What do you do when you need silence in a noisy environment?

(Disclaimer: I'm a product manager at Bose, although I don't currently work on headphones). Also check out the Bose QC30, which are the wireless earbuds with noise canceling -- they include a feature that lets you turn the amount of noise canceling up and down, from 100% down to "fully transparent" (sounds like there's not buds blocking your ears), which is good for noisy work environments -- and they hang more comfortably around your neck when not in use. Also the QC20 wired noise-cancelling earbuds, which fit the most easily in a pocket out of any of these. (And you'd be surprised -- for most people, the noise cancellation on earbuds is as good as or better than with the over-ear headphones).

+100. I don't work in any open office environment without these.

Exceptional bit of kit, rely on these for every noisy environment I'm in

Noizio is one of the best ambient sound generators. It's a minimal native Mac app that lives in your menu bar featuring calming ☔️, cheery 🐦, and comforting 🔥.

This might not be what you look for but sometimes when I wanna get rid of noise I plug in more noise but the ones I like or helps me to focus with my in-ear headphones (minimises background hubbub).

There are some great ambient noise playlists that are great! Even better if you have noise blocking headphones.

I use Noisli as ambient sound generator to cut me from the surrounding noise.

I work from home, but sometimes my wife is cooking and making lots of sounds in the house, so I use this Web App, awesome!

Very difficult to express "why" this works as the brain itself is not fully understood. Hopefully the fact that I became a lifetime member will be enough to compel you to have a look/listen. I stream Brain.fm through Chrome on my Android device. However, they do have an iPhone app. Brain.fm plus the Bose headphones above. Problem solved. Though I'm very curious now about Shawn's recommendation as well.

This is great for focus and staying motivated, at least for me. It's either this or a heavy dose of trance music.

I was skeptical of Brain.fm at first. In my experience, their "Sleep" mode doesn't help me, but "Focus" and their "Meditate" functions are amazing. "Focus" gives you a jolt. And sure, it may all be placebo, but as a fan of ambient music, it isn't bad ambient music.

I love this ambient noise generator, which @shootbydaylight intro'd me to. You can choose among the default free ones, including Morning Murmur, Lunchtime Lounge, and, my favorite, 'University undertones' (which feels exactly like being in a college library). You can also pay to upgrade for sounds like a Paris bistro and 'Texas Teahouse'... whatever that is!

I use this in cafes where there is music playing, because coffitivity's sounds have no meaning and do not distract me while background music does.

I started using this recently. The videos are great, but usually I only hear the sounds.

An awesome little app by the makers of RjDj that filters the noises around you. You just connect your headphones, select one of the filters, and you're good to go. The "office" filter takes out all of the harsh sounds of the work environment and changes them into harmonics so you can concentrate. Highly recommend.

I do not have these, but they look really amazing.