I tried my nice headphones again and I simply hate them.
They enclose my ear, which is uncomfortable and makes ambient noise sound underwater.
They push on my head.
They're too loud.
I'd like to be able to use the nicer headphones (for starters, they're bluetooth which would be convenient) but I just prefer to keep replacing my crappy ones that don't push on my head and don't make the noises around me sound weird.
@vicorva My kid Tater also hates wearing headphones, likely due to similarly unpleasant sensory experiences. He doesn't like in-ears either, and if he needs to listen to his phone privately he sets it to low volume and listens with the speaker at his ear, a trick I picked up from him when I can't be bothered with headphones. I squeed when I read an article about an autistic person doing the same thing! xD
@ljwrites oh I cannot *stand* in-ear headphones! They seem so useful but alas.
I'm glad I'm not alone! Autistic people are always going on about the wonders of their headphones, noise-cancelling or otherwise, and we don't see so much about those of us that get sensory issues from them!
I use speakers on my PC and phone at home (I put it on very low volume if Joh is around). I thankfully *can* wear headphones at my PC when I need them, but only these particular ones, and I still prefer not to!
@rowyn @vicorva My husband owns one, though it's a bit wobbly because part of its structure has been broken and I "fixed" it by splinting with a Q-tip and rubber bands xD I think audio quality is fair and nothing going in or over the ears is a big draw — I might use it more if it felt more stable on my head, which I suspect it wouldn't have even before the breakage. Finding one that's both stable and strong may be the real challenge with these products.
@ljwrites @rowyn @vicorva
You might try sports headphones. They have hooks over the ear like bone conducting ones, but they seem to be less finicky. And the good ones are VERY stable because they're designed to be worn while running and shit.
The speakers look like in-ear buds, but they can actually sit just outside the ear with the hooks to hold them in place.
Game changer when I discovered them a few years ago.
@JessMahler @ljwrites @vicorva yeah -- these are the ones I got. They're waterproof, so probably you could get cheaper ones that aren't waterproof. (I used them while swimming, though you have to use the built-in MP3 player for that, no streaming under water). Picture attached so you can see how they go on.
The band is rigid. The one disadvantage is that the back-of-the-neck band is uncomfortable if you lean your neck against something (like in a recliner.)
@JessMahler @vicorva @rowyn @ljwrites do you find they interfere with your glasses? I’ve been curious about bone conducting headphones but held off so far because they always look like the over ear bits would make my glasses fall off
@Satsuma @JessMahler @vicorva @ljwrites They work fine with my glasses! I don't even notice, tbh. My glasses frames are so slender and light that it's like they're not even there. The band for the headphone is thicker and much more noticeable, but the two together don't make much difference.