I use QC-15 Bose headphones daily. You have to be listening to music (or your favorite white/pink/etc noise) while wearing them to be effective blocking voices

I use QC-15 Bose headphones daily. You have to be listening to music (or your favorite white/pink/etc noise) while wearing them to be effective blocking voices nearby, don't believe anyone that tells you otherwise. The paradoxical effect is that since they are effective blocking low frequency noises, the voices kind of stand up if not listening to anything. I started by making one of these many years ago: http://www.instructables.com/id/Jackhammer-Headphones/ http://www.instructables.com/id/Jackhammer-Headphones/ for $20 I think it's a good investment and worth a try. I made two of these, one to have at home, other at work and even took them on airplane traveling.