@autistics @actuallyadhd

[shinybat@zeroes.ca]

@qurlyjoe @dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd Fellow British bat-eared autistic reporting - there *are* Costcos in the UK (including a few outer London locations) although IDK how much product overlap there is with North America! Which is annoying given their membership model...

[qurlyjoe@mstdn.social]

@shinybat
I’m curious about whether they’ll have hearing aids there. Until a year or so ago they were only available by prescription here, now you can get them OTC which is what Costco does. They were rated 2nd best of all sources here, with our Veterans Administration being first. No idea how that compares to UK.

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd

[dinobelbo@mastodon.online]

@funbreaker @autistics @actuallyadhd

I'm going to do that very soon (I have a pair now) and report back!

[dinobelbo@mastodon.online]

@Microplastics101 @autistics @actuallyadhd

That's exactly what happens to me. Last night I almost ended up fighting with my partner: "Speak louder FFS" "I can't with my plugs on, this is as loud as I can get!"
Then I gave up, took the earplugs off for the next hour, enjoyed *some* conversation and eventually came home that I was very nervous.

[starkrg@myside-yourside.net]

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd I don't think that's possible. Its not actually amplifying your own voic,e which is being conducted through your bones and you're hearing that all the time, it's just blocking everything else out so it *seems* louder. You could try active noise cancelling headphones with a voice passthrough function. In theory, that will block the noise, but let human voice frequencies though, I'm not sure how well they work in practice, though.

[microplastics101@mstdn.social]

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd must be a small noise meter that can give a visual of how loud you are in a given environment. if not its a great business idea

[dinobelbo@mastodon.online]

@Microplastics101 @autistics @actuallyadhd

Eh, I'm under the impression that (neurotypical) people in this country actually like to be drowned in noise. They have a weird approach to socialisation.

[niamhgarvey@mastodon.ie]

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd some people like Flares ear plugs but I dis not find they cancelled noise enough.

[null_hypothesis@mas.to]

@niamhgarvey @dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd
I carry flare audio plugs for loud noisy environments. They don't mitigate volume, but somehow help with cross-talk and background noise. e.g., at a convention it _felt_ easier to converse with my friend.

[petherfile@beige.party]

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd
Yes. Musicians ear plugs.

Surprisingly, the trick is to have them very deep. This means they need to be custom made. You need to go to an audiologist and have them made from a mold of your ear that the audiologist can make.

They are not cheap!

Made for singers and the like. Had some many years ago. They stop fitting after a number of years as your ear changes shape.

[barefootrambling@autistics.life]

@null_hypothesis @niamhgarvey @dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd

The Flare Calmer's don't block noise, they filter it so conversation stands out from the background din.

By definition, if it blocks outside noise, it's going to amplify your own voice back to you. I don't know the science at all, just speaking from experience with many, MANY types of ear plugs over the years.

[null_hypothesis@mas.to]

@barefootrambling @niamhgarvey @dinobelbo @autistics
Seems like sound blockers let you sense what goes in our heads. Our brain likely negotiates the sensory input of both “bone" conduction with the regular world. Earplugs put us in a novel situation, so the ‘head echo’ is noticeable. I think that is how the electric (BT) headphones do the noise cancellation, by listening and using the input to block extra noise.

(Bone conduction is likely a simplistic euphemism for a lot of stuff.)

[dinobelbo@mastodon.online]

@null_hypothesis @barefootrambling @niamhgarvey @autistics

Yes, the negotiation is very noticeable with the earplugs on, in fact it makes it hard speaking in turns because my own voice will drown everything else and I can't tell if someone is speaking at the same time as me.

[sevendeadlyexes@kind.social]

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd i have the flare audio ones with a -10db insert thing - they are better than regular earplugs - not that much quieter overall but filter harsh noise like traffic and crowds quite well
Doesn't entirely fix the your own voice seeming louder issue, but i think its less so that other ones ive tried

[graymattergrcltd@infosec.exchange]

@dinobelbo @autistics @actuallyadhd Loop has some that I use for playing my bagpipes, called “Experience”. I think they are marketed for concerts and so on. I can hear enough to get by in a close conversation and they quiet the standing waves and out-of-tune harmonics so I don’t lose my mind when I’m playing pipes with others.