Road Hazards

Gonna block that noise right out of your head

Ever wanted to shut out engine noise on a flight? Earplugs are helpful, but the most damaging sound waves go through the foam, raising your blood pressure and increasing your stress level.

The latest noise-canceling devices block harmful sounds, allowing you to reach your destination rested and ready for business. They send "antinoise" signals through the headsets; when you turn one on, the cabin appears to go quiet, as if someone cut the engines.

Two of the most popular models are the $200 Koss Quiet Zone 2000 from Koss Corp. and NCT Group Inc.'s $69 NoiseBuster. Each cuts harmful sounds and features adaptors that tap into the plane's in-flight entertainment system. In other words: free movies--although there have been reports of flight attendants demanding the $5 rental fee all the same.

The downsides are the price and required batteries, as well as the gadgets' impractical nature. Sleeping on the plane is impossible; you can't roll over if you're wearing one. And it's hard to remember to turn the device off after use because there's nothing audible coming out of the headphones.

This article was originally published in the June 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Road Hazards.