What’s the funniest or strangest situation you’ve been in when you’ve craved Bose noise cancelling headphones? An obnoxious house mate? An office colleague or plane passenger chewing loudly? Teenage girls on the train freaking out about One Direction? Tell us your story to win! We’re searching for three Gizmodo readers to win a pair of QC 20i premium in-ear headphones (worth $399) and review your experience for the Giz community. Entering is easy!
Don’t worry, we’ll keep it simple by sending you a basic list of questions to build your write-up.
These are the first in-ear headphones from Bose with full-on noise reduction. The company had to re-engineer its acoustic noise cancelling technology to shrink things down. Two measurements are used — one from a microphone outside the buds, another from a mic inside. That data is beamed down to the little control stick that sits in line, right before the jack that plugs into your phone, computer, etc.
The QuietComfort 20i buds fit cosily in your ear, staying put thanks to squishy little ‘stability fins’ Bose calls StayHear+ tips. On the cable, you’ll find an inline microphone (supporting almost any smartphone) and 3 button remote for use with gear like your recent iPhone, iPad and MacBook.
The most interesting new feature: ‘Aware Mode.’ This lets you have music keep playing rather than cut out when you need to talk, a gripe we’ve had with some other noise cancelling headphones.
Entries Closed. Good Luck!
Competition Timeline
• Entries close at 10am AEDT on Wednesday 18th December 2013
• Winners will be informed and announced on Wednesday 18th December.
• Gizmodo will express mail the 3x winners their QC 20i premium in-ear headphones on Thursday 19th December to allow plenty of time for testing. We’ll also email winners some basic questions to help collect your thoughts.
By entering this competition, you commit to:
• Fairly and honestly test and review your prize by responding to Gizmodo’s review questions
no later than 1pm AEDT Friday January 10. That’s your deadline.
You’re an honorary member of the team now.
• Include a few photos with your feedback. Videos welcomed also.
• Not to include false, offensive, inappropriate or defamatory material in your text or photos.
Critical (but accurate) info is fine — it’s a review after all — but no dirty stuff or fanboy crap please.
• To have your review (in part or full) and photos used on Gizmodo; it may also be used by Bose.
• Full terms and conditions here.
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Josh L
“I actually blogged about this earlier this month, here’s the link to my post:
http://adorablyobnoxious.wordpress.com/2013/12/03/daily-prompt-hear-no-evil/ ”
Joanna L
Earlier this year I was on a plane from Thailand to the UK – so a longish flight. It was time to sleep but instead of being able to do that in peace, I was instead kept up by this couple behind me, who I assume were a new couple as the man was telling terrible jokes and the woman was shrieking like a banshee. This was bad enough… until the smutty converations started… Let’s just say they weren’t the kind of couple you would wish to imagine doing the things they were talking about. A tramatic experience which may not have occured if I had owned some noise cancelling headphones…
Sandeep W
When my parents organise Bollywood karaoke singing parties and all these uncles and aunties sing out loud in a group! Its so awkward… Wish I could somehow block them out
Lachlan K
I was a subject in a scientific study simulating long haul flights so had to sit in a room, in an economy bus seat with a motor running at 50+ decibels next to me for a full 24 hours… and then I had to do it again a few months later! I could have really used a pair then!
Stephen S
“Road trip with a mate and he put ‘What what in the butt’ song on repeat. FOR 2 HOURS!!!! I laughed, I cried, I wanted to murder him (but didnt).I’m an Audio and Acoustics post grad major and have wanted to test these for a while, but they are a little out of budget.”
Kim M
“An unexpected network fault puts me next to a station platform and I am on the mobile speaking to a Help Desk.
Next, a boisterous pack of 50 kids runs up waiting for the next train whilst a truck pauses nearby operating a noisy sewer pump. How do I work out step 5 when I am drowned out by a mix of kids, a pump at full blast and a trundling steam train alongside ?
Definitely where a QC 20i is a blessing ”
Owen J
“How many words do I get? More importantly, how much of your time do I get…Anyway I digress.
My situation involved a friend, lets call him Dave, who decided to take a nap on the train after work in a crammed carriage. As Dave was trying to sleep, he started to mumble as well as “train nodding”
Train Nodding: Where the person sits upright and the head, sometimes, violently snaps to an alert position.
As this was going on, the mumbles progressively became louder and more coherent. Finally erupting in Dave declaring his love for Pikachu (Dave is a 32 year old man) and asking why he had to die.
I’m not sure what woke him from his slumber, if it was the passengers surrounding him chuckling or me trying to wake him up.
These headphones would be a blessing as Dave and I still catch the train together, as much as I enjoy his dream banter, I think I’d much prefer the silence and my music much more.”
Kallan F
“The strangest situation occurred when my dad decided to discuss all his conquests from his teenage years. I just wanted to shrink and hide into the corner, it was extremely embarrassing because my girlfriend of the time was in the same room.Being able to cradle some acoustic cancelling headphones in my ears could have been my salvation. ”
Adam F
“A friend and I shared rooms together as we traveled across Europe and our next destination on our agenda was Ibiza.
One particular drunken night I stumbled home early while my friend continued on till the early hours of the morning with a british girl he’d met that night.
Shortly before the sun was due to rise, he came blumbering in with said girl, guiding her to his bed through the pitch blackness.
The only problem was, in his intoxicated state, they somehow found themselves on the wrong bed… My bed…
I woke up to the sounds of strange porno, where an out of breath dog was gyrating ontop of a high pitched fog horn. Trying to be a good wingman I let them do their thing uninterrupted while I turned the other way and tried to get back to sleep.
The only problem was, the out of breath dog and the fog horn kept at it till sunrise… In that moment I would have craved nothing more than Bose noise cancelling headphones to gently soothe me back into my peaceful slumber.”
Oric E
When i decided to stay over my mothers house, Long story short, her boyfriend makes animal noises in bed.
Suzanne R
While I travelling through Malaysia I stayed in budget accommodation filled with a few other young backpackers like myself, but most several local families on vacation. Every morning I awoke to the less than lovely sound of expectoration; the cultural ritual of clearing ones throat and nasal passage through what sounds like a guttural explosion of phlegm and saliva. Still today no sound makes me feel more unwell. Craved may be to soft a word for my desire of some Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Suzanne V
While I travelling through Malaysia I stayed in budget accommodation filled with a few other young backpackers like myself, but most several local families on vacation. Every morning I awoke to the less than lovely sound of expectoration; the cultural ritual of clearing ones throat and nasal passage through what sounds like a guttural explosion of phlegm and saliva. Still today no sound makes me feel more unwell. Craved may be to soft a word for my desire of some Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Josh L
When I was woken up at 4am on a Saturday morning by the sound of 2 intoxicated backpackers having loud and enthusiastic… relations outside mt Bondi apartment. Surgically removing my eardrums with a sharpened pencil crossed my mind.
Nathan L
My girlfriend sometimes gets night terrors. We were on vacation at my parents house and had a big morning the next day so we all went to bed early. She woke up screaming in the middle of the night. I pulled her close and asked her if she was ok and if she knew where she was. Pretty standard when this stuff happens. She pushes me aside with a single arm and in a deadpan tone says “It’s ok. I got this. I’m the Punctual Princess” and rolls back to sleep snoring loudly. Somehow my laughter didn’t wake her up but that was definitely a night where i needed some noise cancelling headphones and calming music.
Jeff
It would probably have to be on schoolies, three weeks ago in Byron Bay. After having a moderate amount to drink, I was trying to get to sleep. My mates had other plans, involving drinking games, a girlfriend in the bathroom, and drunken singing. Eventually I left to go sleep in a hammock, under the stars. QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones would’ve been the best incentive to fall asleep under the stars, probably listening to Arcade Fire’s “Here Comes the Night Time”.
Jim T
“I share an office with a young IT engineer who has an abnormally severe case of verbal diarrhea (let’s call him Rick for privacy’s sake). Now don’t misunderstand me, Rick is a stand-up guy who works hard while maintaining an approachable demeanor.
His vocal hyperactivity isn’t normally an issue, as the iPod earphones I use aren’t too bad at stemming the seemingly random chatter (at high volume of course!). The problems have started since Rick has discovered the heavily discounted energy drinks at the local 7/11. Now my once trusted earphones have become leaky cans that won’t stand up to the Caffeine/Sucrose fueled verbal onslaught.
My only respite has been from the ear plugs that I borrowed (stole) from the onsite workshop. These plugs while effective make it feel like I have been re-situated to a library or recording booth. So it seems for now my options are limited to dead silence or mind numbing natter… Please, only a set of Bose QuietComfort 20i’s could possibly put an end to my plight. ”
Tim A
When I get home from working at a school with noisy kids all day and walk in the door to my own screaming kids. The only thing I want at that moment is to block it all out with Bose Noise Cancelling headphones while I listen to music and catch up on the latest from Gizmodo
Arthur H
I imagine sitting down in a park, watching world goes in slow motion with O Fortuna on the background playing thru QuietComfort 20i. That would be EPIC!
Vani D
Listening to my mother-in-law! 😀
Phil K
Driving in my car with my kids arguing in the back seat.
Ash K
My housemates used to have very loud, vigorous sex. Even through double brick and plaster walls, the lady in particular was clearly audible. Bad as listening to them at night, or first thing in the morning could be, it was the slightly awkward encounter in the kitchen later that was the worst part. Wish I’d had some noise cancelling headphones to plug in at the time!
Jacob I
I work at a bank and their are a few customers that come in just to have a chat, and by that I mean they wont leave because they think I want to talk to them lol.
Paul B
“Working in an office trying to write complicated technical documents and the wandering office “have a chat” is always talking at you. I really crave some Bose audio isolation at that point.
I also travel a lot and have stopped listening to the inflight entertainment due to the random 130dB cockpit announcements so now looking for some peace and quiet from the cabin noise to chill out to some tunes, or just peace and quiet.”
Matthew B
“When I was kidnapped in South Africa and shoved into the boot of a Toyota Camry. My head was bagged and placed near the exhaust… and those things are loud! Especially when it’s a late model Camry.Also, I could hear the kidnappers in the front discussing ways to torture and dismember me for ransom. I still had my iPhone on me and was thinking “Damn, I could use some noise cancelling headphones right now.”
But then again, my hands were tied (literally) so maybe that wasn’t the best thought at that time.”
Ben C
Whenever my boss talks
Chris C
Trying to listen to audiobooks whilst running next to very busy & noisy CBD roads also carrying trams.
Barnabe M
My cousin decided to get married in Thailand and my whole family attended the event, as did my girlfriend. The first 12 hours of the day were spent travelling to the resort, meeting the extended family to be over a beautiful moonlit dinner on the beach and drinks at the reception hall. We were looking forward to a little alone time all day, and mid-way through the evening, we managed to tear away from the group and met back to our room a little early. As luck would have it, my dad thought it was an excellent time to organise a deep tissue Thai massage to be performed in the room directly adjacent to us. Lets just say that his loud moaning and grunting, urging the masseuse “deeper, deeper!” was definitely a mood killer to say the least. If only you were there Bose .. If only.
Calvin A
On a recent trip, two couples in the same house were competing who can have the loudest sex. These would have come in handy…
Ian N
I could’ve used Bose noise cancelling headphones when I accidentally boarded a cargo ship from Zanzibar to Dar Es Salaam on holiday & had to sleep next to the ships engine….
Kenneth
“I was in an elevator when this old couple next to me started making out. It was awkward, to say the least. The guy was making weird, slobbery noises. The lady, something much worse.That was the moment when I wished I had some Bose noise-cancelling headphones.
Some things can’t be unheard.”
Dom
“About 4-5 times every night I crave Bose noise cancelling headphones when my two small children wake up and start screaming the house down. Again. And again. And again. I’m not kidding, I’d have those bad boys in all night, humming happily to myself while the exaggerated yelling of my little ones is reduced to a silently-mouthed ‘O’.
Hope I get a look-in :)”
Arik L
“So the other day I take the bus to work, as usual. I take out my iPad, put the earphones on, and watch a TED video, as I usually do. As time goes by, more passengers get on the bus. Everybody are pretty much quite, with their noses stuck in a book or some electrical device.
At some point, some voices penetrate through the isolating protection of my earphones. They seem to be coming from a few seats ahead of me, where one of the passengers is bent over a tablet. It looks like he is watching something too, just without any earphones. In such moments you realize how used you are to the silence of those morning buses, the noise was much unexpected.
The bus chugs along, we almost reach the city. The irritating sounds follow us throughout the whole ride. No one dares say anything to the pesky passenger. That would probably break some unwritten code of conduct. As we get close to our final destination, I pull the plug out of my iPad, intending to plug my earphones into my phone and switch to a podcast for the rest of my way. To my horror I realise that the sounds were coming out of my phone the whole time, and that I entertained the other passengers with an episode of This American Life.”
David M
Being on a 8 hours flight with surround sound provided by 3 babies crying in the surrounding seats (2 in front and 1 behind). Noise cancelling headphones would have been great.
Julie F
When my boyfriend would not stop singing a “Wrecking Ball” parody to the story of Gollum’s life (see on Youtube by typing ‘Wrecking Ball Gollum” while I was trying to do work. He was also playing the ukulele.
Richard r
I was studying in the library and someone let out a huge fart. It totally ruined my train of thought!
Daniel N
I’ve lived in Melbourne for 3 months now and catch the tram everyday to work. The time I was absolutely craving Bose noise cancelling headphones was when a tram driver got on the loud speaker and started abusing any driver that happened to be in front of him. Was the longest half hour commute I’ve ever had…
Levi T
Driving a 4 hour long road trip with family. 18mth old making whinging noises for the sake of whinging. 3 year old saying, “mummy” over and over again. My wife ignoring the children and talking about her hard day working for eight hours. I had just finished working 14 hours overnight and haven’t slept for 46 hours.
Dan P
It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon and I was on the train to work. And then I felt a Fart brewing from the depths of my insides. I thought ok I’ll just let it pass quietly and everything will be ok. Oh how wrong was I! The next scene can only be described. Similar to the sound of a cannon signalling the start of a civil war on a night of heavy rain and thunder… I wish I didn’t hear it as I exactly knew what the whole train was looking at me for.. I wish I had a bose noise cancelling headphones that day. That day that my soul was exposed for everyone to rip…
Thivanka F
Drunk girl behind me on the plan abusing her husband for 3 hours and pushing an air hostess because her wine wasn’t cold enough.
David M
“I work in an open plan office and I sit next to my manager. One day I over heard him having a round table meeting with HR of who to offer up for the next round of redundancy.My team mate name was given, I jumped out of my seat and gave a fist pump “Yesss”. I did not like my productivity challenged team mate anyway, however it was not a good look in front of my manager and HR.”
Paul D
On a camping trip, after a drunken night, hearing your mate make “clapping noises” with his new girlfriend. – No, they weren’t actually clapping…
Nicholas L
“During 2012 i was deployed to Afghanistan the area i was based at had a practice bombing range next to it, which seemed to only get used between
10pm and 4am everyday that i was over there i really could have used them for that 7 months lol”
Stephen L
As we took off from Bali to Sydney on a full plane the guy across the aisle started to feel the effects of the dodgy satay salmon he had for lunch. He retched and spewed on and off for several hours. Despite jamming my cheapie buds deep into my ear canals I could still hear him crying ruth as I contemplated with quiet dread my own lunch choice of Oysters Seminyak.
Katherine B
“Just this last weekend I was woken from a sound sleep by a neighbor having a knock down drag out screaming domestic fight. “You don’t APPRECIATE ME” “Well YOU always ASSUME THE WORST OF ME!!!”Noise cancelling headphones would have been fantastic. The fight went on for a good 45 minutes. By that time I couldn’t get to sleep.”
Brett H
“On a car camping trip around Australia with my partner and dog.The daily adventures meant my dog was extra tired. This, in combination with tight sleeping quarters (drivers seat), lead to the loudest, most consistent snoring I have ever heard from him (or any living creature). Ear-buds did nothing, noise cancelling headphones would have been perfect!”
Jim D
“Christmas is coming…so too is the unavoidable dinner with the Mother-in-law. If only I could claim my position of pretending not to listen is due to industrial deafness fully taking hold. But never fear, technology to the rescue!!!If not that, then on my o/seas trips I could awaken in a restful and happy state from the red-eye, and could continue wearing them long into the journey whereby walks down the street and dinner time would be much more culturally acceptable not having to hear the ghastly (what has been heard can never be un-heard) sound of the ubiquitous deep-throat hucking up of a slimy, sticky, god-awful polluted lung goober, shortly followed by the inevitable splat of it on the street.
Or if at dinner, the stressful and unavoidable pondering late into the evening the chemical reaction said lung-glob is having on the serviette and dinner table, upon which it has been left for all to admire! Yum !!! NOT !!
”
Leigh
While buying milk in a servo one night. A woman who had lost her voice from repeated drug use was trying to buy sun glasses at the counter……because this is what you do at 10pm at night. The service attendant tried his best to work out what she was saying but had no luck. In steps an elderly woman to the rescue who thought she would be able to resolve the situation. The only problem was she was deaf and couldn’t hear a thing anyway. So back and forth they went trying to decipher each other. I patiently waited for 5 minutes until both parties gave up and left. The young woman left without her sunnies and the old lady left dazed and confused. The lesson of the story, don’t leave home without your QuietComfort 20i’s.
