Wearing noise-canceling headphones in public is like wearing a sign that says ‘rob me’.
A University of Minnesota student became the victim of an attempted robbery on Sunday evening while wearing noise-canceling headphones. The incident happened at 5:30 pm near Marcy Park, just a stone’s throw away from the busy university campus.
This raises concerns about the dangers of sensory isolation in public areas due to wearing noise-canceling headphones.
Incident Details
According to a report by Lou Raguse of KARE 11, the 21-year-old student, whose identity is undisclosed, said she “couldn’t believe something like this happened,” given the event’s timing.
She thinks her large noise-canceling headphones may have made her a target.
During the scuffle, one of the perpetrators held a gun to her head. But though she was in danger, the victim fought back hard. During the fight, she was kicked and got a bruise.
In the end, the attackers got away with her backpack containing her keys and wallet and her cellphone, which they picked up from the ground during the struggle.
Risks of Noise-Canceling Headphones Outdoors
Many people use noise-canceling headphones. But wearing them in public can be dangerous. These headphones block out sounds around you. This means you might not hear important things like cars coming, alarms, or threats like what happened to the University of Minnesota student.
Walking alone already puts you at a higher risk of being targeted. Criminals are less likely to go after people who are in a group or with someone else. Doing anything that makes you less alert, like wearing noise-canceling headphones, increases your chances of becoming a victim.
Case in point, the student’s story isn’t isolated. There are multiple other incidents where wearing ANC headphones outdoors has risked the safety and lives of the user.
For instance, Jakob McCloe, a high school student, tragically lost his life when struck by a train while wearing noise-canceling headphones. According to reports, he was unable to hear the train’s approach despite the engineer’s signals.
Because of this, we can say you shouldn’t use noise-canceling headphones in areas with a lot of traffic or when you need to pay attention to what’s around you.
In fact, some states, like Colorado, Maryland, Louisiana, and Rhode Island, have even made it against the law to wear headphones while driving. This is because it makes accidents more likely to happen.
Alternatives to Noise-Canceling Headphones
For those concerned about safety risks with noise-canceling headphones, bone conduction headphones, and open-ear headphones or earbuds offer better situational awareness.
Bone conduction headphones, like the Shokz OpenRun Pro, transmit sound through cheekbones. Alternatively, open-ear headphones, such as Bose Ultra Open Earbuds, rest outside the ear canal. Both types keep the ears open to ambient noise, allowing you to hear what’s going on around you.