Have you used noise-canceling headphones?
 

I have used a few over the years. I bought one pair before flying on a plane because I felt anxious about the noise.

I was almost kicked off for it!

I don't have any idea what happened with them.

Years later I bought another and I first tried them at Arizona State's computer lab. I don't have any idea why it was so busy at 10pm, but there was the constant noise of kids talking and flip-flops on tile. I donned my expensive headphones and immediately removed them, feeling horribly disappointed.

I still heard innumerable conversations, the girl behind me tapping a stack of papers on the desk, etc.

Then I realized they did work, just not great.

Mom insisted that I replaced my last pair of earmuffs and I wanted to try ones with bluetooth, but not at 3m's prices!

I bought these Mpow bluetooth earmuffs for $36 and I can sit in the living room, listening to Classical, and not hear the Liberty Mutual ads, like I could in my bedroom, with the door closed, and a device playing white noise at full volume by the door.

Mom keeps the television volume set around 70, so I am confident that she talks louder than my old supervisor did, yet I cannot hear what Mom is saying from 8 feet away, while I used to understand each and every word that my supervisor said on the phone to her friends, family, and probably some wrong numbers all of the way across the classroom!

There were times that I used earplugs and noise-canceling headphones. It still wasn't good enough!

Depending on what my neighbors [and their dogs] are doing, this may be better than using my normal headphones out in the shed!

I just need to figure out how to use the microphone!

I don't know if anyone else has the difficulty that I do blocking out noise, but these have been amazing! :D

I think of this whenever I struggle with ambient noise:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOGfF6DmX5M

noise cancelation
 

My brother traded his traditional David Clarks for noise-cancelation types, flying his Cherokee. I really liked them. Makes you appreciate how quickly electronics can sample ambient noise, construct a signal, 180-degrees out of phase, then broadcast it, all in real-time.:thumbup: