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How noise cancelling earbuds support your whole day

Woman wearing Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

No matter where you live, finding a serene space to unwind and destress can pose a challenge. In cities, there’s likely noise pollution from traffic, construction, and aviation. Suburban and rural areas suffer, too, be it from construction, lawn maintenance, roadwork, or wildlife.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to these intrusive sounds. Noise cancelling headphones and earbuds don’t just block out what’s not music to your ears — they cancel them out entirely. That can pay dividends throughout a typical day, including at the office, gym, home, and everywhere in between.

This versatility is what makes noise cancellation technology so popular for some. Here’s how it can help you get through the many tasks in your day.

Noise cancellation 101

There are two forms of noise cancellation: active and passive. Passive noise cancellation physically blocks out environmental sounds, primarily by creating a physical barrier against sound waves entering the ear.

Active noise cancellation, on the other hand, is electronic. Tiny microphones embedded in a headphone or earbud monitor ambient sound waves and then an equal and opposite signal is generated to cancel out noise. This bubble of silence lets you control which sounds come through clearly and lets your music, podcast, or audiobook take centre stage.

Create a private office in a public space

It can be hard to concentrate in a busy office environment or communal workspace amid the sounds of typing, phones, conversations, printers, and foot traffic encroaching on your mental space. These distractions inevitably decrease your productivity and thus increase the pile of work on your daily plate. Fortunately, they’re easy to eliminate with a pair of noise cancelling earbuds, like our QuietComfort Earbuds II, which create the ideal landscape for focus and attention.

They also make virtual meetings more productive by improving sonic clarity. Laptop speakers aren’t known for their high-quality reproduction of sound. Pair that with meeting attendees who don’t have proper microphone placement, and it can be challenging to understand what’s being said — and vice versa.

Noise cancellation can help in two ways. First, it suppresses ambient noise around you, so you can keep your attention on your meeting. It also offers greater fidelity compared with laptop speakers. Even if the attendees aren’t perfectly on their mic, you’ll hear them with crystal clarity. Noise cancellation enhances the microphones, too. Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 for example, employ noise cancellation technology to suppress background noise on your voice signal so that listeners on the other side of the screen will hear you loud and clear regardless of your location. That’s what makes Bose products the best headphones for work and school.

Woman wearing Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II outside
Woman wearing Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

Workout without distractions

Your workout is your time to focus on yourself; distractions can be frustrating, especially when you’re trying to concentrate on your mind-muscle connection during resistance training or getting into a groove during a long session on the treadmill. Here, too, noise cancelling earbuds can help by getting you engaged with the music and in the zone faster.

A multitude of studies and athlete testimonials have shown that listening to music can improve your physical performance. But not just any music will do — a 2021 study published by the National Library of Medicine also found that the connection with music matters. If the listener doesn’t like the music, it points out, performance may suffer. “Thus, coaches and athletes should consider individual music preferences when attempting to optimize performance and training,” the report concludes.

Woman wearing Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

Have a housework buddy

Doing chores may be necessary, but they don’t have to be unpleasant. If you need extra motivation and energy, noise cancelling headphones and an upbeat playlist can get you into a comfortable rhythm while you iron, fold, scrub, or dust. With a pair of noise cancelling headphones on hand, you can send your mind on adventures while your hands handle the work.

Noise cancelling headphones and earbuds can also provide some ear protection during yard work, such as mowing the lawn, by lowering the decibel levels the machine makes by up to 70%. Considering that a gas-powered lawn mower has an average noise rating of 90 decibels, and that any noise above 70 decibels over a prolonged period of time can start to damage hearing, noise cancelling technology may also safeguard your hearing for longer.

Stay aware

In many places, whether urban, suburban, or rural, a trip outside can launch an audio assault. As intrusive as traffic, roadwork, or general human hustle and bustle may be, it’s still important to remain aware of the oncoming train for safety or the station announcements to know when to get off.

In this situation, Bose noise cancelling headphones provide two options to help you stay aware. The first stems from the reduction of decibels, protecting your hearing, and the second comes thanks to Aware Mode on QC Earbuds II and Conversation Mode of the Noise Cancelling Headphones 700s. Both allow the listener to easily choose how much ambient noise they want to let in or block, keeping the benefits of decibel reduction while still staying aware of the environment. That way, you can still hear everything you need to hear and dispense with the rest.

Woman wearing Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

Find peace on the go

Noise cancelling earbuds are compact, lightweight, and able to fit in your pocket, making them easy to take with you anywhere. This puts an audio sanctuary within arm’s reach whenever you need. On a long flight? Escape into an audiobook with best noise cancelling headphones for airplanes. Need to find your centre? Cue up a meditative soundscape. Got a report to write? Play the beats that motivate and energise you the most.

The battery power inside Bose noise cancelling headphones provide the power to make it all possible. Together, the earbuds and charging case of the QC Earbuds II, for example, provide up to 24 hours of power to tap. Plus, if sapped dry, the earbuds can produce up to two more hours on just 20 minutes of charging — ideal for a quick power-up at the train station, airport, or highway pit stop.

The Swiss Army of technology

Noise cancelling earbuds and headphones can offer support for nearly every part of your day, from sunup to sundown. Once you discover how to take advantage of their benefits and versatility, they can become indispensable for a productive day as the morning coffee.

Product availability may vary by country.

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