I’ve been experimenting with putting headphones on (not playing music, just blocking noise) in situations where there is a lot of noise and it kinda helps! Although, apparently it’s not considered “socially acceptable” to wear headphones while singing along with a group of people at a youth event lol. (I did explain it to the person who was playing the music though and he said he didn’t even notice and could tell I was enjoying myself so I guess I’m good)
P.S. I don’t know if this is the kind of post we do in this community. I just felt like mentioning it
Loop makes earplugs designed to do this. They have different models, like their Experience one is designed for going to concerts that are too loud, but you still want to be able to hear the music properly, just quieter. Or Engage let’s you hear voices, but it helps block out background noises. They’re pretty discreet and most people won’t notice you’re wearing them in my experience.
Can confirm. I own a pair. Their build quality is really nice, too. They’re satisfying to me to touch and hold.
I have their “weakest” one, but it still makes a lot of noises tolerable. I was helping my dad today install a new window and the hammer nor impact drill bothered me when I had the plugs in. They’re able to remove a bit of the “bite” from loud noises, if that makes sense.
Only complaint I have with them is my voice and any in-body noises (I.e. Eating) become exceptionally loud. It’s like it reflects everything inside back at your ears. But that’s only a problem in quieter environments. In louder locations it’s not as noticeable.
Otherwise I use 3M’s yellow foam ear plugs, however any foam plug works for me. They’re not the most reusable, but they’re cheap and you can buy a big box of them.
This is my experience with the Loop earplugs too. I use them in my office environment, because there’s always a ton of noise from the service department next door and the showroom on the other side of us. The in-body noises are weird at first but you get used to it (it might be harder if you have trouble regulating your voice volume; I always think I’m speaking more loudly than I do and this doesn’t help), and the amount of noise cancelling is incredible. I can hear people talking to me without feeling like everyone is yelling, phones aren’t as noisy, and even printers are less unpleasant.
I just looked them up. They seem cool but at that price I might as well pay the extra $20-30 to get noise cancelling earbuds. Thanks for the tip though!
I wanted so badly to like these, and tried multiple models, but the sound of having something in my ear throws me off. I can do noise canceling earbuds in passthrough mode, though. I don’t understand it.