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Comment by johnchristopher | Hacker News Reader

I wonder what the ratio of programmers suffering from tinnitus is going to be in 10 or 15 years.

Being almost literaly forced to use headphones/earphones to perform one's job definitely says something about the working environnment.

I think/believe it's a given we - programmers, sysadmin, or computer guys* - should be given a noise-free environnment to work in.

Personnaly I can't focus on programming or any cognitive task (except my playing the guitar) while listening to music (even classicial, lounge, etc.).

* in fact, everyone who needs to think hard about problems should be. Heck... everyone working in an office should be entitled to a noise-free environnment when needed.

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I sometimes use clamshell headphones that are isolating enough that I can play quiet music or nothing at all, and they still make a big difference over not using them.

More often than not I have them on playing nothing, it both helps with the noise and sends the message that I don't want to be bothered.

i do this a lot too, specifically because it signals that I'm busy. I generally enforce the headphone rule, and even when not listening to something, the fact that it signals that I'm not to be disturbed is exceptionally useful.

I can't focus on my programming if it's noisy / there's people talking, but I don't feel right when it's dead silent either, :p. I like music while working. Also, having headphones on does not imply high volume / risk of hearing damage; using noise-cancelling (passive or active) headphones or earplugs, you can even lower the overall volume of noise you get daily; the din of a busy office room can be quite high in terms of decibels. And hearing damage is a factor of decibels * length of exposure.

>almost literaly forced

AKA not forced. I use earplugs instead of loud music to counter outside noise. I rarely need them, though.

AKA almost literaly forced because while there may not be any bullet points in the contract forcing one to use headphones you'll get fired if you don't get your job done. And to get your job done in a noisy environnment you need to stick something into your ears.

A tacit unwritten condition to get a job done is still a condition.

On a side-note I find earplugs don't really work on the long-term. Sound is drowned out but not enough (for me). Moreover, if one has develloped tinitus, earplugs will make bearing it worse over time.

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