[r00fus]

Dunno about you, but as someone who's highly sensitive to sound as well, I found my Sony noise cancelling headphones made everyone elses sounds crystal clear - with the HVAC and desktop whirring cancelled, I could eavesdrop up to 4 cubes away.

I think noise-isolating earbuds or headphones are what you want. Just completely block out external sound, listen to nature/bird chirps or your favorite music.

[mgkimsal]

Exactly - it was odd, but most of the noise cancelling headphones I've used do just that - they cancel some noise, which makes other stuff all the more noticeable. Blasting whitenoise in to my ears does the opposite, but muffles most minor noises.