Sunny S
Funniest situations I come across are every other weekend when my neurotic, obsessive housemate ends up getting high on MDMA and starts off his trip watching the Batman movies at ear-shattering levels with me trapped in one corner forced to see them with him. He slowly progresses to dressing up in his Bat-suit and pretends to be Batman for 2-3 hours on a stretch complete with dialogues from the movies, and the fight scenes. Ends up having an imaginary Interrogation scene with the Joker, all the while he is trying to put on his hoarsest imitation and most times forgets he only has the top half of the Bat-suit on. It was hilarious and strangely nightmarish the first couple of times, but now it’s just disturbing and depressing and an auditory hell. To top it ll off i have to listen to him say “I’m Batman” every 5 mins for the rest of the night with his voice reaching cancerous levels with each statement.
Grant W
When my sister talks, she yells. We always tell her to use her “inside” voice. There are times when Im in my room and she calls out to me I just act like I didn’t hear her or im asleep so she doesn’t come in and hurt my ears.
Kris K
Ok. When I was in high school a girl in my class was asking for some advice from couple other girls. Her’s were it gets awkward she was telling to her friends in the middle of the class about how she was uhm being intimate with her boyfriend and when the uh choo-choo was in the tunnel (the one with the narrower entrance) the rubber covering the choo-choo got stuck in the tunnel, and if it’s nothing to worry about. She was having this conversation right there beside me during class. GOD TMI. Of all the times not to have a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones!
Adam O
When my housemate brings a lucky date home and leaves the dog out. He barks all night continuously waking me up to hear my housemate and his date having fun.
Matthew K
I guess the time i most need a pair of bose noise cancelling head phones would have been in the summer of 2009, I was staying at my Grandparents house . It was one of those stinking hot nights when you cant fall asleep . So there I am laying in bed and i hear what sounds like a spring of a bed creaking , this continues for about 20 minuets….. really could have used Bose Noise cancelling headphones . I have been scarred for life
Ash K
Strangest situation was when having my last set of earphones which i believe were the seinheissers. Had them in my ear but needed to get them out to understand what the ticket inspector was saying to me. So i accidentally pulled it out and didn’t notice that the head of the earphone with the in-ear clip was still in my ear. i thought a bug was on my ear so i quickly waved my ear in the train like a fool only to realise my earphone plopped out on the ground. Quite embarrassing.
Charles w
“Once when flatmates from the share house I was living in disappeared around me a friend offered up the attic in an old church for a few months. my bed was under a large skylight and every morning at sunrise I would be woken up by 20 or so pigeons having sex in the roof cavity for several hours above me. crrrooooo! crrrooooo! crrrrroooooo! non stop.
really needed those headphones.”
Foad B
when you wake up in the morning because everyone is yelling in the house. I wish I could just sleep with the noise cancelling headphones.
Kartik K
I travel a bit. Crying babies on planes are synonymous with my flying experiences. The pacifier is always a miss and parents become helpless. Staring at them angrily never works. I’ve learnt that I cannot avoid, compete or negotiate with such situations. The Bose noise cancelling headphones would certainly help me keep my sanity, though.
Julieanne M
“My friend and I walked into a hostel room in Barcelona and were hit by this incredible stench. It smelt sweaty socks, but multiplied to a factor of about 250. We held our breathes, leaped to open a window, stuffed our bags into lockers and ran out, praying that the stench would clear in the hours before bed.
But upon re-entering the room we were disappointed to find that the smell had not left, and what’s more, there was now a large mass with an abominable snore on one of the beds. No sleeping bag, no sheet. Just a large belly slowly rising and falling. This snore was serious. It was relentless. And what made it so incredibly intolerable was that it was completely irregular. As soon as you accommodated to a certain rhythm and frequency, and began to drift off to sleep, it changed.
After hours of trying to get around this noise, I slept. But, as the light was slowly rising a rustling awoke me. I rolled over, focused my eyes and saw the source of my discomfort opening it’s locker. He was huge, and still breathing heavily, gurgling. Transfixed I watched him as he pulled out a plastic bag from his pocket and pulled out of his locker but one possession: a stick of salami the size of a small child.
So, this was the source of the smell. I couldn’t believe it. Who was this guy? Why did he only have salami? I can never, ever un-see, un-smell or un-hear the sensory assault committed that night, but at least Bose noise cancelling headphones could save me from any future auditory insults. ”
Luke K
There are many circumstances that come to mind, however being in a 20 person shared hostel room in switzerland with what must have been the international snorers convention takes the cake. I couldn’t even think straight let alone contemplate sleeping. It was so bad the walls were shaking
Ben B
I was in a plan returning home and ended up sitting behind a screaming kid they guy sitting next to me and I both reached into our bags and pulled out headphones to block it out. However because we were so close to the screaming kid neither of our headphones were good enough to block it completely, but we looked at each other and without saying a word understood what the other was thinking, and that was we needed QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones.
Stuart b
“Hearing my elderly parents getting it on in shared vacation accommodation.Nuff said!!”
Audric D
After owning a sub-par pair of in-ear earphones, I once took them out, only to have the small bud remain in my ear. I did not have a tweezer in my vicinity to remove it, so I tried to violently shake my head, which resulted in it embedding itself deeper into my ear. I eventually went to the doctor’s to get it removed to prevent any further damage.
Rob M
I have been lying in a hospital bed, forced to endure, daytime television, an obnoxious person in the next bed and over a dozen visitors for the person in the bed opposite, boy did I need those Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Virginia S
Those wrenching scratches etched across the violin by zealous little orchestral minions at the school’s annual musical showcase would have to be the one prize moment in life when only Bose noise cancelling headphones could anesthetize the pain.
Cameron, C
“I could use them everynight!… I have two dogs who bark at the slightest of noise. I sleep with them in my bedroom (otherwise they bark) with an old fan heater going that drowns out all other noise, ie when my flatmate comes home or street noise.
This means I don’t sleep well however because of the noise of the fan heater.
I used to have a pair of QC2s that worked an absolute treat, they died and now I either sleep with earplugs or a pillow over my head to drown out the fan noise. The QC20i would be a God send!! ”
Colin J
“Noise cancelling you say ,O pleas let it be true . You see my dear friends
at gizmodo(You rock by the way)the dilemma I am faced with is my
beautiful wife ,witch I love to death has butt one floor and that is
(unfortunately for me ) the ability to snore and I must say it sounds just
like a jet fighter at takeoff . So in light of this most unfortunate affliction I
decided to listen to a beautiful meditation CD through a set of so
called state of the art headphones NOW the problem with this little
venture of mine is These headphones are not only uncomfortable I
can still hear every single disturbing other worldly sound trumpeting
from deep within my wonderful wife. But if the QuietComfort 20i
Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headpones can do what they claim then
hallelujah I mite actually get som sleep. HELP ME PLEASE….”
Benjamin K
The funniest situation, where I could have used pair of nosie cancelling headphones was, I was at the airport waiting for my flight, when I heard a very old lady in the same age as my grandmother talking on her cell phone to her husband maybe boyfriend about the wild night of sex they had just and and that would have been fine but it was rather sexual explicit. There are things one does´t need to hear in life one of which is hearing a that is the same age and your grandmother talking about sex. I am now scared for life.
Josh L
“Sitting on a train home after a night out with some mates and realizing it was a Friday night during the Footy season and Collingwood had lost. Three drunk as all hell Collingwood supporters get on the train and started fighting over who’s player badges were whose. I live near Frankston and never before have I heard bogans bicker so intensely. Try as I might I could not drown them out with my iPod. ‘Gimme mah swannie badge!’ Echos through my mind to this very day.
”
russel S
I thought this only happened in commercials or movies. But it actually happened to me. I was in the middle seat on the plane, on my way to the Philippines. I had a mother with her baby to her left and a 3-4 year boy on my right. and behind me was another mother and 2 of her kids. I had kids screaming and kicking behind my seat. a baby crying to my left, and a boy trying to scream out mommy during the whole flight haha. oh boy was that a joy. I just tried to enjoy my flight via the planes infotainment the headphones didn’t do anything tho. making me wish I had a pair of these. I will soon be on the plane again next month these would come in handy.
Nelson A
“There I was sitting on a public toilet in Westfield parramatta on a Saturday afternoon after spending 5 mins laying out little square toilet paper patches to cover the toilet seat to ensure I have zero body contact with the toilet seat.Having spent the last 30 mins checking out every toilet in the whole shopping center to find the quietest and cleanest cubicle with an upset stomach from my lactose intolerance reaction. I was going green from the pain and the focus of keeping things in.
I stood in my corner cubicle eagerly waiting for the last person to leave the bathroom so I could finally sit and do my business. As I dropped my pants and awkwardly sat down with my now shaking knees, my worst nightmare happened….
I could hear what sounds like a football team come marching in and they were calling out names to each other. Than I heard the worst news of my life… One guy was laughing about how many of them had food poisoning from lunch and they can’t leave the center without having to visit the toilet 5 times. As he was finishing his sentence, I could hear and see the cubicles beside me being filled up from the gap on the bottom of the cubicle dividers. What happened next was the event that will forever scar my audio experience of a public toilet FOREVER!!
To this day the thought of a public toilet will bring me back to my shock encounter of what noise can be produced from the human body.
If only I had the noise cancelling headset, my phobia of public toilet may not have occurred.”
Murray l
Christmas with the oldies where my grandma lets one rip with every step she takes.
Nathaniel L
After a night of heavy drinking and clubbing, my best friend’s cousin had brought back a guy to our shared hotel room, and they stayed up late… you know, having some fun. I wasn’t gonna stop them… but, I REALLY didn’t want to hear them!
Anthony L
“I have noisy neighbors upstairs, and when they decide to get dirty, There is a rhythm to all the action. Constant beats, hums and scratching sounds.I’m sure these Bose NC headphones would’ve cancelled out all of that racket. I mean, these are what they’re designed to do right?”
Monica G
“In the bathroom while next door pushing number 2….I really wish I have one so I don’t have to listed to it”
Sonal T
On a long haul flight, sitting with my girlfriend next to the bathrooms. I was disgustingly sick on the way home from Vietnam, with fluids of various sorts coming out of all my orifices. Luckily most of my sounds were drowned out by the Airbus engines, but I feel we could have used some Bose noise cancelling headphones. Not for myself, but to save my girlfriend from hearing the ungodly sounds I was making.
Patrick
I was on a flight to Dubai and the guy across the aisle was farting constantly – thankfully they were loud but not smelly! The sort of thing that once you have heard it, no matter how hard you try, you hear it again and again! If only I had some wicked Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones!
Jing U
Neighbours having loud sex upstairs.
Mark M
“The time i craved Bose noise cancelling headphones the most would have been around 2008 when I was living in a big student share house & my housemate (who lived underneath my room) decided to drop out of uni & finance his lifestyle by opening a bar in his bedroom.This made for many months of agony, I discovered ‘white noise’ generator as a great way to block out the noise, but there was always a bit of the ambient noise from his bar seeping inside my cheap headphones. Ahh those were the days..
But now i’ve grown up, i reckon i’d still get alot of use out of these great headphones.”
Brett X
Used to have two cats. Their names were Bass and Treble. Bass was fluffy, round and cuddly. Treble was sleek, streamlined and scatty. Their names matched their personalities and demeanour. One day I had to scrape Trebs off the road with a spade and the wife wouldn’t stop crying. Noise cancelling Bose headphones would have been fantastic. Needless to say after that day there’s no way she would drop the Bass.
Lachlan B
I’m not sure of any situation when I have ever carved Bose noise cancelling headphones, but one time a was playing my xbox and had the noise turned on my turtle beach head phones. One of my flat mate walked into my room and they said something to me. I just nodded and he walked away. A few hours later both of my flat mates were carrying a large box through our house and I noticed it getting carried pass my room. I followed them into the kitchen and it turned out I agreed to a keg fridge and I owned them $500… not a bad thing, but expensive.
Graham I
“Our house sits on top of a hill, the bedroom window faces the strong winds and keeps me awake unless I wear ear-plugs or my over the head headphones.
The ear plugs hurt my ears, the headset stops me sleeping anyway (can’t turn my head) – these NC ear-buds would be the ideal thing to help me get some sleep…
Getting some sleep will improve my life 100%. I will be able to fix up the house and sell it, getting away from the wind altogether. In addition my sex life should improve as my partner finds the over-the-head setup very off-putting during love-making. I would think the discreet Bose ear-buds would also be a big help in this situation… :)”
Beau D
Often when I’m sleeping, possums like to be aggressive and hump in the tree outside my window. I’d be okay with it except they make this weird loud sound all night. It sounds like the predator with a lisp. It’s nights like these that I wish I had the Bose noise cancelling headphones, so I could get a quiet and peaceful nights sleep.
Neil B
Recently moved back into rental property I lived in 8 years ago and the next door neighbor with the amazingly loud and disgusting hacking cough is still there! Really plays havoc with trying to use the app on my ipod to have a calming meditation when I’m home in the middle of my split work shift. Noise cancelling headphones seem like the next step toward serenity and sanity!
Lee M
I live in a unit above a elderly couple and every morning the gentleman comes out onto the balcony and does a Tarzan yawn which wakes me up!!! Please gizmodo help me.
Ryan M
One of my house mates was dating this girl. We lived in a 5 bedroom house with 5 guys total. All of us wanted to forget the noises being made by this girl whenever she “visited” him. It was disturbing!
Anthony O
Forgetting to board my train, whilst I looking through the different types of Bose headphones on my iphone ..
Rayyan M
A woman telling me how she is cheating on her husband while he is on a fishing trip.
Kanthan B
Sitting on a train heading into town, a very elderly gentleman was sitting behind with an old school radio. For the entire trip (over 1hr), he sat there scrolling through the dial from one end of the frequency to the other. Not really stopping at any station long enough to make sense of it. It was like he enjoyed the sound of static, or he was deaf. I could hear that static through my earphones. It was a long 60 mins.
Jacques S
My colleague, who sits next to me, insists on eating his breakfast / lunch daily at his desk. He has this stomach churning habit of SLUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRPPPPP IIIIIINNNNNNGGGGG up his food regardless of what it is. This behavior extends to any liquid intake as well….it drives me NUTS to say the least!!! Bose noise cancelling headphones sure would stop the cold shivers I get down my back when the slurping starts!
Ben S
I was on the bus today, everyone was soooooo loud, I was very tired and just wanted to quietly listen to my music however, with my $10 earphones that wasn’t possible. I definitely craved these Bose earphones in that situation.
Nigel V
My mother, her family friends and the 17 and 19 year old nieces discussing potential partners for me at the dinner table. I’m in my mid 20’s and some of those girls were too young, at least for me.
Martin /
Driving down the Hume in my 12 yo beat up Magna. Wind noise, road noise, aircon noise, trucks screaming by, and nothing to listen to but AM radio. Bose, let my ears believe that I’m in a Rolls instead.
Chris S
“In my student days I lived in a very old and strange town house. So strange, there were rooms with locks on the outside (mine, which made for terrible jokes), and bedroom doors that opened outwards rather than inwards.
I live with four people and this story involved one of my house mates, let’s call him Dick and his girlfriend. They were a nice couple but were very loud, to say the least. One afternoon they’re going at it in their own quarters and I can hear everything echoing down our long hallway into my small, but not so sound proof bedroom.
The next thing I hear is this loud *BANG, CRASH* and a scream. At this point my frustration turned to worry and I get up off my chair (I’m sitting on my computer playing games) and race to open my door thinking someone had been shot in the hall way (loud noises = gun shot in my head clearly!). To my surprise, I see my house mate and his girl laying butt naked on the floor in his doorwar, full erection.
That’s when I screamed and shut the my door. My fear had now turned to suffering, my life to depression! I’d seen more of my not so attractive house mate and his lady-friend than I had needed to see.
It turns out Dick had been trying a new position in the bedroom; standing and holding her up (the carry). He had then tripped near his door, fell back slamming into it and breaking the door knob. That made the first loud bang, which followed with the door swinging open and slamming into the wall as they fell.
It’s a vision I will never get out of my head, and I no longer live in that town house or with that house mate, who by the way was fine from the fall, just a bruise or two.
Had I owned a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones, I would never had heard the noise and ran out to witness such a horrible site. I would still have my innocence.
”
Steve B
I was flying from Singapore to London, an 18 hour flight. My seat was in the middle of the 747 and I was surrounded by two strangers. The gentleman on my left was built like a front rower for the New Zealand All Blacks. His shoulders were so broad they took up half of my seat. The gentleman then proceeded to fall asleep and snore in my direction. The airline issued headphones just did not cut the mustard. Gee I wished I had a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones…
Jamie S
A few years back (as a teen) I was privy to a conversation between my mother and her elderly friend. Both women were seemingly unaware of my presence, when the topic turned to VERY explicit details of menopause and the state of my mums friends nether regions. One of two things may have saved me… The ground opening up OR Bose noise cancelling headphones 🙂
Dan B
“At the gym while while doing some sets and having to listen to some complete noob trying to impress a girl with his “knowledge”… Come to thing of it, by the look on her face, she could have done with them instead.
He was “that guy” at the gym. ”
Allen M
“After an all-nighter in Tokyo, I found myself in Akihabara during the early-morning. None of the shops were open and the trains weren’t running. The only person in the city was this queue that was a block long. I didn’t know a word of Japanese, but with nothing else to do, I decided to wait in line too.
I ended up getting one of the remaining tickets for the day, and was ushered into this cramped, window-less room on the top floor of a department store. When the stage lights came on and a JPop girl-band appeared, I wish I had a pair of noise-cancelling headphones for the next 90 minutes.”
Dan K
Most nights at 0230 when my teething 18month old is screaming at me unable to sleep!
