headphones ripping my hair out!

[archel]

So, I do medical transcription from home and having great headphones is a must. I am wearing them 8 hours a day and every time I get up from my desk I take them off. I have a pair of very fancy AKG headphones and they are breaking and pulling out my hair when I remove them! I am wondering if there's a way to modify them to be hair safe. It's these:
http://www.madmanaudio.com/images/k28nc_ph.jpg

The adjusting slide part is what is yanking out and either breaking or pulling out my hair. Today I am going to wear a fabric headband underneath, but I'm afraid if I wear something like that daily I'll just get breakage from THAT. guh.

Any suggestions, hair gurus?

[Fencai]

I use these ones (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Skullcandy+-+Titan+Stereo+Earbud+Headphones+-+Black/Chrome/9825242.p?id=1218178656643&skuId=9825242&st=skull%20candy&cp=1&lp=5) every day. They noise cancelling too. Its great!

[Dutchesse]

What about covering the sliding part with some cloth? If you use a nice ribbon or something it will even make the headphones look prettier:)

[archel]

Unfortunately Fencai I have found that I really do need pro audio quality headphones (like what audio engineers use) in order to understand the hardest dictators especially when the recording quality is awful. I think if I do spend on a new pair I am either going to get a pair of Sennheisers or another pair of AKGs in a different style (hair friendly I hope). But right now I need to make these work!

I am wondering if the fabric idea would be good, I have to say though I am the world's WORST at sewing, so I just don't know. I guess just make a tube and sew it around the metal part? Hmmm, it is gonna look janky I just know it...

[gretchen_hair]

I have a different headset that I wear, the only thing I have found that works is to keep my hair in a very tight bun. I also refrain from removing my headset as much as possible.

If you can get a buff or a scrub cap or a large bandanna, you may want to consider using that on your hair underneath the headset.

At one time I had a broken headset and had to use it until the new one came in, I had to use a bandanna daily until the new set came. For me, the tight bun keeps the headset from pulling my hair.

[MandyBeth]

What about just leaving the headphones on and unplugging them to get up?

[archel]

If it had a normal cord, I might do that. But this pair has this weird noise cancelling unit attached and its a pain in the rear to deal with. It's really too bad the pro audio headphones are never the cordless kind...

[Juneii]

And there's no way you can plug these into speakers or something? Man, I can't imagine wearing headphones for 8 hours! I can barely stand having something pressing over my ears for more than 30 minutes.

[Anje]

I think if I were you I'd sew a satin tube that can cover the headband portion. It looks like the model you show has a wire going to each earpiece, so you would have to either sew it closed right on the device or else put something like velcro along the length of a rectangle of satin so it can be wrapped around and secured after sewing. (Then you'd have to deal with velcro possibly getting caught in your hair....)

If you don't feel like you have the sewing skills to pull this off yourself, and you don't want to wear some sort of fabric wrapped around your head every day, I'd say the easiest thing to do would be to hand the headphones over to a sewing-capable friend and have him/her whip you up something over a weekend.

[JDzWife]

Archel - I also do transcription from home and found these to be the best headset ever..and I've had quite a few headsets in my almost 30-year career. I used to have the same problems with the headsets ripping my side hair out. I solved that by keeping my hair braided and any small hairs I use a bobby pin to keep it away from the ears. I hope this helps!

http://www.transcriptiongear.com/ins-gli-pc.html

[Madora]

Maybe tape cling wrap around the offending parts?

[spidermom]

I do the same job with JVC stereo headphones and have the same issue. The only way I've found to avoid pulling out hairs is to securely put my hair up before I start work.

[redmj]

Honey what I would do is take some ribbon and wrap it around the band. Then you could simply tie it or hot glue it to the top to keep it in place. You could even make it a Princess inspired thing with ribbons haning down the cord.

[dRummie]

I would 1. secure hair well, 2. tape the adjustable areas (there shouldn't be any need to readjust them assuming your head stays the same size :P) and 3. put a fabric tube over the entire headband. I was going to suggest making a satin one, with elastic sewn into the ends so it would hold itself in place near the cups, but you say you're not too good with a needle, so I'm sure a tall sock with the toes cut off would do the job :)

I'm a tad jealous :P I'm a bit of a headphone junkie (for music, not work), and been wanting to hear a pair of AKGs for years.

[archel]

Oh girrrrrrrrrrrrllll once you hear a pair of AKGs you will NEVER go back! I had been listening to my iPod/phone with the stupid ear buds they send with them (those buds are made so you can hear everything around you so when wearing them out and about you don't get run over or anything). When I put these on the first time it was an awakening I tell you!! They have increased my productivity at work, too!

Ok, I think I'm going to try taping them into place and covering the band with something...hrmmmm...

[CarpeDM]

Try some cloth headbands...

[archel]

Juneii - it's against HIPAA privacy laws to listen to the transcription out loud, someone else would wind up hearing private patient information.

To the other poster who posted the under the neck headset - I used to have a pair like that and they drove me bananas touching my neck - I know, I'm a weird one!

[mrs_coffee]

The hair ripping doesn't happen to me. I can't stand the little ear bud kind of headphones. They make my ears hurt after a few hours. I have noise cancelling headphones, but they don't have hinges on the side like those do. Mine are hinged on the outside of the earpiece, and the band that goes over my head slides and locks into place to adjust. As long as I have my hair pulled back it doesn't get caught.

There are a lot of transcriptionists on this board! :)

[archel]

I didn't realize how many of us LHCers do MT work - but it makes sense, we're always online, right? LOL

I just had an idea - wonder if I could wrap the headband part with tape like I do for my hula hoops? I could do something decorative, maybe.

[gretchen_hair]

This might sound dorky....maybe you can take a sock and cut the toe off then take the sock and slip it over the headset portion?

Then you could leave it loose or tie it with a ribbon at each end?

[proo]

I use big ol headphones when using a tile saw (big bathroom project) which was really hard on my hair till I covered it with one of those medical caps worn my doctors, kind of a cotton fez, works great.