See a doctor? That's definitely not normal.
You think? Sadly having fucked up middle ears isn't exactly fixable, it's something I can only make do with, so that didn't answer the question: how do you[0] handle employees who can't wear headphones when your[0] solution to noise issues is "just wear headphones"?
[0] this is a generic "you", I know the specific you is not the one who originally made this assertion.
Are you saying those don't work for you?
Unless you're talking about the volume of music making your ears hurt in which case guess what - I didn't say anything about listening to anything on those headphones. Just having them on provides enough insulation that you don't need to pipe in any additional sound
You don't say.
> Are you saying those don't work for you?
Yes, it's not a question of pressure on the external ear or I'd have said "my ears are too large" and wouldn't have mentioned the middle ear.
> Unless you're talking about the volume of music making your ears hurt
No, it's not a question of volume.
> I didn't say anything about listening to anything on those headphones.
Neither did I, though
> Just having them on provides enough insulation that you don't need to pipe in any additional sound
Hardly, even with high-quality closed 'phones.
Aside: I still don't quite get what exactly about the headphones is causing you pain? If you have them on, without playing anything, is that painful? (in which case maybe lighter ones that exert no pressure on the skull could help?) Is it the volume? Is there some weird property of sound produced by the headphones that is not present in general noise, that causes the pain?
(please don't take this as me disbelieving you, I'm just curious)
In case you're not a native speaker, the pronoun one uses in English is "one".
Thankfully you're in the minority and everyone else is quiet wearing headphones, so you don't have to.
Fact: that has absolutely no relation to offices. And "offices" doesn't have to mean singles either (they usually don't in my experience).
> Provide the team with good quality headphones
I can't wear headphones. I literally, physically, can't wear headphones for more than 10~15 minutes, it starts hurting like somebody's driving nails through my eardrums. Now what?
> shame people who have non-silent notifications on their devices
And people who have bodily functions, and people who put the volume too high on their headphones, and people who type too hard, and people with tics. Just shame people on a general basis really, that makes for great esprit de corps.
> Do this and all the problems with "focus" that open-office haters complain about GO AWAY.
Yes, everybody must love what you love and you can't be wrong, because "no setup works for everyone" except for the one you want.