Michael H
“Hearing my future in-laws ‘pillow talk’ that sounded like an instructional video, “put your leg like this…no, move your foot…”
Equal parts embarassing and hilarious.”
Nicholas H
My stangest experience was whilst backpacking in south america. staying in large dorm rooms in hostels and having to listen to snoring, sex, drunken (read; loud) sex and male on male (read loud and rough) sex. Although i’m not sure any amount of noise cancelling could really fix that, I’m sure the bose headphones would go a long way
Jun F
A man was siting in front of me while i was on my train home. He fell asleep while the train was moving and the noise of his snoring sound is so loud that the whole carriage can hear it. People in the carriage started to say that someone should youtube this. As I was sitting behind this man and hearing the noise in the closest distance that i can think of. I wish i have a noise cancelling headphone with me.
Trent C
Watching tv at home, housemate and gf come home drunk proceed to get “down to business” in next room. If i could have watched my movie with out the added “sound effects” it would have made my night
Headphone
I was trying to catch a decent video review over at Arstechnica.com (great site btw its my homepage check it out) but my colleague had some crappy low-tier Gizmodo video review polluting the audio spectrum via his speakers. I didn’t have any Bose noise cancelling head phones so I had to walk over and punch his computer in the face for his poor taste in technology sites #rekt #TrueStory #swag
Matthew B
On the train hearing an argument between a homeless man and a big Maori bloke about getting a job.
Ken D
Waiting for a flight at the airport and the announcements are louder than Gok Wan’s shirts. I always want to drown out the bloody announcements for those stupid greedy people who can’t tear themselves away from the free food at the Qantas Lounge.
Haitao R
clear voice
mick D
Anytime im in public and people are having an awkward conversation, or are having a domestic in public. It awkward when you can hear everything being said and its impossible to switch off and ignore it.
Jonathan Z
We used to live in a town house. This house had very thin walls with the neighbours. The worst thing that we heard from our neighbour was when he had diarrhea! All we could hear was “oh god! oh god!” then.. your imagination will fill in the rest of the noises! Safe to say, we moved house not long after.
Brad s
“Right now! I have an office colleague that has hearing issues. Or is that, voice volume control issues? ARGH! Her voice carries and carries all through the office.
I can hear every conversation and every telephone call she has.
Winey, sharp and noise pollution.
I need something that can drown out the oh so hurting waves of the voice from hell. I could also listen to some music :)”
Josh R
When I was living at home I have just arrived home early from a mates house one night to hear my parents having sex ….. I would have killed for a set of noise cancelling headphones that night !!
Craig G
We were staying in a hotel on holiday in Toronto, Canada. I awoke in the middle of the hight to a noise that i thought was someone in trouble… once I was alert enough to figure out what was going on, I realised it was in fact the amourous couple in the room nextdoor… They were so loud I couldn’t get back to sleep until they were… umm.. “finished”. They must’ve had their Weebix that morning, as they seemed to go on forever!
Anthony M
Whilst sitting on the stall in the bathroom at work some gent in the next cubicle over proceeds to watch porn on his phone with the sound turned on reasonably loud. Needless to say it was an uncomfortable situation which i ‘pushed’ really hard to exit from (pun intended). Noise cancelling headphones would have let me enjoy my morning defecation ritual in peace!
John J
In the Qantas Club when people have their phone on loudspeaker and want to shout to the other party.
Tim P
Dentist, drill. Enough said.
Peter P
459988554
Daniel B
My Flatmate was enjoying some special time with his girlfriend, and the noises I heard would have made a prostitute blush. I would have loved to have had a set of these most awesome headphones to save my ears.
Jayden S
when I was on a 12 hour flight 2 babies screaming in business class and the noise canceling headphones wasn’t effective. What a terrible flight putting up with those kids!
damien L
Was lying in the emergency wards with a suspected broken back, when the woman in the bed next to me kept complaining about the minor malady that she was wasting all of the medical staffs time with. So much so that they were delayed in getting me some pain meds. Not sure that the headphones would have worked for me, but I would have liked to give them to the poor attending doctor. ps my injury ended up being only microfractures. They tell me I will skate again!
Ki N
“Having to settle our baby boy at 3am in the morning, then thinking I could use the hour or so to catch up on a few favourite podcasts at the same time.
Baby gets settled. CHECK.
Earphones cut out noise of crying, thus reduce stress levels. CHECK.
Get to hear fav podcasts. CHECK.
Feel like a multitasking mega-dad. CHECK CHECK ”
Nawaz s
I recall a time when I was motorcycling through Vietnam. I had stopped in a tiny village in the mountains in the north of Vietnam and found a small corrugated iron shack to sleep in. It wasn’t much to look at but It was already late, and I looked forward to a night’s rest after a long, hot day on the road. At around 10pm music started from across the road. A wedding was taking place, and the thumping bass from the loadspeakers was making my accommodation shake and buzz with each beat. It was at that time, with mosquitoes crawling over me, the hot night air enveloping me, the smell of livestock hanging heavy in the air, and the sound of shrill Vietnamese pop drilling in to my head for hour after hour, that I most craved a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Jordan L
Camping in the Indonesian jungle and being surrounded by a troop of Baboons during mating season. They literally howl, and I did not sleep a wink. Would have been great to have a pair of Bose noise cancelling earphones to help block out the racket they were making.
Dan I
“The night I met my wife would’ve been a great time to have some noise cancelling headphones. We met at a bar that had karaoke on. She’d been telling me how good she could sing and how she’d been in a band while at school. When she got up to sing, she was dreadful! Like ‘cats fighting possums at night’ dreadful!
Turns out she had an ear infection, which explains why she sang brilliantly the next week.”
John L
“i lived in China for over 7 years
Catching domestic flights can be very frustrating. one particular flight with China eastern i was traveling to Xiamen. i was stuck in the middle of 2 people. one of them a man who proceeded to cough up as much mucus as possible and a woman who persistently eat sunflower seeds. between the sound of munching and the sound of mucus i became a mind melting mess. when i closed my eyes the noises became worse. i tried to escape to the bathroom but it stunk and i swear i could still him them from the other side of the plane. i cannot tell you what i would have done for a pair of good headphones to turn up tunes and disappear for 3 hours into my own music filled world”
Chris B
While on a train and hearing three old ladies discussing intimate details about their sex lives, something i’ll never be able to get out of my mind.
Rory W
I craved a pair of Bose noise canceling head phones when a women on the same plane as me would not stop throwing up. Just the sound of it made me want to be sick myself. Could have really used a pair that day !!!
Taihei L
I swear this person was doing it on purpose, but I was outside working on a novel that I’m writing. Someone comes up to me with a bag of chips and offers me some. I decline, but he sits down next to me and starts munching loudly. It looked like it was deliberately to annoy me, although he was laughing so I don’t think he had bad intentions. Having Bose noise cancelling headphones would have been great in that situation.
Daniel H
i was in a pub once, in London, when a fire alarm went off. and i couldn’t believe, what happened. Everybody left!! Now if that had been a pub in Australia, a pub made of Christmas trees and petrol. In between a remand center for young criminals. and fireworks. at Halloween!! And sure, you would look for the fire!! If you couldn’t see it, it didn’t exist. If the alarm still went on, yee would make jokes about it. ” Is that my phone, hahahaha!!” These Bose headphones would come in handy then… lol….
james U
i was travelling back from newcastle on a bus. i was using some old sony headphones i had cause thats all i had at the time. behind me ther was this old lady trying to tell everyone about her cat finally someone gave in and listen but because my head phones were poor quality i could still hear her tell this young girl all about her cat for the next hr nearly drove me insane. i was so glad when we stopped i made sure that i didnt sit near the lady again. it would have been so much better if i had the bose quietcomfort 20i i would have never heard to story and had peace and quiet on my bus trip home
Jonathan C
Travel is one of the biggest obessions of todays working generation. On my recent trip to the US in economy on a United Air flight with crappy headphone my ears were bleeding. The low ambient hum of the engines, babies crying in front, a group of schoolies carrying on behind me…why didn’t I bring a great pair of noise cancelling headphones.
poshaun m
Hostel in london, sharing a room with 14 people. sleeping on the bottom of a bunk bed and the upper bunk person asked whether one of the girls in another bunk would like to join him. she did, and the noise kept me awake for a couple rounds. wish I bought a pair of bose cancelling headphones.
Tim L
Slept on the couch at a mates place, meanwhile he brought home a girl and had really loud sex in the other room for hours. Scarred for life!
Matt c
parents in-law having sexytime, I was in the next room.
Priya
When my friend’s parents have a massive argument which ended in make up sex. All which happened in their bedroom which happened to be next to the one I was staying….noise cancelling was definitely craved.
Mitchell W
“Walking through the streets of Canberra, I was approached by a dapper-looking young gent, looking for someone to appear in his Youtube comedy series production.
He explained to me that it was semi-improvised and, it seemed, may end up in a kissing scene as the story ~unfolded~ in his mind. I tentatively agreed and, as we were walking towards the chosen production area, where the rest of the cast was stationed, I slowly recognised a face.
It was my art-student ex-girlfriend. She looked over, recognised me, and a huge smile dawned across her face.
I started smiling as well. This was cool. We’d have chemistry, we knew that!
Her smile, however, kept evolving, first into a smirk and then BAM! into the loudest, bone-shatteringest explosion of laughter I had ever heard. In between her hitherto unprecedented blasts of funny-noise a barely perceptible “no, no” was escaping her lips.
It seems that I was, literally, being laughed off set.
Some noise-cancelling headphones could have helped me in my casual retreat back to a stiff drink that day.”
Drew G
“I think being seating in the rear of a plane, on the tail end of a flight from Melbourne to Beijing, right in front of the bathrooms… There was a constant stream… Of both people and noise coming from those rest rooms, and being able to drown them out would have been amazing!I actually had a pair of Phillips noise cancelling ear buds that did not work…”
Damian N
I was trying to sleep in a tiny hotel in Bundaberg with paper thin walls while a couple performed the ‘horizontal mambo’ in the room next to me. Oh, how I would have loved to have cancelled that noise!
James M
I live between a brothel and a nightclub, on a flight path. A new house is not on the horizon…
Tim M
I’m off to the dentist soon to get a couple of fillings. The WORST thing about the dentist is the sound of drilling and sucking. If I had the Bose earphones, it would be a BREEZE!
Jarrard L
“In the city, guy high on drugs dressed like he is from the rolling stones, sweating up a storm got a stereo cranked up and is singing along, 100% completely incorreherantly, mumbling nonsense into a microphone trying to busk.
I suppose he sounded a bit like Ozzy Osbourne come to think of it.”
Simon B
“My mate and me where on a road trip and we found ourselves staying at a pub in Newcastle.My mate was quite the ladies man and secured himself some company for the evening with no problem.
The issue was that we were both staying in the same room. A room so small that the two single beds were close enough to sneeze on each other.
I have no doubt that a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones would have saved me from years of expensive therapy and awkward story’s.
”
Mark S
“A work colleague of mine (actually a really nice guy) has music in his heart but can’t carry a tune in a bucket also loves eighties top 40 classics and believes that the lyrics should stop after four words… those four words are always wrong.…please send help…
”
Pavan P
when i decided to take a tuk-tuk in india during rush hour…..i craved for noise cancelling headphones….
Adrian S
“In the back of a tour bus in Brazil. 16 hours in a bus with 50 tourists still acclimatising to a tropical climate and questionable food hygiene stadards. Seated right next to the onboard toilet.
These would have made that trip so much more bearable (especially if Bose bring out an olfactory accessory)”
Ian P
I was on a flight from Melbourne to Singapore. Sitting next one side of me was my wife. On the other side was someone’s 10 year old boy. I dont sleep on planes very well so I pass the time listening to music. During the flight the boy kept falling asleep on my shoulder – not such a problem, just a nudge and he’d move over. The last time he half woke up and wiped his nose up the length of my sleave… Snotting up the length of my arm… A moment I wish I could have ignored with noise cancelling headphones…
Paul W
“Having 7 children and constantly travelling for work noise pollution whilst trying to listen to music or audio books is a huge problem for me. I normally use a pair of Beats in ear headphones as they were a present an do provide some noise blocking however it is never enough.
Recently on a flight to Perth from Sydney I was stuck on a flight between a group of adolescent travelers from France. This lovely group of young adults were basically encircling me and discussing who knows what in a very enthusiastic fashion.
With a small smattering of high school French in my head I had the misfortune of overhearing a slightly lewd reference which caused me to smirk…. This as it turns out was a big mistake, I spent the next 4 hours with them trying to engage me in conversation and laughing at my attempts to speak French. By the time the flight had finished I was tired and trying to work out if they had been laughing at my French or just making fun of me.
All of which would have been avoided if I only had a good pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones and hadn’t smirked in the first place”
Hung/Hong B
Friend talking too much and still not getting the message when I put in my headphones. I then start daydreaming about the Bose quietcomfort 20i so I don’t have to listen to his insistent talking not realizing he is revealing his feelings for me…I then nod my head without realizing I have agreed to go on a date with him…I’m now thinking how I can get out of this…
Benjamin C
In a professional environment I thought I would escape this… But on a weekly basis, there is a girl who sits at the back of the office and LOUDLY talks about the farts she does… not only this but she often walks around the office asking inappropriate questions. I sometimes put a pair of unplugged headphones and pretend they are noise cancelling so I can dodge her !
mathias
Sitting at my work desk trying to do work when a door malfunctioned and continued to beep for 8 hrs straight
Luke L
When I was DJing at a club, thought I had girls nagging at me to play some certain tunes, found out from a mate they were asking for my number. I’d rather the headphones =D
Dan h
Have to traveling with the guy I sit next to at work, he passes wind snores and complains non stop. Wish I had something to stop him but these headphone will have to do. Do they make something to block out the smell?
Sonny T
When I was sitting on an international flight between Sydney and Los Angles and they guy next to me spent the best part of 14 hours passing wind fairly loudly and must have though the drone of the aircraft was downing out the noise. I can tell you – it did not!
Chris k
What started off as a big night out on the town, ended with me passing out – somehow, underneath one of my mates beds. This in itself, wasn’t actually too bad, that pile carpet is amazingly comfortable! The bad part happened when I woke up to bed bouncing on my face. Needless to say, some Bose noise cancelling headphones would have worked a treat. I ended up sticking it out, and ended up emerging after they had gone out for breakfast.
Jordan F
I was camping out in the tropical jungle of Malaysia with some friends when one of them retired early for the night. The rest of us stayed to chat and toast poppadums over the fire. The night was still and quiet, with only the occasional calls of jungle creatures when we heard a low guttural growl in the darkness. Conversation screeched to a halt and we looked around nervously, could it be a tiger? Wild boars were known to prowl the area and could be aggressive as well. The growling continued and we stood up and turned our headlamps on, looking all around us for a glimpse of the shining eyes of a stalking animal. We slowly made our way towards the sound, trying to figure out what animal was making such a terrifying noise. As we walked past the cluster of tents we suddenly heard an almighty roar right behind us, inside the tent of our friend who had gone to sleep. It was an animal all right! A tired, snoring homo sapien. We all laughed about it and went into our respective tents. My tent was next to his, needless to say I did not get much sleep that night.
Brandon W
Working out at the gym and having to listen to the same songs on repeat each day, with added grunting and verbal noises from other gym goers! Please make it stop! haha
Alan P
Flying through a cyclone and seriously wanting calm reassuring music.
Chaitanya S
I forgot my headphones recently on the way to work. I hopped on to a CityRail and found a seat next to a lady who was grooming herself through the reflection of her Galaxy phone. The car was soon packed with people standing in the aisle. It was steaming hot, the car had no aircon and the “fragrances” were not pleasant. I couldn’t tune out with music. And the lady next to me received a call. Great! I’d have loved to ignore but her voice reminded of Sindel from Mortal Kombat; it was shriek-ish and loud. People with headphones turned heads! And only aspect worse than her voice was the content of chatter with who was evidently her female partner. Sounds like a turn on? Good god no! Annoyed passengers shook their heads but she didn’t care. And was sitting right next to her. It was 50 Shades of Gay for 50 mins! At one point she started WhatApp-ing her selfies to her partner and I could have sworn I saw a pierced piece of inked flesh on her 5 inch… phone (what were you thinking?). Anywho, the haunting experience reminded me never to forget my headphones except my current $12.99 Skull Candy’s are reaching the end of their life. A Bose Noise Cancelling pair would be a godsend!
Paul
What’s the strangest situation ive been in when ive craved Bose noise cancelling headphones was when I was in a room with my parents and they were over sharing about how the passion had never left their relationship OMG wish were DEAF better still wish Id had BOSE 🙂
Jason K
Not sure I really need them – My Sennheisers are pretty sweet but I could be tempted!
Daniel Y
When I was walking through Redfern Station and I had a pair of Bose in-ear headphones in which were not noise cancelling and had someone talking to me asking for money and they could tell that I was listening to music. Eventually they started to make strange noises, so I gave them the money and they ran off.
Ivan H
I work out 6 times a week during the peak hours for my gym. Almost every time i try to concentrate on my weights i would hear people screaming loudly or breathing heavily as they tried to lift even the tiniest of weights. It would be great to not have to listen to moaning and groaning when you have 80KG lifted above your head.
Rob P
When I’ve been dispatching ducks and chooks; would really to help me zone out of this unpleasant but necessary part of life on the farm.
Stephen T
I live with my girlfriends brother, if I need him to have a pair of these.
