> Aren't ear-plugs noise cancelling? No, they are isolating. Canceling is an active process using destructive interference of sound waves. Since it is a diffe

> Aren't ear-plugs noise cancelling? No, they are isolating. Canceling is an active process using destructive interference of sound waves. Since it is a different mechanism you have quite different properties. For example size/material/fit on ear have different constraints and you can selectively filter out different frequencies (many noise canceling headphones allow you to let voices through for example, or sirens/warning noises).