Originally Posted by remedy

What about "ear buds" - those devices that are not electronic, but reduce noise by blocking out sound - e.g., the Etymotic ES 6 and ES 4. I just bought the ES 4 and it REALLY blocks out the noise. Frankly, I could not hear the pilot announcement OR the flight attendant (I think...). Would these need to be removed if not plugged anything? Frankly, they are so unobstrusive, they would be easy to overlook, especially if plugged into an IPOD or some other inconspicuous device.