Mark E
“Up until recently I used to enjoy spending time in my backyard listening to music on my nearly antique headphones while gardening or pretending that I own a naturists reserve and that no-one can see me. The only problem is that my neighbours recently got two small pugs and what they lack in spacious nasal cavities they more than make up for with incessant yapping. As my current headphones are lacking in any form of noise cancellation or insulation the not so beautiful symphony of yaps created by the two dogs tends to contrast (and not in a good way like bacon and maple syrup) with the music that I am trying to listen to.
If only I had some form of noise cancelling headphones I would be more inclined to continue gardening and finish that hedge I’ve been planting to save the neighbours the current shock of my naturist hobbies. Alternatively if there was some form of vision blocking glasses then I could give those to my neighbours and it would at least reduce the number of complaints I receive.
”
Toby W
One year I carefully managed to craft a couple of days to go skiing. On one of these days I had to take an unavoidable client call, unfortunately for me I was stuck on a chairlift at the appointed time. Noise cancelling headphones would’ve been welcomed to cut through the wind noise enough to actually hear the call.
Chris G
Wanting to play my Wii U, while my wife watched Carrie Diaries
Abhi A
While sitting with one of my coleages on the train ride home, his girlfriend came onto the train from a later station. Sat down between us and immidiately began sobbing, and proceeded to break up with him. It just so happened that the whole train was full and there was nowhere else for me to get up and move over to. Conincidentally, it was also the one day when I’d forgotten my earphones at home and I had to awkwardly sit there whilst they broke up!
Luc G
Was stuck with my old Blackberry at Gare du Nord waiting for a train during a train strike (vive la France). Took out the BB headphones from my pocket only to see one of the ear-bud piece bounce all the way onto the tracks. Most of the songs I had on the phone sounded awful out of just one ear-bud. So I had no escape from the couple arguing next to me.
Stuart A
“Listening to my tape loading on my C64 so I can play Blue Max. 35 minute load time, third time lucky….
These do work with a C64 right?Seriously, I wish I had these in the confines of an MRI machine. Stay still and relax? Sure, if only I could ignore the jackhammer and siren next to my head!
”
felix T
Being stuck in a crowded train for almost 2 hours, listening to a group of girls talking about make-up.
Sam M
“I was recently on a flight to Singapore, sitting towards the front of the cabin and noticed a significant number of young families with kids boarding the plane. By the time the cabin doors closed, I was completely surrounded by newborns. Staring down the barrel of an 8 hour flight with no aural anesthesia – I panicked.At that moment, one of the father’s of the many, many young families stood up and started handing out lolly bags accompanied by one of the most sincere “apologies in advance” i’d ever heard. The bags contained a Mars Bar, a lolly pop and a bag of ear plugs. It was one of the most decent travel acts I’ve ever witnessed.
Had it just been his kid crying during the flight then the gifted ear plugs probably would’ve sufficed, however, the chorus of toddlers was too much for the small lump of styrofoam I had rammed in my ears…
It was also during the flight that I wished I’d had a second pair of earplugs for my nostrils as the toddler next to me lost temporary control of bodily functions during an extended period of turbulence.
As a father-to-be myself I have a high degree of sympathy for parent’s travelling with kids, but at that moment, I would have given any for the solace of Bose noise cancelling headphones. I’ve since been on the lookout for a pair at a reasonable price. No such luck when it comes to “nose-cancelling”…
I travel a lot for my job (pre-sales) – usually one flight per week – and am on the phone most of the day. I feel I am in a great position to put these headphones through their paces and give a fair and honest review of their capabilities.
All the best.”
Wayne c
I run a small home recording studio, as well as being a carer for a sick family member. One evening while mixing a particularly tricky piece of music through my studio headphones, so I wouldn’t annoy said family member, I began to wonder how that piano section got so ridiculously out of time. It took almost a minute to figure out that the aforementioned family member was behind me on the piano playing the exact same piece I was trying to mix. Unfortunately they were several bars behind what I was listening to.
Ella
“My parrotlet ‘Jake’ he never shuts up
He blows raspberries and goes tut tut
He whistles and squawks
And stands on my head
And yes sometimes he does make a mess!
In ear Bose headphones are just what I need
Or Jake will just have to go and eat seed!”
Paul C
“The most (routinely) awkward situation I’ve found myself craving noise cancelling headphones need not be surmised with a descriptive anecdote. You need only know three key things:
An older brother.
Our shared bedroom.
His girlfriend staying the night.I can tell you I’d be a far less scarred man today if I had Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones in my youth!”
Ewen S
“My girlfriend and I were travelling across Japan late last year. Toward the end of the trip we stayed in Tokyo and began the arduous task of buying our respective families gifts. This brought us to a toy store in Ginza.As we meandered through the strange and wonderful items on display we were approached by a normal looking business man. Clearly a better judge of character than I my girlfriend quickly left as he engaged me in a conversation.
It started normally enough as he attempted to explain some of the strange items around us, including what seemed to be a man trapped inside a boob, unfortunately this was the high point of the conversation.
‘Is that your girlfriend’ he asked
‘Yep’ I replied
‘She is very beautiful’
‘Uh huh’
‘Yes! Very sexy!’
‘Okay…’
‘Have you had sex with her?’I looked for a way out. The staff, judging by the looks on their faces, knew this was no ordinary exchange but could do little to rescue me. I tried to move away, I started only responding in annoyed grunts, still he pursued me. The questions descended further into the abyss from there. What I wouldn’t have given for some noise cancelling headphones or a Godzilla attack, anything to stop the awkwardness.
It seems like a cheap cliché, the stereotypical weird Japanese businessman, unfortunately it all actually happened. The rest of the trip and the people there were great. Still I meet more nutters on the streets here so the utility of the headphones would be endless. ”
Andrew L
One person’s MUSIC is another person’s NOISE, so for me, whenever my little sister starts singing or playing her One Direction songs…
Tim P
I craved Bose noise cancelling headphones the last time I caught the London Tube where a woman kept proclaiming over and over again ‘It’s too hot!’ in her posh british accent for the duration of my journey. It was definitely warm without air con however it was only about 30 degrees.
Brian L
Today i was taking a dump and was stuck next to someone who had the runs. If i had the Bose headphones, this nasty part of human nature would not have to be experienced.
Will K
“There have been many times but my favourite was when I forgot my headphones and I had a long bus trip ahead of me so I just sit near the front and gaze out the window.This girl boards on, already on her phone whinging about some terrible friend and sits towards of the middle of the bus, still talking loudly.
The whinging and “why me” continues; her friends, family, work, ex boyfriend, current boyfriend, they’re all horrible and she’s a total angel.
For the whole bus trip until she gets off 10 minutes before my stop, I felt I just went through multiple Jerry Springer shows.
No one says anything because everyone knew she was the type to get in their face and make things worse.
Next week she boards again, I luckily had earphones but unless I wanted to deafen myself, I could still hear her over the sweet sounds of Toto, Kansas and Led Zeppelin.
Bah”
leon H
my french bulldog sleeps on our bed and and you think humans can snore you haven’t heard nelson go for it. he drowns out the tinitus in the ears no problems. noise cancelling would be a blessing. at the moment the earbuds get a real workout.
Mike S
“Every Friday afternoon my boss insists on playing Kenny Rogers’s The Gambler. Nobody quite understands the tradition of how it began. Around 3pm on Fridays a small CD player comes out for that one song. I’ve joked about getting noise cancelling headphones before, and it would be nice to really do it.Please, let’s see if Bose can kill Kenny. ”
Robert k
After seeing a band on a Sunday night When they finished it was well after midnight, No trains, No buses (I Don’t drive) I Check my wallet… Not enough money for a taxi home damn it! So I start walking…. and walking and walking The Distance from the venue to where I live is about 5 or 6 suburbs away. As I’m walking i pass advertisements for The Bose Headphones on bus stops, as I look at them and look at the electronic timetable telling me that the next bus is coming in 350 minutes and as i pass each stop i can see the time going down thinking “Man that so does not help me right now!” but looking at The advertisements for the Bose ear buds all i could think was how great it would be to have a pair of those bad boys right now! because i had music on my phone but no headphones as i had left them at home. so the thought of those awesome headphones helped take my mind of my stupidly long walk! Three and a half hours later i made it home sore shattered and safe, still thinking that i really do need new ear buds.
Hugh K
When we have guests over and one is in the next room and is on the phone to some help service asking about a rash on his privates..
Rahul C
At a bus stop where there was this old guy swearing his head off -.-”
Ian Y
Travelling across the boarder to Tijuanna in a noisy bus with noisy nosy people very hung over. Would have been lovely to shut the noise out for a while.
Damian M
Travelling home on a bus in Sydney, I was stuck next to a rather large passenger who was loudly announcing his break up with a girl to EVERYONE on the bus. He was quite descriptive of how she reacted and you could see other passengers cringing in awkwardness . We ALL needed Bose noise cancelling headphones especially me!
Sonny S
Easily the strangest time I’ve needed bose noise cancelling headphones was when I was working as a deckhand on a boat in the north west and I had to share a cabin with my crew mate who seemingly forgot I was there when he called a sex line and started pleasing himself in the bunk above mine! It was probably the most awkward moment of my life and I’d say it was his too because he quit when we finished that swing!
Dennise K
A loud and noisy co-working that keeps on talking and talking over the phone while I am concentrating to finish up all my deliverable before noon.
Tony J
“I’m not afraid to admit I was a naughty boy when I was younger, one of my crimes included taking a dollar or two from my parents’ coin box in their room to buy lollies from the corner store.
One day I snuck into the room like a ninja, only to hear footsteps approaching quickly, I jumped under the bed and hoped they would pass so I could get myself a banana paddle pop.
Unfortunately, I watched two pairs of feet enter the room and quickly make their way to the bed. My uncle was also a naughty man, he and his girlfriend proceeded to LOUDLY ruin my innocence over the next two hours…”
Jamie F
i was on a plane once and flying to Melbourne from Singapore and i ended up in-between, a crying baby with the mother telling her to be quiet the whole trip and on the other side. person who was the heaviest breather you will ever hear and he fell asleep right next to my head i was trying to watch a movie that a paid for on the flight and got half way through the movie and the guy started snoring. that was the point when i just put my headphones on full volume probably destroying my ears just to get away from the sound
Michael G
When my sister and I still lived at home, our bedrooms shared a wall. After one particularly long evening of drinking with her and a good mate of mine we retired for the night, with my mate following my sister to her room. So I was treated with the sounds of them sloppily screwing like angry baboons for an hour, followed by the dulcet tones of her puking the remains of a once decent night into a bucket…and her hair.
Sean T
When our company was taken over by a big multinational conglomerate and I believed management when they said “no changes” would be made. If I could go back and not have heard that load of tripe I would gladly strap on some Bose and not feel so fooslish.
Chris T
That awkward moment when you release your friend brought someone home from the wedding you all just went to, to test out the inflatable mattress, and your house is an open plan townhouse.
sai C
trying to not get distracted/scared by the sound of a guy bellowing like a bull in heat while lifting weights; who the hell wants to hear that as you workout.
Jasmina J
The time I saved up all my credit card reward point to fly business class, only to find the passenger next to me was carrying a new born child that was very unsettled ! Totally ruined the business class experience.
Owen
As a person in the education field, you hear a more than your fair share of “should I really have heard that” moments. What really takes the cake is when I’m out in public, usually in public transport, and I hear my students plotting, or over-sharing again, without realising who’s around…
Vid S
“The time when the Bose noise cancelling headphones would have been most beneficial was when my dad was trying to pass a gallstone… the screaming went on for hours, it was horrendous!
”
Adrian T
“For every time a certain Mr. Abbott appears on TV!!!
‘Aaahhhh look’…’Aaahhhh look’…’Aaahhhh look’…’Aaahhhh look’…’Aaahhhh look’…’Aaahhhh look’. ”
Jamie C
In my younger days, doing the youth hostel thing whilst travelling.being poor and unable to afford single rooms, you get stuck sleeping a room with anywhere from 4-12 people. Whilst in Glasgow, I had a unexpected interruption in the wee hours of the morning by some of my room mates returning from a night out on the town and deciding that here and now was the right time to engage in their amourus pursuits. Bose noise cancelling headphones would have allowed me to return to my rest to the dulcet tones of the Clash, whilst remaining relatively oblivious to the proclivities of my short term roommates, and their appeals to various divinities to aid in what sounded like heartfelt prayers for aid.
Roland M
I swore at 17 I would never live with my mother again. 25 years and a marriage breakup later i am living in her tiny 2 bedroom unit. Forced to listen to wedding dress shows, ranting at one political party, watching Judge judy and also listening to her repeat the same questions over and over as her memory is going. Crowning glory is the toilet next to my bedroom. You don’t want to know what I hear in there. A solution using Bose headphones would save my sanity – if they work.
Ryan P
On a plane trip back from Hawaii I was next to a lady that decided to talk to me the whole trip home (8 hours continuously) despite that fact I had my standard headphones in and was trying to listen to music and watch a movie while ignoring her.
Nigel C
On the bus sitting next to a uni student who was on the phone and telling her friend all the details about a date she had. Not only did I not need to hear what she did she ended the conversation with don’t tell anyone.
Jason C
When I was sitting in the bus and over hearing a couple sitting at the back of me talking about what they will be doing to each other when they get home……
Dhani S
Because I forgot to choose my seats for my flight back home at night, I sat at the back of the plane next to the toilet. It’s the most annoying combination of engine noise, door slams, toilet flushes and flight attendance chatters. I wish I’ve had this.
Mark F
“I was volunteering at a Christmas lunch for a group of elderly people today and as I was going around collecting the knives and forks, this one elderly lady leaned over to me and said “You can collect my knives and forks any time you want…if you know what I mean”…there are some things you just can’t unheard…bose noise cancelling earphones would have been awesome as I can’t read lips.
”
Shane
I was sitting on the tram next to a couple who were flirting with each other. At that point I didn’t realise because I had my factory headphones on loud to drown out the noise. The music stopped between songs and I heard them talking about what they were going to do later. Needless to say everyone had left that part of the tram and it was just me and the friendly couple.
Stephen M
Laying in bed while the girl is playing Candy Crush, the strange part is she is up to level 164 and has not turned the music off!!! Welcome to Sunday mornings.
Nick N
I was sitting on a train watching the vibrant scenery rush past me when I heard an inhuman gargle. With a healthy sense of dread I looked behind me. In the corner of the train a drunk man with a drunk level equalling skunk was having a sneaky vom. This performance lasted the entire train trip. Oh boy I wished I had some Bose noise cancelling headphones that day.
Huw A
On a plane heading from Syd to Melbourne on a Fri afternoon. Full flight, lots of people heading home or away for the weekend. There was a Mum with two small children sitting across the aisle from me, and the kids were giving Mum a real hard time. Her daughter threw a tantrum when told to sit in her seat with a seatbelt on, and it was so loud and so prolonged that she ended up making herself sick. Could have used some buffering from that experience.
Joe W
10 years ago, while in a newly opened airport in the UAE I was stuck in a lift for about 90 minutes. In this suspended metal box, the lights were dimmed out…They played Stairway To Heaven non stop, in an endless loop. There were two others in the lift. A man and a lady. Both speaking in foreign languages on their phones. The lady would shrieked in panic as the lift jerked…. Ummm.. Did I mention 90 minutes… stuck in a lift with “stairway to heaven”.. non stop ?.. the sound track… no words.. to this day, if I hear it in a lift.. I just start to feel very unconformable. Oh.. what I would have done for a set of these QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones then !
Dakota E
The strangest moment I have ever faced when wishing for a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones happened when I lived in America. In the city I lived in it wasn’t uncommon for police shoot-outs and the like to happen. One night the local police SWAT decided to swarm the house diagonal from ours. This led to a sleepless night filled with a concussion grenade, gunshots, shouts, and a man barking order on a megaphone. It would’ve been a dream to be able to tune it all out and get some rest.
Peter S
“When I was 18, I had to listen to a flat make getting bonked in the room next to mine. The walls in the house were very noise conducive.If that’s not enough, when I was living in a home unit in Sydney, the tenant above used to keep flushing his toilet early in the morning and dropping things on the ground as well. The toilets there were ensuite to our bedrooms so I would hear him flushing his toilet then listen to it refill. (the walls and floors were no barrier to any sounds). I would lay there in bed wondering what he is doing up there so early in the morning. What was he dropping on the ground? They sounded like small screws. ”
Nick M
“The most recent example of noise cancelling headphones was only yesterday evening. Here I am, trying to get some preparation for HSC Physics done, and the cicadas start singing me the song of their people. I was in a small room, with concrete walls, a single small window and a thick curtain over that, and I was still getting a headache. Add to that the moronic P-plate drivers, who congregate about a block from my place, doing burnouts, playing music stupidly, hearing-loss-inducingly loud and shouting out obscenities, and you have a recipe for a righteous rampage against noise.But wait, there’s more.
So fast forward about 2-3 hours. I’m lying in bed, the pub down the road is playing music, the only part of which that travels to my ears is the throbbing bass and the P-platers are still doing their stuff. Finally the cicadas quieten down, and I start to relax.
Frogs.
Stupid, bloody, irritating frogs.By all the various deities around the world, I wished for some Bose noise cancelling headphones.”
Anthony L
I was on a bus to work once when a fellow passenger decided to belt out the entirety of Andrea Bocelli’s ‘The Prayer’. Yes, the WHOLE thing.
Marisha H
Sitting on public transport and the man behind me chewing on gum was masticating and breathing so loudly. I could see his reflection in the window beside me and he was chewing his gum vigorously opened mouth. The sound was so foul.
