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I'm not sure what kind of noise you're being exposed to, but if you're in the USA, OSHA requires your employer to buy you PPE.

It's possible that escalating a "buy me PPE" request to the company lawyer could raise a few eyebrows into exactly what conditions you're being asked to work under.



I think they mean they need to use loud music on headphones to work


I'm confident I won't go deaf by the time I'm 40, but only because I'm 53. I would usually choose to listen to music anyway, but in an open office, it's a requirement. It doesn't help with the visual distraction, but I have a pair of "Howard Leight" headphones by Honeywell. They are passive noise-cancelling (meaning they just block out noise really well, meant for environments that require hearing protection), have decent sound quality and only cost me about $30.

In addition to being completely unable to filter out any distracting noise, I also have misophonia, so an open office is anything between distracting as all get-out and torture, but the headphones and some good loud music mitigate that greatly.


Same with the passive noise-cancelling headphones (Etymotics or Tough Sounds) and misophonia albeit with a side order of rampant tinnitus for added "have to listen to music all day? well, you're going to suffer overnight / tomorrow then!".

(I once worked between someone who tapped their feet and someone who drummed on the desk constantly. Those weeks were not productive, even with headphones.)


PPE=Personal protective equipment?




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