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It gets quite tiring to blast high volume music or white noise for long periods. (And the noise-cancelling is utterly useless for screams.)

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The ear plugs get around the need for high volume.

Why is noise canceling useless for screams?

Noise cancellation tech works best for low-pitched constant-ish sounds, like the airplane engines, or noise from a fan. Noise cancellation doesn't work well on higher-pitched, oscillating sounds, like screaming or voices.

This is probably why the grand-old parent recommends earplugs in addition.

> This is probably why the grand-old parent recommends earplugs in addition.

Ya. Exactly. The noise cancellation works great to remove the engine noise. But as soon as you turn them on, high-pitch sounds become a lot more apparent. Earplugs help alleviate that.

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