Sound Barrier causing headaches?

TheUnsane1

So my office is in the early stages of a reconfiguration project and this morning I came to work to find a new sound in the office. Speaking to some coworkers I was informed that they installed a Sound proofing array of speakers that are now broadcasting a dull low white noise. Now most people in the office are having no issue filtering it out and are working productively. I on the other hand hear a constant sound similar to an untuned radio or television that is causing me great difficulty concentrating on tasks as well as (I believe) giving me a rather lovely headache. I really don't know how I am going to be able to work with this for the duration of this project, the sound is very jarring for me.

It should be noted I am almost never able to ignore background noise in general and hear and retain all sorts of sound information in busy and loud settings such as malls sporting events and crowded restraunts. I often retain information from conversations of people all around me with out actively trying.

Also I would note that headphones are not permitted in my workplace after some people were not answering phones due to using them.

TL: DR= Active noise canceling for construction project in my office is making me want to kill myself what do I do?

Smasher

I'd explain all this to your boss and see if you can get an exception for the duration of the project, because noise canceling headphones sound like the perfect solution to this.

ApexMirage

I would go fucking ballistic - the noise would just drive me insane.

I agree with talking to your boss - I'm typing this out with a headache of my own, and can't even fathom being productive with both the headache and the white noise.
Depending on your job you may even be allowed to work from home, which would no doubt be fantastic. The aforementioned headphones sound like an option too =p

TheUnsane1

I will likely have to deal with it for a few more days before I can raise more concern, my supervisor sort of blew it off as an oh you'll get used to it "I don't even notice it anymore" situation... I own inner canal ear buds that I previously used here that made me infinitely more productive but when the phone issues came up the solution was rather than deal with the few people who were abusing them ban them out right. (and suggested desktop speakers for radio use... YAY for extra noise in the office.)

As for working from home that can't be done since I am at a support level that has me working as sort of the hub between my unit and supervision.

I honestly don't understand the need for them to be on constantly as there is no construction during work hours currently.

Sam

if you get sound canceling headphones but don't connect them to music output, you'll still be able to hear a phone ringing while static noise will be reduced.

TheUnsane1

Ok so day 2 of work with this going on: Earlier headache than day 1, difficulty concentrating on work activities.
Interestingly on friday my headache was completely gone 20 minutes after leaving the office.
Googling white noise did show some results that stated it can cause headaches and trouble focusing. I will have to speak with my supervisor again to see if any sollution can be found for this. Another concern I have is some of the office feels this may be a permanent change that is part of the project and will continue to be on after it is completed, which would likely force me to look for another job as working in an environment that gives me 6+ hr headaches daily seems like a bad idea to me.

rfalias

What project necessitates white noise?

DHS Odium

I disagree on noise-canceling headphones, they'll essentially do the same thing your office is now but attached to your head. I made a mistake buying expensive Sony headphones with noise canceling, and that dull noise kills me, especially when it's silent, it's tolerable for short periods of time when actually listening to audio, but it's a shame I can't get used to them.

If it's anything like my headphones, and like me, you can't adjust, there's got to be some kind of legal recourse, or worker's rights or something. I'd argue it makes an impossible work environment.

TheUnsane1

rfalias wrote: »

What project necessitates white noise?

It's to filter office noise while a reconfiguration takes place. SUPPOSEDLY it also is useful to cut down cross chatter you can hear from other people in the office but since I can still hear people upwards of 4 desks away from me on the phone with the white noise it isn't doing much of that.

Also the headphones I have are passive noise reducing due to them being deep fitting earbuds active noise reduction headphones are more like active headache creating headphones for me.

illig

You need to bring this up as a health and safety issue. It should be acted upon immediately then, and if not, you should escalate to higher management.

or show up to the office wearing shooting or jack hammer ear protectors. And don't take them off even if people are talking to you

lifeincognito

You talked to your boss already. So go to them again or get up with Human Resources about this and your inability to work under these conditions. I may even go so far as visiting a doctor/clinic about this because noise sensitivity could come up again and it would be useful to have a professional sign off on the fact that you have very sensitive hearing.

tsmvengy

TheUnsane1 wrote: »

Ok so day 2 of work with this going on: Earlier headache than day 1, difficulty concentrating on work activities.
Interestingly on friday my headache was completely gone 20 minutes after leaving the office.
Googling white noise did show some results that stated it can cause headaches and trouble focusing. I will have to speak with my supervisor again to see if any sollution can be found for this. Another concern I have is some of the office feels this may be a permanent change that is part of the project and will continue to be on after it is completed, which would likely force me to look for another job as working in an environment that gives me 6+ hr headaches daily seems like a bad idea to me.

If your supervisor is blowing you off, then you need to go straight to the HR person at your company.

This is impacting your ability to work and if your supervisor is treating it like a joke then the HR people need to know there is a real problem.

TheUnsane1

Update: I spoke to my supervisor and the white noise speakers are permanently installed and will not be leaving the office when construction is completed. I also mentioned that we will need to come up with some sort of sollution for 6+ hr headaches in the office that reduce my ability to focus on pretty much anything. I got a sort of blank look back so I mentioned I will likely seek a medical exam to try and verify this is an issue for me.

It likely wouldn't be so bad if I couldn't hear and isolate different speakers where the noise is slightly differing from the other. It's great to pick up all the normal office noise as well as 4-6 different white noise speakers at varied levels....

Sipex

Weird, the second anyone complains about health sounding related issues companies usually get all over that since it can easily lead to law suits and other issues.

You sound like you're taking the right course of action though.

Dalboz

White noise is a snake oil solution when it comes to dealing with construction. It only works if it's canceling direct noise at a specific frequency that's consistent, but with an irregular noise source such as construction activity, it's highly unreliable and only generates noise that's not canceling anything, thereby simply creating noise. They would be better off simply tossing some sound dampening blankets up or something. Somebody sold them a hi-tech solution that sounded good to someone who doesn't know anything about noise.

So it is quite possible that you have a sensitivity to it. I used to be a noise scientist along with studying air quality, and it's well documented that people have varying sensitivities, both physical and psychological, to different types of noise.

figmo

I just came across this and wanted to know the ultimate outcome. I am in the same situation -- a workplace with piped-in white noise. Like TheUnsane1, I get migraines from it. I spent $300 on a pair of Bose QC15 noise-cancelling headphones. They get rid of 95% of the noise (the best I've been able to get...sigh), so instead of migraines, I "merely" get extremely nauseous.

Like TheUnsane1, I've complained to building management and was told the white noise was a "feature." I tried explaining that a "feature" shouldn't give me migraines. They turned the speaker off directly above my cubicle, but the rest of the speakers in the building are still on, so there is no escape from the noise.

I looked into OSHA and noise, and alas, they're not terribly useful. :-(

mrt144

Do you work in Vault 92?