Keep it to a reasonable volume, keep your head on a swivel, wear your PT belt and you’ll be fine. Deaf and hard of hearing folks aren’t getting mowed down in droves.

I’ve tested and thanks to the low volume I can hear more than I did with normal earbuds. Noise cancelling is great at blocking out constant sounds like wind and background traffic, but it doesn’t do much for acute noises like horns, nearby cars, bicycle bells, or people talking/shouting.

With regular earbuds they were cranked up to 80% to block out the wind so I couldn’t hear any of the acute sounds I can hear with noise canceling and volume at 20%.

Funfact: I ride my motorcycle with actual earplugs. The wind noise at 80mph causes permanent damage after 15min. You hear more of the important stuff with earplugs because they block the wind.