Originally Posted by
SJUAMMF
Noise canceling headsets use a small mic to detect cyclical noise. Then create a noise about the same amplitude but in the opposing direction to do the cancellation. This canceling wave is delayed a few cycles due to the electronics inside. So they don't work on non-cyclical noise such as babies crying or snoring.
We had this big guy snoring on a NRT-SFO flight in C nearly all the way. Nobody else could sleep.
That's where the ear plugs come into play and why I prefer the over the ear noise canceling headphones. The mixture of both works wonders on an aircraft.