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With both AirPods Pro and Beats Studio Pro, if I leave them unpaired to anything and with noise cancellation active, I forget that I have them on because it's so noninvasive and occasionally knock them off my head by accident.

Have you tried a white noise app instead? I play "heavy rain pouring + thunder" and it's amazing for focus.

Personally, I prefer Rap :)

Why not get a pair of passive ear protectors if you only want to reduce noise? They cost about a tenth of what a pair of Bose headphones cost.

Can’t speak for OP, but noise canceling headphones are good for low-frequency noise, while passive hearing protection is better for high-frequency. For that reason I use headphones while bicycling — it blocks the loud engine noise and lets me better hear localizable sounds like tire swish.