Noise-cancelling felt like bringing a bazooka to a water balloon fight.
That’s actually a good way to put it. My kiddo gets anxious, but I worry about them not hearing instructions too. I’m leaning towards regular headphones now... less stress for everyone, maybe? The noise-cancelling thing just seems a bit much for us.
I get where you’re coming from, but I actually found the noise-cancelling headphones helped my daughter zone out during a cleaning—she’s super sensitive to the scraping sounds. The hygienist just tapped her shoulder for instructions, which worked fine for us. Regular headphones didn’t really block enough, honestly. Maybe it depends on how much the noise bothers your kid?
That’s interesting—my son is also really sensitive to the scraping noises, and we tried regular headphones with music, but he still got super tense. I hadn’t thought about noise-cancelling ones. Maybe the extra sound isolation makes a big difference? The hygienist tapping for instructions sounds pretty manageable too. I might give it a shot next time, since distraction alone hasn’t worked so well for us.
Noise-cancelling headphones really made a difference for me, especially with those high-pitched scraping sounds. I never realized how much the regular headphones let in until I tried the noise-cancelling ones. It doesn’t block out everything, but it takes the edge off and somehow makes it less overwhelming. The hygienist’s tapping or signals are usually easy to catch, and honestly, most are pretty understanding if you need a quick pause.
My kiddo is also on the sensitive side, and distraction alone never cut it for us either. Sometimes just knowing there’s that extra “barrier” helps them feel a bit more in control. The first time we brought the headphones, he was still nervous but looked way less tense after a few minutes.
It might not be a total fix—my son still gets anxious—but every little bit helps, right? If you give it a try, hopefully it takes some of the pressure off both of you.
The first time we brought the headphones, he was still nervous but looked way less tense after a few minutes.
Totally get what you mean about “every little bit helps.” My own nerves never totally go away either, but the headphones really do take the sting out of those weird scraping noises. I’ve noticed hygienists are usually cool about it too, which is a relief. It’s not a magic fix, but it’s something, right?
