Originally Posted by
JNelson113
I'm looking for something that would completely eliminate anything but my voice, that I could use in an airport, so it would block out overhead announcements and the like.
Iirc, the max theoretical noise reduction through your ears is about 36-38dB. The best earplugs can do 33dB (I use Leigh Max-1s). Cover them with the best 31dB muffs (3M X5s), you get 36db. Anything not exclusively designed for the purpose won't come close to this. Any active noise cancellation also won't come close to this.
Even if you do your best to block the passage through your ear, your entire skull conducts vibrations to the small bones, fluid, and nerve impulses inside your ear. You'd need to wear something like a padded motorcycle helmet to get further reduction.
After that, your entire body is a conductor, so you'd need to build a soundproof box around your body to cut the rest of the noise.
If I need to be listening to something, I've always found that noise blocking earphone (currently using Etymotic ER-4s), to be the best solution over any active NC muffs.