David C
When I was younger, I decided to takea few months out travelling. Part of this right of passage was to cheaply stay in dorms in a hostel, specifically mixed dorms… Now, without going in to too much detail, lets just say that one particular couple decided to ‘hook up’on several occasions – its at this point I would of killed for a pair of these!
Angharad S
Finding a private, carefree place to relieve oneself of waste matter is always a struggle when you’re out and about, but sometimes a baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do. Not being able to hear other people’s time on the throne (or better yet – not being able to hear my own) is a dream that Bose noise cancelling headphones might just be able to fulfill.
Andrea H
I used to fly a lot form Australia to Europe and few times i wish i had a noise cancelling headphones was from Dubai to Sydney and 2 guys were sitting next to me and 1 of them follow sleep and started snoring and the other 1 started to sleep/talk and he was talking about an ex girlfriend. Lucky he didn’t have a girlfriend next to him.
Warren Y
When I’ve sat next to someone on a plane that obviously needed someone to talk to and they would t shut up.
Vijay B
“Many years ago during a flight journey, I was sitting right next to this baby and mom. The poor doll was crying flat for 2 hours during which I wasn’t bothered or annoyed as the others around me. After some time I think the mom tried singing a lullaby which was so horrible. She wouldn’t stop even after the baby stop crying.
Back then I wished I had the universal remote that Adam Sandler had in the movie Click. Today I guess I would crave for a “QuietComfort” if I were to be in the same situation.”
Michael A
Being a photographer at a really bad concert! I’d love to be able to block the noise out, and listen to MY favourite noise!
Paul c
lying on the bed, listening to relaxing music whilst rocking my SCREAMING baby off to sleep with my toes…… my smartphone headphones weren’t made for this stuff! I wish I had a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Luke G
Falling off my desk chair in an attempt to listen to get close to hear the video of the QuietComfort 20i
Simon C
“Being sat next to a bloke on a plane who was watching a dodgy video with bad porn type dialogue.
Annoying as fk!”
James M
During the course of my weekly transit to work I catch a variety of public transports. Headphones and music are a must for surviving the gruelling and arduous task that is the daily commute. During my week it is not uncommon for me to be sitting at a platform waiting for my train to arrive. My platform sits directly between two lines, one to the front and one to the rear. Every Wednesday and Thursday I must endure the horrendous noise that deafens all nearby as the two scheduled diesel locomotives grind on by my platform. The noise they emit is a cacophony of steel grinding on steel, engines churning, brakes screeching, horns blaring. This weekly event must surely be sending me deaf, and more importantly, every Wednesday and Thursday for a period of about two minutes my sweet, sweet music is drowned out by these two hellish beasts that machine through my life wrecking many a wonderful tune. It is in these moments that I crave, I wish, I plead, I beg, for a pair of high quality Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Michael P
Work conference – they had an issue with the sound system and was stuck on full volume omfg i could have used these and im sure i would have still been able to hear the MD rant about how good we were. To make matters worse on the way home on the train there was a lady who must of felt her personal life was so interesting that she had a 35min conversation on speaker phone (full volume) my normal headphones just couldnt take it and had my mp3 player on full volume if i want such a nice guy i would have told her to stfu, Bose could have saved my ears that day thats forsure sigh
Stephen B
“Early last year, I caught an empty government bus to a client’s offices. The bus soon was filled with girls from a local private school travelling to school. I was soon the lone male on a bus full of teenage school girls.It turned out that this was the first day back at school after the Christmas holidays, and the girls sitting next to me were soon discussing what they had been up to over the holidays. I frantically began searching my bag for my headphones & ipod, which I had mistakenly left at home.
The girls next to me then started talking about one of the girl’s first sexual experience that had recently happened over the holidays. I couldn’t believe they were talking about this, as I was right there sitting next to them!!!! This was not good. I started humming to myself really loudly to drown out the sound of one of the girls asking ‘what did it feel like?’
As I was headphone-less, and they did not care at all that I was within ear-shot, I promptly got off at the next stop and caught the next bus.
I have never left my headphones at home again.”
David S
Sitting half way down on a bus, a married couple literally got a divorce on the bus. She moved to the front, then yelled and abused him for the rest of the trip (40 minutes). They looked like decent people, over 40 years old. They should have known better.
Michael W
At my mates house, when he is arguing with his wife when i am there. They go right at it.
Matt D
The guy who sits behind me at work is probably the loudest person in our company. He very generously likes to share his telephone conversations with the whole office; normally I just try to ignore him, but it got a bit too much when he was talking to his wife about her needing to shaving his back that evening!
Ryk B
So, I live in the country, and travel 2 hours per day on the V/Line service here in Victoria. Now on Friday, November 29 our train stopped to pick up travelers at Sunbury station. As it so happened, 2 ladies came and sat behind me. Now in case you did not know this, the V/Line services are pretty quiet, especially before 6am, most [normal] people tend to sleep or read their morning newspapers. Well, not these two birds. They decided to start telling each other in full colour how they have prepared for their Friday night dates. (At this point I am trying to sleep, but the deep croaky voice behind me, and I guess the topic kept me from it). Lady1 was telling how she had arranged to get her hair done after work, and get a manicure and pedicure etc, quite cival. Well, Lady2, (I will refer to her as the matriarch) decided to top this. (Oh good grief, at this point my ears have been spared from such conversations up to now). So the matriarch told her friend how she decided to attempt to wax herself. Yes, and not her legs, she referred to her girly parts in quite colour to make sure that [dumber, more civil] Lady1 understood what she did. About now, I really wished I was sleeping, I really needed some noise cancelling headphones, I thought to myself. Anyways, she then described how painful it was etc etc, but the really gross bit was when she started to tell Lady1 about the hair she missed, and how a tweezer rescued her Friday night lover from seeing the missed hair! OMG, at this point I decided to turn around and just see how the matriarch looks. SHAIT I thought, she looks like she is almost 70 years old! Right there images of very wrinkled skin and saggy mudflaps got stuck in my brain, and once again, I could not ‘unhear’ what I just heard! Oh, how I wish I had a pair of noise cancelling headphones!
Tom G
Every time my mother and my aunt hear an ABBA song, or a clip from Mamma Mia. They both regress to their inner 12-year-old and sing. Every. Single. Word. Without fail. They can’t enjoy ABBA, they have to ruin ABBA for everyone in hearing distance.
Joseph N
needed them on the train to work when the people behind me were talking about girl problems.
Stephanie D
Travelling on a 17 hour bus ride in south America sitting opposite a crying baby….. they would have been very handy!!!!!! … it was a long trip
Michael D
When an office colleague had daily morning sickness in the bathroom next to my desk…yeah…I could have done with Bose noise cancelling headphones!
david R
“i used to work for a deaf sex chat line in the UK.. kinda like subtitles for telephones.
so the situation is a deaf person wants to use a hearing persons sex chat line and talk to a hearing person. I’d speak for the deaf person and type as the hearing person speaks.
as you can imagine.. this causes some confusion when i’m speaking on behalf of a female to a guy with my deep monotone voice (ha).
but after awhile they understand the situation and proceed to get me to say the most foul inhuman things i’ve ever had to say to another person.
but in this one instance, the hearing person asked the deaf girl to speak down the telephone.. so i type to the deaf girl that the guy wants to hear her speak.. she proceeds to pick up the phone and make noises (obviously she’s deaf and lost the ability to speak) …. i could hear the guy also making noises of encouragement.
… that is when i wish i had noise cancelling headphones 🙂
”
Jack R
“Sitting on a train, about 2-3 meters away from something and thinking.. “Hmm, his bass-line keeps interfering with my musical experience!”That hearing the same song from said guy for the entire 40m trip.”
Shivendra j
I’ve been on a train where these 3 teenagers had just learnt how to make fart sounds with their armpits and they wouldn’t stop for the whole trip. Occasionally one of them would actually let a real one rip. If I had these headphones atleast I could’ve filtered out the noise if not the smell.
Shaun R
“I was on a red-eye flight from Zurich to Hong Kong on my recent backpacking trip. The plane was quite empty and I managed to snag a full row of seats to lay down on and my intent was to have a snooze for at least part of the 14 hour flight.
I had just barely shut my eyes when the passenger in front of me started watching movies with what sounded like the worlds worst set of headhphones. The noise bleed on these things was catastrophic and I could hear EVERYTHING, the dialogu, background music, the lot. It was like he had stolen Nigel Tuffnel’s “Up to eleven” amps and strapped them to each side of his face.
I didn’t get any sleep on that fight, nor on my first night in HK (Party time, right?) I did eventually pick up a set of cheap knockoff N/C headphones in HK before my flight back to Perth but next time they will be on my shopping list BEFORE I step on any plane.”
Kim S
A passenger grinding his teeth in his sleep on a long haul flight with babies crying in the background on a jam packed 12 hour flight. And I am trying to listen to Shostakovich on my portable audio.
Paul W
Having to listen to all the odd and wonderful noises coming from the bathroom on my last flight between LA to Auckland as I was seated right next to them….not fun.
Alan F
A situation I’ve been in when I craved some noise cancelling earphones is when I’m on the train to olympic park…but usually its alright unless theres a concert happening. Especially recently, the Justin Bieber concert. I was dying for some earphones that had noise cancelling. Just when i though i could hear my music form my earphones loud enough, the girls just somehow scream louder than my music. I couldnt even listen to my music in peace….it was a painful experience
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Jay B
Sitting next to a gaggle of hipsters on a busy Train for 40 mins, who would like insert the word like into the sentence to like really emphasise the finer details of a good soy latte and like whatever else that is sooooooooooo like important in the realms of sockless Hipsterverse. Aurally grating episode.
Benjamin L
I share a small flat with my brother, I’m never sure if he is eating emphatically or having some ‘alone time’ either way I most definitely crave some noise cancelling headphones.
Dominic B
“I craved them at 8pm when my neighbour decide to have a full on war with the crazy cat lady next door..
or when boss is yelling at me to do my work instead of listening to music.. ”
mathieu P
camping with snoring mates
Jay M
I live in Unit and my neighbour always make loud noise while they having sex most of the nights. It can go on for 15 to 20min. I wish i have QuietComfort 20i Acoustic Noise cancelling Headphones.
Nick
Staying on a friends couch only to be awoken by his housemates sharing an intimate moment on their very squeaky bed.
James
I was stuck in the lift at work without my Bose noise cancelling headphones and had to endure two ladies talk about the one’s pregnancy. Too much swollen feet and husband needing to help her go to the toilet talk thanks!
David B
Staying in a hotel on the Gold Coast, having to listen to a couple having very loud sex in the main communal spa. Noise cancelling headphones would have been ace.
Brendan M
While studying at the local library, I nearly went insane with a symphony of irritating sounds from a clicking pen, sniffing snorter, coughing critter, whispering wenches and clunking cooling system. I would have given anything to have a pair of the 20i’s in my ears.
Peter B
Being a long range commuter, it is REALLY annoying that you need to be reminded on QUIET carriages that you are in a QUIET carriage via loud in carriage announcements. Ironic but true.
Kris v
“I have 2 kids.. a 4yr old and a 10month old.
i constantly crave Bose Noise Cancelling headphones!!!!”
David B
I’ve been in a hotel room at 3am trying to sleep when i’ve heard a couple getting it on through the wall. The strange thing apart from the usual sounds was I heard a clown horn every now and again.
Nathan P
…when my mate drones on and on and on about how good his noise cancelling headphones are. Unfortunately, the only way to make him stop is to get some noise cancelling headphones, at which point I won’t need them anymore, because he’ll stop boasting about how good they are. It’s like the time travel ‘grandfather paradox’, but for noise.
Clinton G
“I grew up in the US and one summers night we were watching TV when suddenly emergency alerts flashed all over the screen indicating a hurricane, thought to be headed away from our area, had changed direction and we were in its path.
We quickly went with our neighbours to their bunker under their house and no sooner had we settled down, a mini tornado touched down with the hurricane following in rapid succession. We stayed huddled together in the bunker and for 3.5 hours listened as the roaring winds became deafening to the point we could yell at each other only a few feet apart and not hear what the other said at all.
I would of craved being able to use Bose noise cancelling headphones to not have ever heard the screeching high pitched force that ripped through our county. It would of made listening to something like music better then wondering the whole night if that was going to be the last of us.
Just glad Sydney is less hurricane prone.”
hartono B
These two girls having conversation about their boyfriend in super high pitch voice. Must pretend I didn’t laugh at them.
Sienny D
My Supervisor Whistling off tune next to my desk. And everyone else pretend they did not hear it!
Taswin
My neighbour’s squeeking bed above my apartment. Arrrgh…
Ferry
My flat mate “humming” noise before she goes to bed while I’m trying hard to concentrate finishing a big project for the next day.
Sebastian
I was on an airplane to Thailand with my father, now my father is quite a strange and also embarrassing person at times, about halfway to Bangkok he had fallen asleep and started snoring so loud that other people started giving us looks, i tried waking him up but he is a very heavy sleeper, so in the end i would have loved to have a pair of Bose QuietComfort earphones to block out the noise and slouch in the seat and pretend i didn’t know the loud man snoring next to me.
Robert
“Every and every time I hear the words “Dad can I”
Dad can I go to the shops with (insert name of BFF here)?
Dad can I have some money to get some new shoes?
Dad can I have the iTunes password?
Dad can I get my own email/iTunes/Facebook/Instagram account?
Dad can I get my own iPhone?
Dad can I get (insert name of latest must have gadget/toy here)?
Dad can I ….. ?
Dad can I ….. ?”
Luke F
“I live with 2 long time friends who are now a couple; more recently a couple trying to have a baby.
My mate (let’s call him “Frank”) has admitted that the joy has been lost as he’s forced to down a concoction of herbal “boner loaners” as he calls them for a marathon 3-4 day period.
putting 2 and 2 together, I can see that Kim is trying to mask the process as good old rumpy pump by getting progressively louder in bed.
Now remember that Kim is a long time friend of mine that I think of as pretty much a sister.
I found myself studying for my exams and unable to ignore the progressively loud, and DIRTY exclamations – not only did I NEED these BOSE earphones to block out the noise I needed them to stop myself from laughing because Frank and I both know fully well it’s all just an act to help her campaign for a baby.
So please PICK ME to review the earphones so I may be able to look Kim in the eyes again.
”
Daniel F
“I had a broken wrist which made driving home from the city pretty much impossible, which was no big deal, as I am capable of navigating my way through Melbourne’s public transport no worries!It was just meant to be a quiet ride home on the train, it was getting late and I had forgotten my headphones, but there was hardly anyone else on the train so that didn’t matter.
But then a couple of stops into my journey these two guys got on the train who appeared to be the loudest most obnoxious drunks I have ever seen.
With my lack of headphones and their lack of inhibition, they decided I was a prime target to strike up a conversation with.
My quiet, relaxing journey home then turned into discussions about how I broke my wrist, them writing on my cast, then them telling other passengers that they should write on my cast and virtually anything else they could think of in their drunken state.
As much as I enjoy talking to and meeting new people, sometimes it’s nice to have a quiet journey home. Something I’m sure some Bose QuietComfort 20i Headphones would have guaranteed”
Hari
One weekend we invited the vicar and his wife came to stay in our holiday home for the weekend. The first night they went off to bed early saying that the fresh air had made them very sleepy. Judging by the moans and groans coming from their bedroom, it seems they got a second wind. I COULD HAVE USED SOME NOISE CANCELLING EARPHONES `THAT WEEKEND!!
Gabriel M
Sharing a hotel room with mates that brought back girls who were *ahem* very vocal at the end of a night out, while I was trying to sleep.. Definitely could’ve used them then..
Jarrod C
Recently I was traveling around the emerald isle known as Ireland with my friend. Having spent our fair share of budget on local beers, the cost of Dublin hostels had forced me to stay in a hostel that was rated somewhere between a halfway house and a cockroach sanctuary. My friend and I decided that the best way to enjoy a nights sleep was to drink away the hours until bed bugs were drunk from our blood alcohol content. During the night nature called (no, not the cockroaches) and I nipped off to the toilet. The guys toilets were a long way from my room so I thought I’d be crafty and pop into the women’s toilets which were just next to the dorm room. I figured that while I had the whole bathroom to myself I’d take advantage of the privacy and drop the kids off at the pool. Just as I relax into it, the bathroom door swings open and in stumble a drunk amorous couple looking to also take advantage of the privacy of the bathroom while everyone is asleep. Clearly in their haste to bump uglies they didnt notice my feet in the cubicle next to them. I generally avoid any conflict and socially embarrassing situations so I could not find the guts (the contents of which had half filled the bowl) to make a move out of fear that they would hear me. So I just sat their patiently while they went about their deed, with no more than 2cm of plywood between us. Every squelch and slurp echoed off the tiles and amplified back into my cubicle. I had hoped that they would be done in a few minutes and leave me to a peaceful poop. Nearly an hour later they were still going hammer and tongs in a marathon effort that was worthy of a certificate of achievement personally signed by Ron Jeremy. The unromantic sound of trapped air in a body cavity was easily ignored by them, so i used it to my advantage to sneak out some of my own. My left foot had done numb and I was flyblown. If only I had so 20i’s.
Antony N
Ducks quacking outside my window incessantly (I live next to a pond)
Ben P
When setting up a server, the IMM fan spins to make a noise akin to a jet engine (no exaggeration). My coworkers decided it would be great to have all 20 of our server builds update the IMM simultaneously and annoy the crap out of me at my desk in the same room.
