Hi justshoot - noise canceling headphones only cancel sound if you are listen to sound (like music). Theres a mic on the outside of the headphones that pics up sound and adds it to whatever you are listening to as an inverse sound wave which cancles out background noise.

A couple of the ones I looked at advertised that you could turn off the music and just block the sound. Bose and Sennheiser were two of the brands that advertised that feature. But they are both very pricey -- around $300. I don't know if they would be effective at blocking the sound without the music, though. I have zero experience with noise cancelling.

Thanks for the input. I suspect your information is probably more accurate than what they're advertising.

Hi JustShoot

Take a look at the Sennheiser HZR 62 - Universal Stereo In-line Volume Control for Headphones. I've never tried it but it's supposed to control the left and right channels separately and is only $25. In theory you may be able to use this with some decent priced noise cancelling headphones. There are also a few MP3 player that have left and right sound controls but they'll probably be at least $100.

I've never used noise cancelling headphones but I found these two "Limitations" from Wikipedia interesting.

"They work well for sounds that are continuous, such as the hum of a refrigerator or the sound in an airplane cabin, but are rather ineffective against speech or other rapidly changing audio signals.
They may introduce additional noise, usually in the form of high-frequency hiss. "

You may want to try a pair first. I find that airports usually have a few stores that carry multiple brands. MAC stores might also have a few.

Good Luck.

Thanks, BobsDream. They sound promising. It's the continuous noises that cause most of my problem -- air conditioner, microwave, TV, radio, etc. I'll go check into them now!

why not buy musician's earplugs that only allow sound up to a certain db for the one ear?

MandieGrace, I want to be able to block sound from my left ear and hear sound in my right ear. Sound, especially continuous sound, triggers a really bad T in my left ear.

Bobs: I ordered the in-line volume control you recommended. It got great reviews from people on Amazon. It sounds like exactly what I need. I also ordered a reasonably priced pair of noise cancelling headphones. They are both supposed to be here Thursday. Here's hoping for a much quieter week next week.

Thanks for the information. Much appreciated!

Let us know how noise cancelling headphone work, I'm wondering if they would cancel T for all of us. Oh if only! I suppose they only cancel nosie outside of our heads not inside.

I hope they provide some relief. I might need to get one of those volume controls myself. It might be useful for those long days in the cube.

I hope they work for you justshoot :)

Is this working for you?

If I try to listen to music in my right ear and turn the volume off on the left ear, the left ear still reacts to what I'm hearing in the right ear. Very weird. But when my left ear is reacting to the hum of the computer or the microwave running or any other noise, I can put on the noise-cancelling headphones without music and get relief. It doesn't completely shut out the noise, but it shuts out enough to give me some relief. It's also a good way to block out co-worker banter when I'm trying to get something done. :)