I just bought a pair of earmuffs for use at home. I can finally sit in the living room while the TV's at a loud volume without being bothered by it.

I slipped a pair of Creatives underneath, and now I can listen to music at the lowest setting on my iPod in a noisy room without being distracted. I can still hear low-frequency sounds in the environment, but they're very muffled. Wish I'd found these years ago.

These ones have hundreds of happy reviews, but I got the other ones because I'm a fan of blue. Both are rated 30 on the NRR scale, which means when properly worn, they reduce noise reaching the ear by 30 decibels. Great stuff.

Well, some more time wasted and I haven't come up with much more cycle specific info. I am open to the idea that noise while cycling could be a problem, especially since cyclists tend to do the activity for long periods of time. I did find a BF thread from years ago that claims cycling wind noise at 25 mph is around 90 decibels (mic on messenger bag, and fan blowing over a wax model of an ear). What I hoped to find was supporting evidence, like a peer reviewed article on the subject. I am not doubting the findings of the BF posters, but I would love to also see results from a professional source. I don't now enough about the matter to critique the methodology.

As for traffic noise, my hat is off to you. If my commute involved that much noisy traffic I don't think I could enjoy it. I find high noise levels to be unsettling, resulting in irritation and reduced concentration. But for me, I just have to yell at my kids to turn it down to solve the problem.

BarracksSi-

I bet you have tried a number of products so far. The shooting sports have lots of headphones that also have microphones to let in ambient sound. The principle is that the headphones provide 25 plus decibels of noise reductions, the electronics modulate any sound coming in from the speakers and keep sit below 80 - 85 decibels. I have a set of these, I find them hot to wear even while just shooting, so I wouldn't consider them with summer riding. Cost is $75 to $125

There are makers of custom molded ear plugs that also put in electronics similar to the headphones. They are pricey. ProEars? I think they are called, and are usually marketed to hunters who want to hear game but not the gun blast.

There are custom molded ear plugs that have baffles to let is some noise as well. I have spent a lot of time with regular custom molded ear plugs in my ears while in the shooting sports. They are generally comfortable, I have been able to have conversations with them in, both with people that have plugs in and people that don't. They fit well enough so that I could partially pull them away from the ear canal to let in some more sound without having them fall out, and would only have to push them back in if it got noisy again. Since I find I can wear them for hours at a time, you might enjoy investing in a pair.

I don't think that I want the bulk of noise-reducing headphones, though.

We've been issued custom-molded musician's earplugs at work (Westone-branded, although Etymotics might have made them), and although they're pretty kickass when new, their perfectly-conforming fit doesn't conform so perfectly as the ear canal changes shape, which it does over time; the original set I got are now uncomfortable & nearly useless.

I've used quite a few foam plugs in various situations (rifle range, pistol range doubled with earmuffs, during the Richmond 400 NASCAR race ), and they're fantastic -- unless I need to understand speech clearly. I've got some flange-style rubber plugs that are easier to wear than foam, but they still muffle speech the same way.

I've been using Etymotics ER20 earplugs for the last year or two, and I think they're the best bet for inexpensive, off-the-shelf earplugs. They live up to their promise of smooth full-spectrum reduction. "S" sounds and consonants are still clear, along with any similar noises.