Simon H
Driving home from Melbourne to Sydney with my best friend who was really pissed off at me for getting drunk the night before.
Jeff S
When the guy on the plane next to me facetimed his wife whilst wearing the airlines headphones (whilst boarding). He didn’t realise his phone was on speaker, and the whole plane could hear his rather frank conversation.
Indra b
Stuck in a bus queue in the city after work, standing behind an overly romantic couple who did passionate kisses in stereo — the sound went through my earphones uninterrupted! If only I had Bose. #help
Nick O
“Being unfortunately hidden in the corner of a large male office toilet, only to have your very senior superior rush in after what must of been a particularly enjoyable lunch, not see you, and rush into an empty cubicle. What followed was sounds that no man should hear where a grown man doesn’t quite get the pants off in time, and you hear a variety of sounds of his work hitting bowl, tile, and unfortunately pants. After this there was only a stunned silence from you not wishing to notify your existence, before a gentle sob reads out from a man in a very awkward situation. How does one handle this? offer to help? no he creeps out and pretends he was never there.
The boss never returned to his office that day.”
Tim A
So there’s not a whole lot of insulation between my room on the bottom storey of my house and the bedrooms and bathroom on the second floor. Living with a big group of uni students makes for interesting late night wake-up calls. I’m not saying it’s not funny hearing my housemates trying to guess the names of their one-night stands in the morning, but noise cancelling headphones would definitely come in handy (it was Jeanetta by the way).
Scott B
I work in a very open plan office next to an IT support man who spends his days with a hands free kit answering telephone calls at the top of his voice. I can usually drown out the mundane conversations, but I couldn’t tear myself away from a 25 minute heated exchange with an online clothing store. From what I can ascertain, the man called to complain about the durability of his pants after wearing through the crotch in 3 months. After a lengthy debate with the online retailer, the man had a win and got some new pants mailed out. I don’t feel I was as fortunate, loosing 25 minutes of my life and having to work back to make up for lost productivity.
Joel D
“Well, being a bit of a night owl, I’m always up late fiddling around on the laptop in bed. Unfortunately though, my girlfriend goes to sleep early, so I’ve got to turn the sound off. Not a problem right? Just put headphones in and keep going? This would all be perfect if her snoring didn’t sound like someone trying to start a chainsaw!I’m hoping the Bose QuietComfort 20i Headphones fix my first world problems!
(Hopefully she never reads this, cause her snoring would be the last of my problems!!)”
Colin F
I was on a flight back to Perth from Malaysia and the couple sitting across the aisle from me were making out and groping each other making sexual noises…I did not bring my in-ear monitors with me for that flight and was regretting that,
Casey R
This plagues me almost daily – as a commuter that has to walk past/ catches transport near a men’s shelter and is often witness to incoherent ramblings OR OUTBURSTS of the residents of said men’s shelter; NOISE CANCELLATION would be of paramount help when it comes to ignoring those loud/weird noises that despite my best self control, I cannot help but glance in the direction of or be startled by, which often results in spit/a shoe flying at me without warning.
Chris S
My ex girlfriend (of 5 years) has started dating one of my housemates. I have since discovered that we have very thin walls…
Soren F
“Where were these when i needed them!A lot of us would be familiar with the great advantages of staying in shared accommodation/backpacker dorms when on an OS adventure right?
Sure, it’s cheap and a great way to meet new friends but by golly – unless you’ve got a belly full yourself – trying to catch some z’s while 2 of your NEW besties become “better acquainted” in the same room can be about as easy as finding a clean fork in the communal kitchen!
Please don’t mistake this as a complaint, more that a set of Bose QuietComfort 20i Headphones could of have more than sorted me out.
Would love to review these team!
Best regards,
Sleepless in a “Backpackers”
Dylan J
“Sitting on a plane with my movie volume maxed out, still hearing (and smelling) the gentleman next to me throwing up for most of the flight.Would have loved some 20i’s that day…”
Ross W
Friend pulled them out after i was whining about how good they are.
Sam W
“Unfortunately the most awkward situation i’ve been in where i’ve craved such magical headphones would be when i’ve had the pleasure, on my daily commute coming home, conversing with a gentleman who unfortunately suffered from schizophrenia. It was a three way conversation between me, him and his reflection for 40 minutes.All could have been avoided if I never turned my head from the startling mans voice, or his reflections’.
Sometimes, ignorance is just bliss!”
Adam I
hearing my coworker talking about pretending to lick his lips to random people in the lift… just for fun!
Steve R
“Over 20 years ago when I was in university, I was invited to spend a weekend at a farm in Robertson that belonged to a mate’s uncle along with a small handful of other friends.
The property was beautiful, but our mate’s uncle was, to put it mildly, eccentric.
The very first evening after we’d retired to our rooms, I heard the creepiest, spine-tingling music I’d ever heard in my life. It wasn’t loud, but very unique and spooky.
On heading out of my room to investigate, I realised I wasn’t the only one who heard the sound, as some of my friends were out of their rooms too.
We discovered that the eccentric uncle of our friend had an electronic musical instrument whose name, we later discovered, was a theremin. It was played by moving your hands in the air above the instrument, changing the pitch and tone of the ghostly sound.
We were all intrigued by this instrument, but after about 30 minutes, we’d all lost interest.
The only problem was that this friend’s uncle insisted on playing it for several hours that evening as I tried to sleep. And to make the situation worse, this was a nightly ritual for the man – or at least it seemed to be the case as he played/practiced/performed that weird instrument for several hours each evening I was there.
At that time, I had never heard of noise-cancelling headphones. But I desperately wanted to do anything to stop myself from hearing that creepy music. And in hindsight, if I had only had a pair of these Bose QuietComfort 20i headphones, I would have not only got a lot more sleep, but been creeped-out a whole lot less!”
Joshua G
When I lived in China I used to eavesdrop on bus and train conversations as a way to practice my Chinese listening skills. Usually they were pretty banal, deciding what to eat for dinner or talking about work and such, but they it was still a useful exercise. Once, when travelling through a remote part of Western China I listened in to a conversation on a long distance bus only to find two old women were talking about me, discussing my physical appearance in detail. Obviously skinny white boys were a rare sight in that part of the world. It can be kind of hard to concentrate on reading the Hunt for Red October when to old ladies are giggling about your big ears. I guess my reaction gave away that I could understand them which made the whole situation pretty awkward. I definitely could have done with some Bose noise cancelling headphones then.
Michael O
At a park surrounded by squawking bats trying to listen to ABC’s coverage of the cricket.
Michael L
“I happen to work across the hall from on of my prospects, I’ve met with their decision maker, the ITmanager a few times whom has a very distinguisable bland, deep voice (think professor snap giving a ulergy)One after new I was having my 2pm lifehacker/gizmodo catch up session in my “cubical-le-executive” when I happened to hear a “scuse me” as my prospect entered the den. At the dreaded thought of overhearing him drop trow, I quickly scrambled to get out of there, try with all my might I couldn’t work out how to get my phone back in my trousers fast enough, before I realised this experience was apparently just as bad for him on a whole different level.
The sound of a dying Ryno lying next to a man shovelling wet mud into a shallow puddle is the only thing I could convince myself was happening through the 100kg pressure I applied to both ears to try and block out the nightmare I had found myself in, all I could think was how much an investment in noise cancelling/memory altering headphones could cost in comparison to the therapy it would require before I could make eye contact with this bloke again.
There are 250 people on our floor, I am hoping that “email communication” is a fair substitute for face to face discussions until I can forget that sound… ”
Dale S
I was on a train from Hong Kong to Guangzhou in China and ended up sitting in a four seat booth with three Chinese workers. Not long into the trip a lady comes through to sell snacks and the three men buy two tubs of instant noodles each. For the next half an hour or so I had the loud slurping sound of slippery noodles being devoured with much enthusiasm. I really could have used Bose QuietComfort 20i headphones that day.
Chris W
when in the gents and the guy in the next stall is making noises no gentleman makes
Vincent P
When you know you just can’t win this competition and looking at the sky wondering when will be my chance? LOL
Jacob H
Without a doubt, when I’d hear my dad and his girlfriend having dunked sex in the next room. I would’ve loved a set of noise cancelling Bose headphones! I probably would have loved listening to the screeching of nails on a chalk board over parent sex. Yuk, not the best thing to have in your mind just before bed!
Cameron H
I was returning from a night out with one of my cousins and friends, we headed back to my cousins place, walking into the lounge we were greeted by the sounds of my younger, female cousin achieving a loud and drawn out orgasm, a series of sounds I never needed to hear in my life. Ever.
Adrian f
Sitting next to a lady in labour as we drive her to hospital in an ambulance. We pulled over on the side of the highway thinking we were about to deliver but decided to keep going as it was just a more intense contraction. My paramedic driver refusing to give me a pair of ear buds from the glove box because it would have allegedly been considered rude. None the less I put my fingers in my ears when it got loud.
Mike C
Im my wife’s on disability for obesity and irritable bowel syndrome and can stay in the bathroom for up to 4 hours , occasionally wile snacking in between burst’s this can get very noisy as we live in a toyota coaster bus as we are traveling australia, anyway I think your bose heaphones would help me sleep at night and would proli sound abit beter, does bose make good gas masks?
Ashley G
I was on a flight home from Thailand and there was a rather young couple who must have been on their honey moon back as they were having a very intimate moment for about an hour… these head phones would have saved me.
Dustin H
My boss sings very loud opera music all day in the office. These would be my quiet little haven from the horrible sound.
Jason
When I’m walking down the street with bulky, heavy over-ear headphones and some hip youngster with a clipboard tries to get me to sign up to something, yet these over-sized headphones don’t let me ignore them completely?!
Jason R
The awkward time when someone is talking about you when unknown to them you are in the adjacent room.. I can’t leave because they’ll discover I heard everything, and I can’t make myself known because, well that’s too socially awkward for me.
Paul D
One particular night comes to mind when a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones would have been a godsend. An alarm started ringing from a distant house at about 11pm. It was far enough away to not be too intrusive, but once you focused on the sound it became impossible to ignore. After half an hour of silently hoping it would stop, I called the police only to be told they couldn’t do anything about it. Unimpressed, I attempted to put it out of my mind and get to sleep, but the night had other ideas. You see, the alarm seemed to excite the small horde of cats who lived next door, and they began to do things to each other. Loud things, if you get my meaning. This, in turn, riled up my dog – a 35kg dingo/shepherd cross – who proceeded to run in circles around the room, scratching up the floorboards and barking incessantly at the window. This cycle continued sporadically throughout the night, until the alarm stopped at around 4am. Again, these headphones would have been appreciated 😛
Aydan D
I don’t know, because I have never owned any BOSE earphones, I have some good audiotechnica ones though. Pretty much all the time I would love these headphones, because music
Khalil P
A couple of years ago I took a 6 hour bus ride in Vietnam. There was 20 odd people on a 16 seater minibus. Most of them were vomiting periodically as Vietnamese people aren’t the most frequent travelers. And chickens. On our backpacks. For a while I wished we were at the front of the vehicle. Until that is, we clipped another car & cracked the windshield. Evntually I was wishing for noise canceling headphones of the highest quality, and maybe some valium. I’d still do it again at the drop of a hat though
Nishan H
“Airplane.Baby on my left, baby on my right. Both of them had pressure build on in their ears at the start of the flight. They didn’t stop crying for the entire duration of the trip… which would have been fine if it wasn’t for the fact that it was a 16+ hour flight from Vancouver to SYD.
Being hungover didn’t help.”
Adam S
I work next to the server box at work, and my officer backs onto the uhh, “fascilities” which I can hear every splash and noise through very thin walls!
George R
I used to share a flat in Melbourne with a stripper who thought herself quite to vocalist. She would spend HOURS on end attempting to sing along to Kate Miller-Heidke, all the time sounding like a malnourished cat vying for attention. I would have given my right arm for a pair of Bose noise cancelling headphone then, and I may just be willing to do the same now!
Dion e
“One of the craziest times when I have craved Bose noise cancelling headphones, was on a flight from Sydney to New York City sitting between 2 families. A screaming 3 month old baby on the left and a young brother and sister fighting over their Nintendo DS.
I had lost my own headphones so was stuck with the planes state of the art mono set (The right speaker was broken and the crew member wouldn’t give me a new pair!)
I definitely won’t forget that flight.
”
Resa C
Trying to get some sleep while my sharemates have their friends over for a party until the morning. Desperately need a noise cancelling earphone which I can wear for hours and even comfortable to fall asleep with!
Adam B
Sorry.not particularly funny. I just want headphones that cancel car noise . I drive ( pilot driver WA ) would love to review a good pair for free.i will return them.i listen to podcasts and ABC radio so talking is my hard to hear gripe.hard rock has never been a problem
David L
I was on the train home late at night after a work party and decided to sit on the quiet carriage of the train, plug in some tunes and catch some shut-eye. Instead, the security guards patrolling the train found someone they knew sitting right behind me and proceeded to have a very loud conversation about “the old days” for the next 45 minutes. Needless to say, I could’ve used some serious noise-cancelling to help me doze off.
Philong
My situation is whether to buy these headphones or lose my virginity and yet for some reason I still cant decide
Vaughan M
Vomited on myself after a night out, they would of been handy to avoid hearing the lecture from my parents the next day.
Catherine D
Besides the usual annoying neighborhood parties, the strangest thing I’ve wanted to drown out with Bose noise cancelling headphones ,was my dad singing in the shower. Ironically, now he’s passed away, it’s one of the things I miss!
Mike D
“Caught the last train home one weekend, completely empty. One guy hops on, mid-conversation with his girlfriend, and then proceeds to talk dirty to her for the next 25 minutes sitting directly across from me.It was the best.”
Jason w
“working on a honey plantation, I could feel the low monotonous humming of millions of pairs of wings slowly driving me insane.If only I could have heard the soothing melodies of my heavy metal songs.”
Andrew T
“I was sitting on a plane in Cattle class in the middle seat that I hate, and the two kids each side of me had Bose headphones on. I was thinking to myself I must be so poor….
”
tony A
at work i have to sit next to a wall where on the other side theyre building new units for the next 2 years and it sounds like thunder crossed with an all male voice orgy.
elias Y
I was at a picnic with a couple of friends including my girlfriend. While everyone played footy, I was chilling back listening to music on my headphones with the company of my girlfriend and her best friend. One thing lead to another, as girls gossip, they assumed I couldn’t hear them…. My girlfriend spilled out everything about our sex life, all the way to nitty gritty… With the Bose noise cancelling headphones, I would have been able to cancel the whole conversation.
Peter l
that annoying moments when the purpose just next to you on the plane, or in front of you, snores/eats loudly/has their music up load etc. and they are just out of reach of being slapped. Or when your trying to sleep when your on a mining camp……
Steven
“I was on the train home from the city after having a few drinks at the end of my shift (as you do). I was feeling a little disorientated so I put on some nice calming music on my (coincidentally) Bose InEar earphones and it was a pretty normal ride…That is until I stopped at Lidcombe at roughly the time those who finished up at Stereosonic where heading home. At close to midnight, this train was packed to the brim with sweaty and extremely loud teens who didn’t get the memo that the concert was over.
No matter how loud I set my earphones, their excessive yelling, hooting and screaming breached my ear drums and exacerbated my headache. I’m not a religious man but here I was praying to someone to get them off the train… No such luck.
Had I had a pair of these noise-cancelling earphones. I’m sure I would have bought a 2nd pair rather than the Panamax… and that night would have been memorable for the noiseless ride rather than the “Stereosonic after-party” I didn’t sign up for.”
Ashok D
Sitting next to a bloke on a plane before take off who was drunk and disorderly. He wanted to chat to me and I had to try and ignore him without aggravating him. In the end he was ejected from the flight.
Georgios L
“On a flight from London to Singapore I was sitting next to an Australian businessman who would
regularly, frequently and annoyingly remove his noise-canceling headphones to explain to me just
how quiet and peaceful his flight was as a result of owning said headphones.He would pull his headphones out, turn around to me and say something like “wow mate, these
cans are great, you can’t hear a thing! Best money I’ve ever spent!”.Did I mention it was a night flight? How tired and sleepy I was? How I was traveling with a heavy cold? How I really wish I could turn him
off? Maybe these Bose noise canceling headphones would have helped, I’ll let you know once I review them…”
Nathaniel R
“I was at a football game and disappointingly my team was losing. There was nothing I craved more than Bose noise cancelling headphones to silence the noise of the opposing fans!
”
Charlie T
“(Side note: Parents divorced years ago)I took my dad out for Father’s day recently for lunch which coincided with him meeting my new girlfriend. I got up to pay for the meal and whilst waiting at the counter I overheard my Dad telling my girlfriend what a great job my mother had done of raising me etc etc… then out of nowhere he drops “Christine(my mother) was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
What a blessing it would have been if I were wearing headphones in that moment in time. I can’t un-hear that.”
Blake L
“The guy I work across from is a mouth breather, but that’s not the bad bit. He sighs like he’s just released a shipload of seamen every 5th breath. Right now i’m considering ear muffs. But tiny ear muffs that play music might also be fun.Please help me help you help me with some sweet-arse headphones.”
Paul S
A few years ago I lived in a small unit complex and I lived on the top floor with a window adjacent to our neighbors. Now our neighbors were a strange bunch, and sometimes you would here them in a screaming battle with each other. At these times, I’d usually put some headphones on and either listen to some music, or play some games, but I could still hear them. What is worse, is that when the screaming from fighting stopped, a screaming of another sort *wink wink* came across even louder. A good pair of Bose noise cancelling headphones would have made the experience a whole lot more comfortable!
