r/mildlyinfuriating • u/BiteInfamous • 10h ago

I'm slightly vexed Taxi driver wearing noise cancelling headphones while driving in the city

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Look I’m PMSing so I’m admittedly in a very nit picky time of my life. But. Don’t love weaving in and out of traffic in a major city while the taxi driver has noice cancelling headphones on. The sound is loud enough I can hear whatever (moderately funny) comedy show he’s listening to in the backseat. This is ill advised, yes?

ETA thanks to everyone who taught me about transparent mode today :)

ETA2 : Okay, I’m the asshole, comments have shown me there’s lots that could be going on with the driver to make him need to use these and there’s way he could do so safely. Mea culpa. That’ll teach me to knee jerk react.

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u/PaleAcanthaceae1175 10h ago

Some people really aren't going to like this comment but it's entirely possible the driver has the same condition my sister does: pain hyperacusis, where loud or even normal volume sounds can cause a range of symptoms including actual pain. Noise cancelling headphones do not fully deafen you and most of them have variable settings that allow you to reduce the pitch or frequency of incoming sounds so that they are quieter but still audible.

The smart move here would have been to ask the driver why they were wearing headphones and to get out of the vehicle if they were listening to music with them.

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u/BiteInfamous 9h ago

I actually wish I could pin this. Thanks for teaching me something new, I should know better by now than to knee jerk react —> judge —> post

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u/PaleAcanthaceae1175 7h ago

I agree with the other comment about the conditions being fairly unknown. Don't beat yourself up about it. It's still entirely possible the driver was being a careless moron but maybe not.

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u/accountforsurveymkt2 9h ago

Tbf it’s pretty unknown until you get it. I didnt know it existed until I got it

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u/Medium-Song-1802 6h ago

I was looking for this comment in this thread. Reddit posts are so filled with people wanting to rage and not looking for legit reasons.

For example, I don't have hyperacusis but I do have a bad sensitivity to sound. Whether it's prolonged or loud or chaotic... it chips away at me mentally. Wearing headphones or earbuds with transparency mode has improved my life so much in the last decade. I used to have to wear ear plugs in crowded locations or plane flights. Now, I can interact like a normal person and survive a day's interaction.

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u/uwill1der 9h ago

I learned about this from the movie "Tuner"

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u/ImNoRickyBalboa 2h ago

A voice of reason? On reddit? GETOUTTAHHERE!!!