re just going to have to try and see what you like.
Sound Canceling Headphones for Sensory Overload
When doing your research, you want to know how many decibels of sound will be canceled. The average conversation is about 60 decibels, but sustained listening to 85 decibels or more can cause hearing loss and damage.
Noise Cancelling vs Noise Isolating
You also want to educate yourself (especially if you’re buying a pretty expensive pair) on noise-canceling vs. noise isolating. Noise isolating headphones block ambient noise with a seal against your ear, while noise canceling ones cancels the actual sound waves.
This is also what makes some headphones much more expensive than others. You’re paying for the blocking and for high quality sound/music to come out of the headphone. The headphones with just one feature will be far less money.
Saving Money on Headphones
These can be super expensive! But, I will say this. My husband has the good ones made by Microsoft to go with the Surface. And, they work much better than the pair I got at Five Below. You have to find the best you can at your price point.
I have not heard of anyone being successful at getting insurance to pay for noise-canceling headphones. However, I have had OTs give them to clients/patients and I’m sure they billed for them somehow. Sensory tends to be an OT kind of thing, so that is where I would start if you wish to pursue this. Ask your child’s OT.
And, some of the cheaper ones are only $20-$40 so it may not even be worth it to fight your insurance company.
Won’t earbuds work just as well?
They might. Try them. The technology has come a long way in the past decade. My son wears ear buds to play Xbox and do things on his phone and he can’t hear me when I talk to him. Or at least he does a very good job of pretending he can’t hear me.
But the nature of earbuds means that their very structure may not allow for enough sound blocking. Keep in mind that ear buds and ear plugs are very small and can be a choking hazard.
Reverse Hearing Aids
If your situation cannot be resolved with earbuds or headphones, contact an Audiologist. It won’t be cheap, but you can have ear plugs and things specially made and molded for your ears. Professional musicians and others get them all the time. They need to hear some specific sounds, like the sound of their voice or instrument, but do not want the long-term hearing damage that comes with being a live music performer.
Accommodation on the IEP?
It goes without saying, but only buy a pair that you’re willing to replace if they are lost or stolen. Or, consider a “good” pair of headphones for when your child is with you, and a cheap pair to take to school. Fact is, many of these sound-canceling headphones are a status symbol because all the athletes wear them. Our kids are already a target for bullying. Let’s not make them a target for theft too.
Yes, I have had many clients have noise canceling headphones as an accommodation on an IEP. It’s very common. Just ask for it as part of your Parent Concerns Letter.
Noise Canceling Headphones for Autism
These Banz headphones for babies are only $35 right now on Amazon. Noise reduction rate: 31 decibels, according to site.
These can be found at Fun and Function and come in lots of colors. According to their video, noise reduction rate is about 20 decibels.
I’ve included these Blue headphones next because I am so pleased with my Blue microphone for my podcast. All of their stuff is affordable and has a cool retro look to it.
Skull Candy: These cool headphones are shown above on Reese Witherspoon. They have a cool name, cool logo and their headphones come in a ton of cool colors. Perfect for school kids.
Sol Republic: Above, shown on Michael Phelps. They’re pretty affordable too.
These Master and Dynamic headphones come in affordable to very expensive models. The brown is good if you want them to blend in with hair and not be so noticeable.
Or maybe plain black and brown is not your thing. In that case, check out these from Bose.
Ok, now we’re getting fancy. Around here, all the middle school boys want Beats by Dre. First, these put out sound, not just cancel it. That doesn’t mean that you have to hook it up to something. Because this is what you’re getting for more money: Pure ANC is a form of noise cancellation that uses advanced algorithms to monitor the sounds around you and adjust the level of noise cancellation to best match your environment. Pure ANC also evaluates fit and adjusts for leakage caused by hair, glasses, the shape of your ear, and movement of your head as you go about the day.
The other cool thing about Beats is that you can get them so many places. Even Target and QVC carry them now.
Well, that’s 7! Your student will be thrilled with their new headphones, I’m sure. And hopefully it will help them manage their noisy situations better too. Good luck, and hear are some deals from merchants who sell noise canceling headphones for autism.
Bothered by that “L”? Me too! But it turns out that both canceled/cancelled and canceling/cancelling are both acceptable! Cancellation, however….that gets 2 Ls. Always.
- Peerless active noise cancelling tech: Professional ANC technology presents you a quiet and exceptional music world where the ambient noise is eliminated, in busy traffic, office, on the airplane, and more. Wear Mpow noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones to get concentration on, distraction out.
- Golden Ratio noise reduction Mic & Solid Quality : The talk microphone of this product is located in a fan-shaped area between the angle of 15-45° from the mouth, which can achieve the best radio effect and ensure a clear call. We adopt strict quality control to ensure product quality, with more than 100,000 headphone button tests and more than 5,000 stretch headband tests.
- USB-C Rapid charge & 45H lasting playtime: USB-C charging port is reversible for convenient use, you do not have to fiddle with it when you plug the cable. and it support rapid charge in 10min to get 2H refreshment. Enjoy wireless music streaming for up to 45 hours in Full charge or get involved in uninterrupted music joy in wired mode plugged with 3. 5mm Audio cable.
- Bluetooth 5.0 & Hi-Fi Stereo Sounds: Enjoy quick and stable connection with Bluetooth 5.0 chip. And you will hear full-balanced bass and hi-fi tunes with exceptional clarity delivered by 40mm powerful drivers of Mpow Active Noise Cancelling Headphones, attracting your full immersion in songs, movies, videos, Audio books, etc.
