has anyone found a true noise cancelling microphone/headset?
 

Hi all, I searched a bit and couldn't find anything recent. I'm looking for something that would completely eliminate anything but my voice, that I could use in an airport, so it would block out overhead announcements and the like.

I'm not a tech person so this may be an impossible ask, I don't know. Just thought I would inquire. Thanks!

Have a look at this :-

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...eadphones.html

The ear part is completely impossible--there is no way to build anything over the ears that gives more than IIRC 32db of noise rejection (it varies somewhat by frequency)--the problem is that's what goes through the head instead.

I don't believe the microphone part could be done, either--even if you accepted a system that put the mic at a truly fixed position relative to your head you would still have sound reflecting off your face. There are also theoretical limits on focusing that mean as you get a narrower angle of observation the object doing it must be bigger. I don't know how much effect this has on microphones. (Which is why radio astronomers like to play with two dishes on opposite sides of the world--they get a much more accurate picture when their "receiver" is 8000 miles across. It's still a major undertaking to play the same games at visual frequencies, though.)

I wonder if the problem of your ear part could help solve the mic part. If someone could design a headphone that could pick up the vibration of your skull (or echo on your ear drum) when you talk, then only those sound that had a matching echo (with the proper delay) would be filtered and go thru.

I would be amazed if that worked as the sound is generated at multiple locations in your body. What arrives at a pickup on the back of your head will not be lined up exactly the same as what a mic in front of you picks up. Also, the component that comes from the vocal cords would be louder relative to the component that comes from the lips.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_microphone

A very cheap example

It could have software calibration matching your voice picked up from mic and the vibration. On that thought, software should be able to isolation your voice alone and duplicate it as output. It just need a very fast processor, advance sound recognition, and exact sound replication! I will give it 5 to 10 years. In 10 to 20 years, I think it could pick up your voice and translates it in a different language in your own voice. I don't think it is science fiction anymore. It seems very doable.

From the reviews, it seems like a "fake" throat mic. Probably just a regular mic located at your throat.

Could be, just the first hit on search. The fact still remains, that throat mics are the solution for OT's question.

What device are you using? There are apps out there to do it, however there is still some bleed... Usually at the very beginning of you speaking and only for a fraction of a second. One of my colleagues uses one. Not sure which but we still hear his kids at the very beginning of him speaking or when they shout loud enough. Try krisp.io as an example.

Personally, I wish they would install the phone booths I have seen in various places. It's usually the physical movements that are more distracting than the noise for me.

Iirc, the max theoretical noise reduction through your ears is about 36-38dB. The best earplugs can do 33dB (I use Leigh Max-1s). Cover them with the best 31dB muffs (3M X5s), you get 36db. Anything not exclusively designed for the purpose won't come close to this. Any active noise cancellation also won't come close to this.

Even if you do your best to block the passage through your ear, your entire skull conducts vibrations to the small bones, fluid, and nerve impulses inside your ear. You'd need to wear something like a padded motorcycle helmet to get further reduction.

After that, your entire body is a conductor, so you'd need to build a soundproof box around your body to cut the rest of the noise.

If I need to be listening to something, I've always found that noise blocking earphone (currently using Etymotic ER-4s), to be the best solution over any active NC muffs.

Anyone remember the popular Jawbone Bluetooth earpiece from about 10 years ago? That thing was pretty insane, I was mowing the lawn on a call and nobody could hear the mower, just my clear voice. Super weird. Wouldn't help you on the listen side, however, Maybe you could get some IEM like the Shure with the yellow foam that would cut 30-33db on the listening side and find a Jawbone type microphone. That would be the closest you could get.

Do you have a friend that's a pilot where you could borrow their ANR aviation headset to try? It's not going to cut as much as a bone conduction mic, but they are designed for use in noisy environments. I used my Bose A20 on a call earlier today in a running airplane at about 90dB+, with no issues hearing or being heard. I'm not sure they would be as effective in cancelling other noises, though.

Has anyone tried this? the promo videos seem impressive.
https://www.headsetbuddy.com/cm3505-...for-bose-qc35/

I haven’t tried that one, but it looks very much like the uflymike that’s been out for years for pilots.

https://uflymike.com/