Trying to find a plan for drowning out my mom's snoring on a trip we're planning together. Not sure of the technology of the Bose or other brands -- does it only block certain sounds (plane engines) well? I know the coverage around or in the ear would block some noise anyway, but is the acutal noise cancelling technology only for specific types of noises?

I'm trying to figure out how to make it 2 weeks in a shared hotel room - with a white noise machine, earplugs, Lunesta prescription, Breathe Right strips for her -- all of the above probably.

I had the same problem with my DH. I have some Plane Quiet headphones and first put in earplugs THEN put on the headphones. Did a pretty good job of blocking out his snoring, at least long enough for me to fall asleep.

Headphones with active noise cancellation usually only cut down on lower frequencies - I think 300Hz or lower. You will still hear some of the snoring.

I suggest trying the noise-isolation phones like Shures or Etymotics. Those in-ear buds will isolate ALL frequencies.

bettyk - Were you wearing them only on a plane or also sleeping at night? Was it not a problem to have to sleep on your back the whole night?

rkkwan - do you know of any store that lets you try them before buying - wondering how the in-ear buds would feel -- whether I could get used to them or not.

Thanks for all the advice.

Leslie - Unfortunately, it'll be hard to find a place to try those earbuds. I could only find 3-4 places (mostly guitar and pro stores) here in Houston that even sell the Shures before I bought mine, and none has any of the sleeve for me to try on.

Yes, it was a leap of faith, but I also had used some cheaper Sony in-ear types prior.

Leslie, I was wearing them to sleep. And, I didn't have to sleep on my back all night since they have quite a bit of padding and were pretty comfortable.

rkkwan: Here's a dumb question. To block out loud noise with the Shures, would you have to have music on?

wliwl - The sleeves form a seal in your canal, so they will isolate noise with or without music turned on. When off, it's like you're wearing ear plugs.

Do you think they would be better than earplugs? Thanks

I don't think they'll be better than ear plugs. But if you want bring headphones to listen to music anyways, then they can work, if you don't mind having wires dangling from your ears.

I'm not sure sleeping with wires coming out of your ears is a good idea - my dad used to do that with cheap earphones which he had to replace every few weeks because he'd pulled the wires out.

100's of people sleep with them in the ears daily. Shure/Etymotics aren't cheap earphones. They are very well made. You shouldn't have a problem with the wires failing.

Bisbee will back that up with a guarantee - if you ruin your $180 earphones by rolling over on them, just post here and your check will be on its way.

Well, sleeping with them on the plane is no problem.

I've also fallen asleep with the Shures on a bed. They also stay because I wear the Shures like they're designed to, with the wire wrapped over the ear and goes down behind them. That will not harm the phones or the wires.

[Having said that, my pair is currently back at Shure. Problem with the plug-end of the wire. Probably pulled it somehow with force.]

Leslie-S,

My children are very happy to travel with me if we get two rooms. My sister and I can sleep in the same room because we both like to fall asleep with the TV on.

Joan

Robes, that's what the warranty if for. Was your dad using $180 earphones (low end of the price scale for high end earphones)when they failed? Haven't had any problems with my Etymotics or Shures. If this was an issue, you'd be reading about it on electronics forums.

More info on difference between noise-canceling vs. noise-isolating:

<i>Noise-canceling phones utilize an active noise reduction system. They electronically produce a frequency which, with varying degrees of success, cancel out white noise (constant mid-level sounds like airplane engines and track noise). They require a power source (a single AAA battery in one earphone or two batteries in an external case).

Noise-isolating (in-ear) phones use a passive system, simply sealing the ear with a variety of foam canal tips. To the 30db or so reduction in all outside noise this alone provides, sound is enhanced by being sent directly into the ear. The ratio of music to outside noise in the ear is, therefore, extremely high They need no batteries, are lightweight and compact.</i>

Wow - lots of good info. Thanks everyone. I'll have to start researching the sites with the best prices now.

I used to own the Sony MDR-NC10, which is both noise-isolating and noise-canceling. Pretty good sound quality too and not too expensive. However, they're hideous looking.

They were replaced by the NC11, which has horrible sound quality.

The current model is the NC22. I don't know how good the sound quality is. List price is $99, online price about $75-80.

Based on the amazon.com user reviews and a number of corroborating sources, I think my next phones will be Etymotic ER-4P. They look like an acceptable tradeoff between price and performance.

tinyurl.com/2qtd8x