[davideous]

I wear Etymotic Noise-Isolating Earphones in my ears (they are real earplugs with a small hole in the middle through which sound is piped), then I put Bose noise cancelling headphones over my ears, and then I play a rainfall noise through the Nose-Isolating Earphones. This multi-layer approach this works very well for me. The rainfall noise is not distracting to me the way music can be.

I have excellent hearing, and it's impossible for me to solve this problem with a completely passive or noise cancelling approach. Ears will increase their sensitivity until they are able to hear something.

Etymotic Noise-Isolating Earphones: https://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Noise-Isolating-Ear...

The noise app that I use: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mynoise/id813099896?mt=8

[jmpman]

I’ve used the Etymotic, but tend to go back to my Shures. On top of that, I’ll run the active noise cancelling headphones - a pair of Sony’s which function without audio. Depending on my mood, it’s white noise (actually a custom pink noise created in an iPhone app), or music. With the Pink noise, even without the active noise cancellation, I’m oblivious to the world.

[afarrell]

looking at those earbuds, it seems like they are long enough that they would protrude out of my ear canal and bump up against the Bose headphones. This would mean they are actively pushed into my ear-holes and be highly uncomfortable.

Am I misinterpreting how long it is from the tip of the earbud to the "butt" of the earbud? It looks like it would be about 1.5 cm. How long is it?