Antony A
i was in a situation where I was waiting in line boarding a plane from Melbourne where there was a whole AFL team of fans yelling and screaming their theme song and it was soooo off key that not even my Apple Earbuds did the trick to knock out the noise!!!!! that’s when I was craving for some Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones.
Simon B
“About 2 years ago I was on a business trip to Warrnambool. I stayed at what I thought was a reasonable apartment. I soon discovered that when I was just about to settle in and go to sleep, that the walls were paper thin. A young couple had just returned back to their room and I herd the guy say, “I’m gonna &*$@ you so hard.” The next 2 hours where very noisy with lots of banging, no pun intended. Wish I had a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones that night…
”
Luke V
Whilst travelling through thailand with my family, we opted to take a tour bus around bangkok.. Unfortunately, being it was just me and my parents, I had to sit next to an over weight local who’s stomach clearly disagreed with what he had previously eaten and fulfilled my 45 minute tour with endless burps, farts and excessively loud breathing as we travelled in a non-air conditioned bus tour
Andrew C
I was on a holiday through parts of Europe last summer and for part of the journey I was on a rather long train ride through Germany, I took a seat next to a rather burly looking fellow, the kind you would expect to be the most stereotypical bikie/metal fan the world has to offer. tattoos, beard, the works. Regardless, a few minutes into the ride he put some earphones in. Of course I wouldn’t mind except after a few seconds it became rather i did, because not only was it the worst mix of pop and Miley Cyrus/Justin Bieber music I’d ever heard, he was playing it at max volume and sitting next to that just was not pleasant. So as soon as the novelty of having an ultra macho looking bikie man listening to the kind of music you’d expect a prepubescent little girl screaming over wore off, I began craving some Bose noise cancelling headphones.
Ryan A
I was happily watching an AFL game a couple of years ago at Edihad Stadium, when I heard a very strange noise coming from behind me. When I risked a quick look over my shoulder, I was met by a rather seedy looking man with a coat over his lap sitting by himself. I had noticed earlier that there was a group of rather attractive StKilda fans sitting in front of me, and then it clicked what the noise was. Before I could gather my things and move, there was a low groan and I knew it was too late. I still moved, but really could have used a set of noise cancelling head phones.
Julian M
Being in the Apple store to fix something and having to listen to all the fanboys practically screaming about the new iphone.. just needed to erase that noise from my head completely
Steele G
Walking backwards at work for 6 hours straight with machinery, would crave the headphones for some quiet clear music and to possibly even keep my sanity!
Tony D
Listening to two new managers stating, there will be changes made. Of course nothing happened as we all knew, nothing ever changes but we hear it every time.
Justin G
When that guy no one likes at work decides it’s my time to be bothered…on and on and on. I just wish I could speak with a directly opposite sound wave to cancel him out. But now, with the Bose QC 20i noise-canceling in-ear-earphones I don’t have to! Now, annoying-guy-no-one-likes-at-work becomes nothing more than silent chin-wagging with a simple press of a button! Thank you Bose, you’ve saved my sanity.
Alex B
Today, whilst sitting on a bench in town, two ladies decided to disagree very loudly about something I didn’t quite hear. They proceeded to stand up and yell at each other. This would have been the perfect time for something to block out that noise. Bose In-Ear headphones could have solved this issue. also working in retail at this time of year its incredibly difficult sometimes with kids yelling and screaming.
Darren K
“Having travelled quite extensively for work recently, I can unequivocally declare my want, NO, NEED for Bose Noise cancelling headphones for when I fly. Instead of naming a single awkward, funny or plain strange situation, I can give you a plethora of instances where blacking out the audible world would be beneficial.There’s the time where the very nice business lady next to me, whom was very well spoken and manicured to perfection dozed off, where her flatulence overcame the 2 Rolls Royce engines in both volume and thrust. Theres also the time where a gentlemen sporting a immaculately groomed mullet asked if I travelled often for work and then proceeded to tell me (from Melbourne to Perth) that in his line of business, he didn’t fly much but he’s been plenty higher than this.
Lastly, there was the occasion where a nervous traveller who for the entire trip was grey and speechless, until the very end (literally wheels just touched ground) where he decided to projectile vomit into the seat in front of him, thus covering me (and a blast radius of 3 passengers) in slightly used sausage roll. No, the headphones wouldn’t have helped at that precise moment, but it would’ve removed the sounds of collective dry reaching from the surround passengers for the 3 eons it took to get to the gate….
”
Mark B
I work with a lot of women who love to talk about anything and everything including women’s personal problems. Being the only guy in the office I wish I could just put on a set of Bose QuietComfort 20i buds to drown out the background babble and listen to some sweet tunes with awesome sound quality
Christian K
At one previous sharehouses, I woke up one night, to hear my flatmate (who shared the room next to me) have BDSM sex. I heard a whip, I heard them slapping butts and reverse. They made a lot of noise during sex. So I just layed in bed, not being able to block the noise and screams out, listening to them whipping away. Then I heard a third voice just clapping away as in cheering/spectator. Needless to say it was weird until I heard a fourth person asking to join in on the action… Whatever went on in that room was enough for me to buy some headphones.
Howard B
When I was lying down next to my girlfriend in what was a romantic moment, we suddenly hear her mum fart and *plop plop plop* shortly after in the bathroom 8m away.
Steve S
“I travel 2-4 times a week on interstate flights. This is my favorite:
A few months ago on one of the first flights out of Sydney to Melbourne I thought I had hit the jackpot of cattle class right with an exit seat (extra leg room and easier to get on/off). Like most Monday mornings, the flight was full and we got off to a slight delay due to the number of people on the flight – it was packed.As the seat belt indicator switched off and I prepared myself for the morning rushed plane food breakfast, a late middle aged couple appeared to my right and walked straight into the toilet together. I was shocked, maybe a younger couple but this was odd. Silence and time went by slowly as I waited to see if maybe they went in there together to support each other for ….medical reasons.
The food trolley came and went, cereal was on the menu again, and I dug into my breakfast. Half way through my cereal, my fellow travelling companion and I shot looks at each other immediately as a recognizable sound slowly gained in volume from the toilet. It was every passenger in ear shot worst nightmare as the couple partook in what can only be referred to as copulation. Our looks and chatter went from shock to laughter and finally awkwardness. I couldn’t take it any longer, I needed to stop thinking about my ruined breakfast and the impending moment when they exited the bathroom. I pulled out my Qantas supplied headphones, closed my eyes and cranked up the volume. Although they did take the edge off the sound, the poor quality ear drum rattling headphones were no match for groans and periodic shake of the toilet door.
One of my fellow travelers summoned a hostess and she tried her best to interrupt them but with no success she apologized profusely and continued on with her collection of our unfinished breakfasts. Moments later they emerged awkwardly from the bathroom. The man said something that will stay with me forever ‘well that ones off the bucket list love’. We all laughed together….and now I wished I had a set of QC20i’s to drown the sound, sit back and relax.”
Anthony Y
The first night I stayed at my wife’s parents’ house they had an enormous, blazing argument, with the kind of language that would tear kittens in half. Bad enough. But then I heard them make up…
Ben P
“I now live alone again, though before this lived with my newly single sister.
After the grieving period from her previous relationship ended, she tried her hand at internet dating. I craved Bose noise cancelling headphones many weekends when her callers went upstairs with her!”
Jeremy K
The strangest situation that i’ve been in where I craved noise cancelling headphones was on the train where one guy started to sing to himself while listening to his own music and some stranger decided to join in with him.
Brendan L
“I work in retail at an airport, so to avoid the crowds in the terminal I take my lunch break in the back room. I usually listen to music with some trashy earbuds I leave at work. They are quiet and don’t provide any level of isolation. Yesterday I overheard (even with headphones in) a customer trying to return a pair of headphones “the other idiot that works here” had sold her. I went out to see what was going.Leaving the back room yesterday was a huge mistake. Apparently, I was “the other idiot”. The customer presented me a trashed pair of no-brand headphones with a receipt for a pair of Sennheiser Momentum’s (which I can only assume another customer had dropped and she had picked, hence spawning her cunning plan).
I tried to explain the receipt was not for the headphones she had. Apparently a mere speed bump in her amazing plan. It seemed her belief that if she was to mount a personal attack on me I would become willing to give her a free pair of $450 headphones. A joyous 5 minutes ensued.
A highlight (of one of the more coherent sections her verbal rampage), was her exclaiming “who’d even give this drop kick [i.e. me] a job anyway. Not ‘ere cause of ya looks, that’s for sure.” Well. Ok. That actually kind of hurt.
I wish I hadn’t overheard her. I wish I never left the back room. I wish that yesterday I had some Bose noise cancelling headphones.”
jiayi L
I bought two flight tickets. One for me,one for Bose noise cancelling headphones.
John B
“It was on a plane flying from Sydney to Auckland. While on the flight I realised that the Guinness Book of Records had a contender for the most annoying person in the world who happened to be sitting next to me.It was not their constant demand for snacks or the odours that were released when he waved his arms around it was his breathing. It sounded like a combination of ET and an annoying kids rattle. And it did not stop. He wasn’t ill, it was a genuine first world issue in that it is annoying, but deep down you know there are bigger issues. I’m certain the person on the other side of him would have done something drastic, but the in flight cutlery barely opens a letter.
This was not a pleasant flight, and BOSE noise cancelling headphones would have made the experience so much better.”
Ben c
Working in IT in a hospital, Working next to “Theater 7” Known for hip replacements. Configuring and troubleshooting a stack of Cisco Switches with the unfortunate pleasure of listening to common household tools chipping away at bones…..
Michael B
“A 1996 holiday to Mildura.I was just a kid at the time. My dad didn’t want to pay the $20 for a campsite in town, so we camped in between a busy arterial freight road and a train line(for some reason at the exact point where they toot, or maybe they were tooting us for being idiots).
We also had a large bee colony in a close by tree and those little buggers are louder than you imagine.
I would have killed a man with my bare, pre-pubescent hands for some QuietComfort that night. I’m sure that the 20i headphones would work with my old walkman right?”
Paul S
I regularly get caught out by my wife for agreeing to something when I’m “busy” listening to something. This christmas I’m apparently forking out huge sums for a Tiffany necklace. With these headphones I’ll be able to switch on “Aware mode” whenever she tries to swindle me.
William B
“Two weeks ago on a flight from Melbourne to Brisbane, on a carrier that shall remain nameless, I was assigned a seat at the back of the plane, adjacent to the bathroom.Also at the back of the plane was a large number of students returning from schoolies week, still wearing their schoolies lanyards and all (un)dressed for the beach.
The mile high club added two new members that day.
And thats the situation that I most craved Bose noise cancelling headphones.”
Kusal S
A random drunk guy laughing on a train about chairs.
Steve J
My story revolves about when I’m at the gym. Every time I’m there, all I can hear through my headphones is either bad background music, or guys grunting their lungs out performing excersises with technique that makes my eyes bleed. Either that, or guys bragging about them selves and how they are gods gift to women. I’d love a pair of these headphones so I don’t need to put up with all this crap, and enjoy my workouts in piece.
Steven P
“So, I was home alone one night and was relatively early to bed.
Laying there half asleep I hear a quiet noise repeating over and over.Slowly waking up a few possibilities ran through my mind. Was it the neighbours newborn baby or an alarm or someone needing help?
Well, once I realised it was in fact next door getting to have some ‘business time’, that’s when I needed a good pair of in ear noise cancelling Bose 20i’s. ”
Andrew F
In my mates Evo 10, with upgraded exhaust, fully loaded on the way to the snow…so I purchased tge Bose QC15, made for a much more enjoyable trip with my tablet…
Harry G
I have performance anxiety when I hear other people in toilet cubicals next to me whilst I try to do my business. The worst was when a colleague recognised me by my shoes and started to have a conversation. My iPhone and a pair of 20i’s would have come in handy. Unfortuantely, there’s nothing I could have done about the shoes.
Matthew M
On a tiny Cessna plane in Oodnadatta (ie middle of nowhere) when the pilot opens all the windows to the plane to let the flies out. Definitely needed some noise cancelling headphones to cancel that roar. Some flyspray too.
Paul M
If I had a pair of these… and time machine I would travel back in time to when I was 7 and strongly urge that I wear the headphones when staying at my grandparents thus saving my innocence. In my grandparents defence they were deaf and probably didn’t realise how loud they were.
Paul S
Living in a semi-rural suburb, surrounded by Aussie bushland, there is nothing more unpleasant on a hot summer night when you’re trying to sleep, than the mating calls of the Koala, Ringtailed Possum, Brushtailed Possum, Channel-Billed Cuckoo, Stone Curlew, and various species of Frog all competing to be heard in the NEXT FriKKIN SUBURB!
Kristine J
I was on the plane in the row in front of the toilets. A number of people on the plane from the same group of travelers must have had bali belly or something similar because the SOUNDS coming from those toilets during the trip were out of this world. It was comparable to someone having taken a bottle of laxatives! Moaning, groaning, fluidal sounds and banging on walls. AND they were tag-teaming trips to the loo. It was too much. In that moment I definitely wished I had noise canceling head phones!
Angela T
When I was in a backpackers hostel and my roommate, who forgot I was sleeping, started having an Afternoon Delight.
Alastair D
Living next door to a bar which attracts quite a few people of a Friday evening, I have to deal with listening to middle aged women singing along to a Grease medly EVERY WEEK! I have had enough, I need these headphones in my life!
Matthew H
In a backpackers when your roommates decide to get jiggy with it (and don’t invite you to join in)
Peter W
Just at the moment, its Cicadas. They are driving me crazy! I can be on a ride-on lawn mower wearing earmuffs and can still hear them!!
Owen B
anytime I get on to a bus in canberra I crave bose noise cancelling headphones, whether it be the high school students just who have just discovered there sexuallity but not how speak quitely or the drunk bogan yelling down his phone to his equally drunk bogan friends about the fact that he is getting off the bus now.
Ceallach M
I was 13 years old, and had just discovered porn. Before then I really didn’t know much about sex at all. One night, I went to bed at around 8:30pm, while my parents stayed up watching some television. At about 9pm they went to bed. Our rooms were directly opposite each other in a hallway, with the doors being spaced a metre or so off centre from each other, and due to me being a sneaky kid who liked to melt lego with a lighter I wasn’t allowed to shut my door. I REALLY COULD HAVE USED SOME HEADPHONES when they started having sex. No 13 year old should have to listen to his whale of a mother moan like a prostitute and utter such things as “wrong hole”, “no it’s ok, keep going” and “f##k me like I’m your little sister”. It isn’t enough that you send me the headphones now. You also have to build a time machine, or contribute to my therapy bills. This isn’t intended to be funny. The noises my mother makes during sex could be substituted for a 50 cal machine gun in war, the enemy would be too busy throwing up or cringing to fight back. And their heads would explode all the same.
Chris D
The main bedroom in my house is located directly above the lounge room. When we moved in my house mate and I flipped a coin to see who would get it. Unfortunately I lost and subsequently had to put up with listening to him and his girlfriend jumping on the bed every night. I eventually got fed up with it and wrapped a towel around the bed frame where it was hitting the wall. Two days later I got a text. “Thanks for fixing the bed!”. Anyway this all could have been avoided with noise cancelling headphones!
Axel W
“Almost every morning when the chooks are ready to lay their egg, one or two get overly excited and loudly gagg-gagg-gaggle without end. This brings our dog to join in with a winching /howling sound and … it is really hard to bear.
So, off I walk to the chook-pen and find some harsh words. I have been know to kick the fence :_( This, in turn, frightened them so much that NO egg is forthcoming ….. Almost a no-win situation – so, would a pair of QC20i make a difference? I guess so!”
William H
On the train to school, and 2 estranged lovers where having a fight. And talking about their sex lives. Quite strange and funny.
Joe L
My car was out of action, it was a 30 degree day and I was desperate enough to get the coogee via Australia bus to the beach for a swim. I manged to get a seat on the bus in front of 2 drunk irish blokes who proceeded to babble incoherently non stop for the entire trip…..Add that to the drear of the bus noise and Bose would have been my saviour….
Bryce D
Being on a plane next to a serial farter. Although I guess the headphones might help me tune out the pooting noises but not the actual smell… Hmm… perhaps something R&D at Bose can work on?
Warren P
This will be a common response, but it was in the gym. I forgot my headphones one session, so not only did I have to workout to a Channel V one hour Miley Cyrus special (seriously – I had no idea she had an hour worth of music in her catalogue), but I spent a good 10 minutes on a bench next to 3 teenagers giving each other the WORST fitness advice I had heard in my life (aka Bro Science) without performing a single exercise properly. It took every fibre of my being to not either (a) laugh, or (b) lose my rag at them. Natch, a pair of noise cancelling headphones would have kept me BLISSFULLY unaware of their shared ridiculousness!
Glen T
“On the bus to the shops when excited fan-girls hop on squealing about Bieber.
”
Jacob K
On an international flight and an old gezzer was letting wind off that the jet engine noises could not even cancel the sound out…I really need them then!
Sum O
“i was camping with my friends, after we got to the camp ground i realised i frogot to bring my tent so ended up sharing a 3 men tent with a couple.
after dinner and few chatter we all went to bed, and knowing there is a couple next to me i thought i would be a good idea to put my headphone on and put on the music to block out any potential “Noise”. then my worse nightmare began around mid night when i first heard some moaning noise and realised the couple couldnt content their passion and love for one another and started a live show right behind my back, but not wanting to distract them and alert them that i am awake i couldnt turn up the volume, so i had to endure the full live show till dawn. thought out this ordeal i have thought to myself how wonderful it will be had i have a pair of the Bose QuietComfort 20i Headphones!!!”
