The noise canceling headphones will eliminate most of the white noise of the engines.  Unfortunately, they don't work on sources like guy in the row behind you, because of the way the tech works by sampling the ambient noise and generating an inverse wave.


Unless they have significantly improved them in the past few years.


But they will reduce the volume of his gabbing by whatever NRR rating they offer.

I found that the certified nrr rated earbuds are uncomfortable and they are limited on how loud you can turn them up. I use Sony's with sized rubber earbuds. I get the ones for less than $50 and more than $25. I wore them when I was riding on small prop planes and they were better than nothing, and I find them comfortable. I use an IPod so get the ones that control volume on the device. I will post a link from my computer, when I get up tomorrow.

Look at Direct Safety if you want to see what is out there for certified nrr earbuds. Some of the semi-custom ear plugs will inbed your earbuds in the plugs, or the high end ear plugs will have earbuds built in. Sometimes your insurance or employer will pay for high end custom ear plugs.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002M78JA2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage

These are the ones I am wearing now.  I wear them about 20 hours a day, sleeping in them.  The ones I liked better are these, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005M7AVLO?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage.  But they are $80 now and I don't think they are worth the money for my use, which is spoken word.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Isolating-Headphones-Plastic/dp/B00AEY4QP2/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1453224786&sr=1-3&keywords=nrr+earbuds
I have these also, but find that I can't sleep in them.  They do a better job of cutting out outside noise, but they did not increase the volume enough when riding on small prop planes.  I also usually wear Pelator ear muffs over earbuds, so they are not my primary hearing protection. 

My wife had a pair of Bose noise canceling headphones, they work and work well even on the planes we flew on.  Her son got them dumpster diving and we had to do a little fixing so not going to comment on whether or not they are durable enough for the money, but Costco has both the over ear and earbud Bose's sometimes for about $100 less than Amazon.  Due to our move we are not flying as much so have not replaced them.  If she/we were still spending two to three days a month on prop planes and in airports, we likely would have bought another set of the Bose.  Hard to put a price on sanity.

Sennheiser has some comfortable on ear noise canceling earphones in that price range.  Because they are not plugs or full over ear style, you can still hear what others are saying.  But the microphone picks up constant droning sounds, reverses the phase, feeds the out of phase noise back to you and cancels out the original engine drone.

I have a pair, but can't recall the model number.  I have noise isolation ear plugs to shut out everything when I want to listen to music on a plane. Those are Klipsch.  Can't recall model number.

Both above are wired.  I do have some Plantronics full over ear bluetooth wireless headphones, too, but they are more expensive.

Edit:  Sennheiser model is PCX-250. Several years old.  The current model may be different. The Klipsch model is R6i.

I'll second the suggestion for Bose.  You dont even have to be listening to music to drown out most of the ambient noise.  Flip them on and enjoy the silence.

They are pricey though. 

louie the lumberjack

I do not to fall into the "Oh new, shiny, must have." mindset, but am trying to move beyond my techno-phobia.  I do believe in being cost effective with my money, sometimes it is better to buy multiples of cheaper items, and sometimes it is better to bite the bullet and buy once.  I have a hard time with spending the money for Bose sound quality, I rarely listen to music, but sanity is a valuable commodity and this could save some of yours. 

I don't mind looking like a fool and will wear my beat to hell Pelator's in public and on airplanes.  If questioned about why I am wearing them, I refer to them as a life saving device and the life I am saving is, YOURS.

My beats by Dre took a dump and I was travelling to New Jersey for work. I stand by my decision.

louie the lumberjack

If questioned about why I am wearing them, I refer to them as a life saving device and the life I am saving is, YOURS. 

Excellent.