With lawnmowers being extremely noisy (producing over 80db), one of the ways to protect your ears from excessive noise is to wear headphones.

Are you wondering whether it’s safe to wear headphones while mowing?

You should know that it’s completely safe to wear headphones while mowing.

What to consider when buying headphones

To protect your ears from the lawnmower noise, you have to wear the right headphones. This calls for you to look out for a number of factors when making the purchase. Which are these factors? Here they are:

 

Features	Purpose
Comfort	To wear the headphones for long
Snug Fit	So they don’t feel too heavy
Noise Cancellation	To provide maximum noise protection
Cost	To have a clear budget
Wireless	For easy portability

 

Comfort

For your lawn mowing headphones to be comfortable, you need to ensure they have a number of features such as:

Comfortable ear cups: There is no standard for how big or small the earcups should be, but you should avoid cups that are too short as they don’t reach down far enough to press your ears against your head.

This leads to soreness, and the situation is worse if you wear glasses, as the hard stem will cause more damage.

Over-ear cups with insufficient vertical reach also leave a gap around your earlobes, between your skin and cushioning, which means you don’t get the ear protection you are looking for.

For comfort, the ear cups should center over your ears without being fully extended. They also should have a complete, comfortable seal around your ears.

Comfortable clamping force: The clamping force determines how snug the headphones fit against your face. It’s hard to tell the force by simply looking at the headphones—you have to try them on.

Regardless of how thick the cushions are, if the clamping force is too high, your head will feel like it has been placed in a vice, and you don’t want this, do you?

As much as you should avoid headphones with a tight clamping force, you also should avoid those with a force that is too light, as the headphones will keep slipping off even with the slightest nod or turn of the head.

To be comfortable, your headphones should deliver an even amount of clamping force throughout all the contact areas made by the ear pads.

Ear cup rotation: Ear cup rotation goes hand in hand with the clamping force to provide even pressure and conform to the face’s natural contours.

You want headphones with ear cups that provide some freedom of movement. This way, the clamping force won’t focus on specific skin areas, leading to fatigue, discomfort, and even soreness.

Cushioning and headbands: You want your headphones to be made from a quality, thick cushioning. When it comes to the cushioning material, go with those made from memory foam as it brings supple soft springiness, breathability, and comfort.

Ear cup shape:  Ear cups come in three shapes: oval, circle, and D.  Circular cups are the most compatible with the ears, so for comfort, you need to ensure that your headphones have circular cups.

Snug fit

Your headphones should have a tight fit and snug. They also should stay in place despite excessive movement.

To get a snug fit, you have to wear the headphones properly. How you wear the units depends on the type of headphones you have.

If you have over-the-ear headphones, first look at the ear cups to see the ear marked “L” and the one marked “R.”

You should place the headphones on your head with the left ear cup covering the left ear and the right ear cup covering the right ear. The headband should be directly on top of your head in the center.

If you have worn the headphones properly, the ears should fit snugly inside the ear cup. Your ears shouldn’t be rubbing up against either the outer cushion of the ear cup or the interior hardware.

If your ears aren’t sitting directly in the center of the ear cups, you may have to extend or retract the earcups.

If you have on-ear headphones, follow the same procedure as when wearing over-the-ear headphones, but now you don’t need to ensure that the ear cup clamps around the ear perfectly—you only need to ensure that the ear cup rests right on the center of the ear.

Are you wearing in-ear headphones? Your sole objective would be to ensure the headphones don’t fall out of your ears. When putting in the headphones, ensure that you use the right size tips.

Once you have the right ear tip, don’t hastily stick the headphones into your ears.

Instead, gently pull your ear’s outer rim, then insert the tip into your ear canal. You should then pull down on your ear lobe with the opposite hand and push the tip even further into your ear until you feel it seal in place.

Noise cancellation

It’s good you buy headphones with a noise cancellation feature that reduces the noise from the lawn mower.

As you buy noise-canceling headphones, note that the noise-canceling feature eats the batteries, meaning that you might not get as lengthy listening times as you would want.

The headphones will also be a little larger to accommodate the batteries required by the circuitry.

When making the purchase, buy pieces with the “Hear-Thru” feature that allows you to adjust the noise-canceling to a level you are comfortable with.

Cost

Headphones come at all prices, and it’s up to you to choose the ones that fit your price. While there are many cheap headphones you can buy, you should avoid them, as they aren’t good quality.

This means they will come apart after a short time. There is also the risk of the units failing to give you the noise cancelation you need to have a peaceful mowing time.

The same way you should stay away from cheap headphones is the same way you should avoid extremely expensive pieces, as the manufacturers will simply be ripping you off.

To get the most out of your headphones, go for moderately priced but high-quality headphones.

Wireless

To avoid dealing with codes that keep getting in the way, not to mention the getting damaged and rendering your headphones ineffective, you should always ensure that your headphones are wireless.

To get the most from them, ensure that they can effectively connect with your phone, tablet, computer, and any other device you might be having.

There you go

It is completely safe to wear headphones when mowing.

For you to block as much noise as possible, buy high-quality pieces that will not only give you the protection you are after, but also last for a long time.

Of course, buy the headphones from a reputable store, so you have peace of mind that you are purchasing high-quality pieces.