- Travel-friendly & Genuine protein ear pads ensure comfort: Fold & store in the carrying bag to take anywhere you go. Genuine protein earmuffs with softer and flexible tactile impression reduces frictions with your ears. 204G/7.2oz lightweight headphones minimizes clamping force and wearing burden to ensure comfort for long sessions.
- Active Noise Cancelling technology. Significant noise reduction for travel, work and anywhere in between. Advanced active noise reduction technology quells airplane cabin noise, city traffic or a busy office, makes you focus on what you want to hear,enjoy your music, movies and videos. The noise cancellation function can work well both in wire and wireless mode.
- Proprietary 45mm large-aperture drivers. Deep, accurate bass response. The Active Noise Cancelling around-ear headphones from COWIN give you crisp, powerful sound and quiet that helps you enjoy your music better. The goal that provide Customers with better sound quality, is our constant pursuit.
- High-quality built-in Microphone and NFC technology. COWIN E7 provides high-quality built-in microphone for hands-free calls, Which is convenient for you to free yourself from wires. NFC pairing aided by voice prompts, promises quick and stable connection with your Bluetooth enabled devices, Powerful Bluetooth Function.
- The professional protein earpad and 90° swiveling earcups. More durability and comfort, Enjoy high-quality, Long-listen comfort. Skin texture, lightweight comfortable around-ear fit you can wear all day long. Gentle Reminder: please take off the headphone every 2-3 hrs to get your ears relax, in order to get better hearing enjoyment, and keep the head comfortable.
- 30 hours playtime per charge at Bluetooth mode. A built-in 750mAh battery won't allow your headphones power off, you can enjoy your world without noise for 30 hours' long time. Don't need to worry the power shortage problem on the long travel. 18-month warranty and quick response & friendly customer service. Dedicated customer service team, provide you with quick response and friendly customer service, which will always serve for you and certainly satisfy you.
- Cancel out the world with smart noise cancellation
- Noise cancellation automatically senses your environment with Dual Noise Sensor Technology
- Long-lasting listening with up to 35 hours of battery and quick charging
- Smartphone compatibility for hands-free calls and use with your voice assistant
- Wireless Bluetooth streaming with NFC one-touch
- Peerless Active Noise Cancelling: Nothing comes between you and your music; Mpow H19 IPO ANC headphones can effectively reduce ambient low frequency noise by up to 90%, no matter airplane cabin noise, city traffic or hubbub in a busy office, you can focus on what you want to hear
- Bass You Can Feel: Powered by dual 40mm neodymium drivers and tuned by renowned sound engineers, Mpow H19 IPO is going to refresh your listening experience; Music is reproduced with a 15% larger frequency bandwidth for clear rich treble and 2× more bass response
- Unmatched Call Quality: Working from home today means taking calls through drum-playing neighbors, leaf blowers and loud cars; Engineered with cVc 8.0 tech, Mpow H19 IPO brings superior vocal enhancement and background-noise suppression, enjoy improved clarity during conference meetings or online courses
- Bluetooth 5.0 and Quick Charge: Bluetooth 5.0 means faster, more stable connection and lower power consumption; When you’re in a rush, simply charge for 10 minutes and get up to 2 hour of playtime; A single charge gives you up to 35 hours of listening (ANC off), the wired mode provides endless enjoyment
- Pressure-free Comfort: Mpow H19 IPO is designed with soft protein earcups with memory foam padding to fit snugly over your ears; 8.47 ounce lightweight design never add any bulks on your head, you’ll forget you are wearing a headset; Adjustable headband allows kids, teenager, adults find their best fit
- Incredible Sound Loved by 20 Million+ People
- Hi-Res Audio Certified: Custom oversized 40 mm dynamic drivers produce Hi-Res Audio—a certification only awarded to audio devices capable of producing exceptional sound. Life Q20 active noise canceling headphones reproduce your music with extended high frequencies that reach up to 40 kHz for extraordinary clarity and detail.
- Reduce Ambient Noises By Up to 90%: Our team of engineers conducted more than 100,000 tests in real-life scenarios to fine-tune Life Q20’s 4 built-in ANC microphones and digital active noise cancellation algorithm. As a result, the hybrid active noise cancellation can detect and cancel out a wider range of low and mid-frequency noises such as cars and airplane engines.
- 100% Stronger Bass: Our exclusive BassUp technology conducts real-time analysis of the low frequencies to instantly strengthen the bass output. Double press the play button when listening to bass-heavy genres like EDM and hip-hop for an amplified listening experience.
- 40-Hour Playtime*: Up to 40 hours of non-stop playtime in wireless active noise cancellation mode (at 60% volume) is extended to an enormous 60 hours in standard music mode. A single charge gives you enough juice to listen to over 600 songs or soundtrack multiple long haul flights. And when you’re in a rush, charge Life Q20 active noise canceling headphones for 5 minutes and get 4 hours of listening.
- Three levels of world-class noise cancellation for better listening experience in any environment
- Alexa-enabled for voice access to music, information, and more
- Noise-rejecting dual-microphone system for clear sound and voice pick-up
- Balanced Audio performance at any volume
- Hassle-free Bluetooth pairing, personalized settings, access to future updates, and more through the Bose connect app. USB cable: 12 inch
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