Olly E
“The dreaded doctor’s waiting room.
I was waiting for my doctor to call me when I overheard a woman behind me talking about strange lumps appearing on… well… yeah. Not only was this making me reach for a bucket, but she then proceeded to whip out photos she had taken on her phone!Life would be great if the doctor’s waiting room was silent!”
Felix S
A while ago when my aunty came over and i had to share a room with my brother, i thought it was a good idea to put a plastic black spider on brother’s bed. Turned out it wasn’t as 3 minutes later, i heard to loudest scream ever, and my brother trying to find me, screaming my name around the house. I ended up spending hours hiding in the wardrobe in the same room, and couldn’t get out until he fell asleep, which took a while, as he was talking to his friends on the phone. Anyways, i wish i had Bose earphones back then was i was super bored and my brother talks really loud, so i couldn’t even fall asleep in there. Good childhood memories…
Billy T
A few weeks ago i was walking around the super market when i ran into an old friend. The friend had her arm hugging her belly (like she was pregnant) and the last time i was aware she was pregnant, i thought she still was so when i said hello to her i asked how she was, and how her baby was. (thinking it was still baking) she replied yeah he is good he is 8 weeks. I said ohh nice i didnt know you could tell the sex of the baby that early, which she then replied i already had him, i said yeah i know that and it was a very awkward silence. i wish i had noise cancelling head phones so i could be as far away as possible from what seemed to be the loudest longest moment of no one talking. I wanted to play some music and slowly move away
Damien Y
“I was on my way to work on a peak hour train with only standing room a couple of months back with a young guys on board with his bike that was just in everyone’s way and h just didn’t seem to care less. He had this look about him that just kind of said “don’t mess with me” and music blaring from his own earphones that everyone within about 5 meters could hear. The funniest thing though that although he had this tough look about him where I would’ve expected AC/DC or something similar, the music blaring from his earphones was actually Taylor Swift! It was all I could do not to laugh out loud at this guy and get on his wrong side.
So I spent the next 15 minutes in this cramped carriage looking anywhere but at him to hide the smirk on my face at this funny sight. Worse than that I had Taylor Swift in my head all day long much to the amusement of my colleagues each time I started humming her songs out loud!
Some Bose noise cancelling headphones would’ve been just the thing to keep both the guy and Taylor Swift out of my head for the day. ”
Michael C
A few years ago I was on a train when a couple were having a fight. Not out of the ordinary but if I’d had noise cancelling headphones I’d have been able to ignore the next part where the woman, having noticed the scene being made, tried to recruit other passengers to her side of the argument.
Isaac H
Every day at work. Sit next to a ‘self-talker’. Some things just cannot be unheard.
William S
When I lived at home sleeping below my parents room… the sounds that came from above me still make me shudder to this day.
Jacob K
Leading up to the end of the school year my next door neighbour’s twin girls practicing Miley Cyrus’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ over and over again after school for nearly 3 weeks… I assume for some end of year performance. Living in terrace houses this is a painful experience (trust me). These Bose headphones would of been LIFE SAVING!
Ben W
In the toilet at work. On a friday especially with people throwing up from the night before. silence in the toilet is peaceful
Jason C
“Every (working day) day of my life! I work closely with someone that can only be described as the most annoying woman on this planet. When she’s weeks away from going on annual leave, literally every single person that is within earshot MUST hear about her upcoming holiday and how busy she is trying to get her work done beforehand.Wheh she comes back from holiday I have to hear the same holiday story 10 times over each day for 2 weeks as she tells everyone that walks past in the most boring level of detail.
Imagine a brittish, female version of Grandpa Simpson. “I was wearing an onion on my belt WHICH WAS THE STYLE AT THE TIME!”
She’s not the sharpest tool in the shed either. She once asked what language they speak in Russia and it wasnt a joke. She sings. Badly. And I’m not talking just a little average. I mean her voice can only be comapred to the sound you get when you run over a pair of faunicating cats with an ice cream truck that has a parrot jammed in the speaker that plays the icecream tune to all the neighbourhood kids.
I swear on my newly purchased PS4, as I’m typing this, at this exact moment she’s talking about cheese. CHEESE!
Please help me Gizmodo. I need this. Oh God i need this.”
Joel S
When I’m on the NSW Transport inter-city (Katoomba line) designated “Quiet” carriages — and there are people talking. My pet hate!
Nick B
“Okay guys, I’m a pom. Usually that’s okay, I fly under the radar and blend in with my Aussie colleagues. Usually.The last two weeks have been a different story. Why? The Ashes, that’s why. Australia has had the fortune of winning two little matches and suddenly everybody in the office is a cricket tragic, taking every opportunity to rub it in my face. All. Damn. Day.
It’s moments like these I need Bose noise cancelling headphones. ”
Peter R
Once caught a late flight back from Sydney and it was unusually bumpy. I am OK with turbulance, however, a few people around me weren’t. Needed these to drown out the barf-bag symphony.
Clayton S
With a bad case of the Exploding belly from both ends, I kinda needs these for the GF on holidays. Too close and too much noise… fairly explanatory noise at that.
Daniel M
On a 4 day train ride through Russia in the heat of summer with no air conditioning and no one else speaking English!
Terry W
Funny you mentioned ‘One Direction’! Working in security, I’ve been in that exact situation before. A ‘One Direction’ appearance on Sunrise about a year and a bit back saw me at the front of the line in Martin Place, Sydney. The atmosphere was electric and I’ve never, ever heard girls scream like the girls were that day. Feeling sorry for the parents there that day, I saw parents chaperoning their daughters which I felt so sorry for but to this day still sends a chuckle through me. Picture this, a dad standing next to his daughter (about 15 yrs old), she’s screaming and hysterical, he’s got his hands over his face in embarrassment as she holds up a sign with the words, “Point your erection in my direction!”…classic. I’m sure he could have used a set of Bose Noise Cancelling headphones that day to bring some zen back in his life and for me, a set of Bose Noise Cancelling headphones would have been perfect plugged into my 2-way radio that day as I did not hear one radio call the whole event.
Brendan J
“I’m normally a world class napper; I can doze off in any location.. But of the many times I would’ve loved noise cancelling headphones the best (and most frustrating) time was a few days into a backpacking trip across Europe. I had started in Portugal and found myself in a small backwater town at the end of a bus line way down south just outside of Faro closer to the border of Spain. I ended up watching some local football and ended up 3 sheets to the wind after getting on just fine with the locals (Life Pro-Tip: Always cheer for the home side.)
What I didn’t count on was there being no hostels or accommodation in this town, and all the buses had finished for the day towards Seville. Not one to worry, I did the best available – sleep in the bus stop.. Cue springtime thunderstorm all night – I was warm, but the sporadic thunder claps made for one of my more uncomfortable sleeps. ”
Mark T
“After living on my own for the last fifteen years or so, I was preparing to go overseas so at the end of my lease I headed to my parents house to live for a few weeks.
I squeezed into the spare room full of doilies and a teaspoon collection and thought ‘I can handle this for a few weeks’.
It didn’t take long however to discover that my parents were still ‘active’ in the bedroom despite being well into their seventies, it’s a sound that I can hear almost every time I close my eyes.”
Nathan C
I sit in facing a corner at work, and if I had Bose noise cancelling headphones I could add not hearing anything around me to not seeing anything. Avoiding awkward final farewells to departing workmates who I’ve never liked and I’ll be glad to see (or not see, in this case) the back of will be easier than ever!
Thomas F
“On a trip to America, we got stuck in transit at Honolulu Airport, our first flight was cancelled and the second delayed for what turned out to be 9 hours. It was at the time of the APEC summit in 2011 and the airport was locked down and we were not allowed to move around very much. Sitting directly opposite in the packed transit lounge was a young child who spent the whole time on and off screaming and crying at full volume while the parents pretty much managed to be oblivious to it.Worse yet, when we finally got on the plane much to my despair the kid ended up in the seat directly behind me, continuing its party! Also, as it happened a friend had lent my wife one pair off noise cancelling headphones to try out which she wouldn’t share. After the experience she rubbed it in by claiming she could barely hear the kid, whilst i could just barely hear. ”
Mark P
“I catch a bus to work with 30-40 kids who go to a performing arts high school (read: love hearing themselves). As the year approaches the end it essentially turns my bus into a performance theatre for self-absorbed students who think they’ll be in Hollywood in five years.
Please. Must drown them out. Please!”
Paul T
On a recent flight to Queensland I was trying to get some much needed sleep but I was constantly interrupted by crying babies, loud teenagers on schoolies, and deafeningly loud air-conditioning. Half asleep with some inner-ear headphones in my ears I was day-dreaming about how amazing a pair of cosy, high fidelity, noise-cancelling headphones would be. Looks like I might have found them.
Aaron W
Train home and having to listen to two drug dealers discuss what they were going to cut the gear with.
Matt B
About six years ago I had a stapedectomy (look it up!) to fix a bung staple bone in my ear. One of the benefits of this procedure is a 20-30 dB increase in hearing ability; kind of like the difference between wearing ear muffs or not. Unfortunately, I had to stay at my parents place for a couple of nights until I could drive without the dull roar of a car engine seeming like a 747 – at least until my new ears adjusted. Unfortunately (again) it was in the middle of February and my ultra sensitive ears picked up my parents “celebrating” Valentines Day. Oh giant spaghetti monster in the sky, strike me down lest I hear that ever, ever again…
Theo R
Saturday night I had a LAN with a couple of friends, like we try to do at least once every month or two for the past five years. The guy who owns the house has since removed the spare bunk beds that we used to crash on, so a friend (and fellow Giz reader) and I top and tail on a futon. We swear this guy is lactose intolerant or something, though he’ll deny it to the grave. Once he woke me up with his farts so many times I was laying there stewing in anger trying to think of a way to trick him into going to the doctor. It’s horrendous and I sleep very poorly every time.
Andrew T
My wife sews a lot for relaxation, however her sewing machine has something in it which emits this constant humming noise which drives me crazy! The noise is kinda like the audio equivalent to the Mona Lisa (how she eerily looks at you no matter where you’re standing in relation to it), as no matter where you go in the house the noise is there, boring its way into your skull. A set of Bose noise cancelling headphones will actively go into combat for me, giving me the peace and serenity I crave, with the added bonus of still being able to engage in a conversation with my wife due to the Aware Mode feature…. it’s the best of both worlds!
Josh B
I met this guy at a party and he was just talking a bunch of nonsense. I had a beanie on and I had my current headphones running up my back (so he couldn’t see) so I was just looking at him and nodding along to what he was saying but really, I was listening to Hendrix. Unfortunately, they weren’t noise cancelling so he found me out…
Ning L
My workplace when the maintenance guy was trying to fix the aircon (obviously the aircon broke every three months)
Daniel
Bose noise cancelling headphones would have been amazing in my share housing days to block out my housemates… amorous activities. Curse those thin walls.
Aman Y
My hot neighbour constantly has men coming over to her apartment and I can hear loud love making throughout the night because of the thin walls. I never knew humans were capable of making such noises. I just want to be able to sleep!!
steve D
when i was thirty i moved back into the nest and unfortunately my old room was occupied by dad’s computer desk… therefore the only room available was the tiny room next to the parents… so, rather than describing what i could hear come 11pm every night, i just wished i had those Bose noise cancelling headphones!!!
Dennis G
Every morning at about 10am the lady from reception walks past and starts talking to my colleague about her cats, seriously who cares about cats (sorry to anyone who does, just don’t talk about it loudly). He has cats too, so it goes on and on and on. for my sanity I would love to block them out with noise canceling headphones and nice relaxing music.
Eu-Jene c
Strange blend of noises: gardener using blower and what I thought was a neighbour watching a porn movie. Turns out the neighbours were having enthusiastic sex. It also turns out that it happens every Sunday at 3pm. Could have really done with the Bose noise cancelling headphones then!
Robert D
Dancing around the shop pretending to be Michael Jackson doing the moon walk sideways through the narrow aisles in the car audio department.
Casey T
My housemate thought no-one was home when her and her boyfriend decided to roleplay in their bedroom, I wished I had noise cancelling headphones to block out the moaning and the loud ‘ohh yes Simba! you are a mighty king!’ Will never be able to watch the Lion King in the same way ever again. Scared for life.
Bart C
Sitting in the living room while the fiance watches channel Ten’s The Bachelor. Even with regular headphones and youtube cranked to ear deafing levels, I could not escape the terrible dialogue and self obsessted nature of the girls and bachelor. No man should have to suffer watching let alone listening to that waste of digitally transmitted content.
August G
housemate having sex with some random girls at 2 in the morning next to my room while i was doing my thesis. I ended up going to nearest McDonald’s just to continue doing my thesis. Would’ve been great if I had these noise cancelling iems that night.
Peter C
My next door neighbours have chickens. Last night, I don’t know what got into their pen but whether it was a snake, a fox or some creature that rose from the abyss, it elicited sounds from those chickens that I have never heard before and with the help of Bose QuietComfort 20i headphones wish to never hear again. So on the off chance that the chickens survived their prolonged attack last night I would really appreciate some noise cancelling headphones before round two.
Kim S
“Please don’t take this the wrong way – I have many close gay friends.
One night while I had a date over and we were about to do the jiggy – extremely loud masculine smacks and moans erupted from the apartment below. The gay couple down there had decided it was time for a ultra noisy romp. I would have given anything in the world for two pairs of noise cancelling headphones (especially BOSE – they rock)”
Matthew J
Hearing two old people explaining in detail about there love life on the train
Shane R
“I was coming back from Sydney earlier this year on the bus, with my Dre beats cranking out some ‘doof doof’, supposedly thse headphones also featured noise cancelling technology.To my surprise, about half way through the trip my friend in front turns around to get my attention. Little did I realize, half the passengers on the bus could quite loudly hear my music and it wasn’t even up half way.
I’ve been looking for something quieter since then, especially since I’ll be losing my license soon and spending a lot more time on the bus, hopefully with the added bonus of being less obnoxious but still able to listen to my music loud!”
Alexei W
Let’s just say; share house, single outgoing housemate, thin walls.
Rob M
Trying to sleep while one room-mate is getting it on with his girl and the other room-mate has explosive Gastro!!
Trent
“Had just started a new job in an open plan office and all was going great. Then learnt that one of our younger developers had started using the Tinder dating app. He proceeded to tell everyone in great detail the person he was going to be meeting that night.
As if the details weren’t’t bad enough to need noise cancelling headphones, the next day certainty did.
He continued the following day with an excruciatingly cringe worthy description of how the person looked nothing like their photo, and he had a feeling that they might have been distant relatives!!!
Apparently this still didn’t stop things, and he continued to detail the nights events for the entire office.I was considering doing a Chopper Read and slicing my own ears off than continue listening.”
Jason T
my little brothers school variety night. His band sounded good…..could have used some help drowning out the other though!
Amanda C
My housemates were going at it….loudly.
Caskie
On a 14 hour flight with a screaming/crying baby and a kid on his 3DS with the volume all the way up.
Michael M
“I was wearing a cheap pair of headphones while walking around the lake near my house. I was getting some strange looks, and then I realised that everybody else could hear the Hobbit Soundtrack that I had playing.
Seems not everybody appreciates a good hobbit tune on a Sunday morning.”
Rohan V
At work pretending not to hear another employee because I had headphones in. Not only could you clearly hear people while they were playing, they weren’t even plugged in!
Ryan D
A few years ago, I went on a roadtrip with my uncle. We ended up staying at a B&B in the south of WA, we were given one room with two beds. My uncle (who is quite a heavy set man) fell asleep quite quickly and thats when the snoring commenced, not just the odd snore, this was a constant droning snore which continued in an unbearable pattern. At the time all I had on me were my old ipod headphones, which I’m sure as everyone will know do not really cancel noise too well. I had to put those headphones to almost full volume just to drown out the noise that was coming from across the room, I would have much preferred to have some noise cancelling headphones which could have saved my poor ear drums from having to listen to the snoring or getting tinnitus trying to stop myself going mad with sleep deprivation..
Rory
“Earlier last year, I had to catch a bus to Dubbo (a close to 8 hour trip) in order to sing in a Jazz Festival. The trip consisted of a socially oblivious and obnoxious girl sitting next to me, recounting her entire love-life to anybody on the bus who happened to be paying attention. I would have given my pinky finger for a pair of noise cancelling headphones.Honestly, if I had a pair of the QuietComfort 20i’s, I could have easily coined the term ‘Bose before Hoes.’”
Kerrie W
“There was one time I was on a 9 hour flight between Sydney and Hong Kong. As I am a stickler of suffering from Murphy’s Law, I was surrounded by families – kids, babies, toddlers..all the likes – all of whom decided it was fun to create a mid-air carcophonic rendition of what seemed like Beethoven’s 7th Symphony. That’s not the worse part, ironically, over the plane’s sound system, Handel Messiah’s Hallelujah was playing in the background.
Needless to say that Bose noise cancelling headphones could have saved me from my massive migraine and worst flight ever.”
Matt C
On a recent trip to Vietnam, I found myself on a bus ride from Hanoi to Halong City sitting in front of a English couple, who were discussing – in great detail, I might add – the pros and cons of a water birth for their next child. Two hours of talk about placentas and amniotic fluid later, and I was seriously considering using the emergency exit hammer on the window. Suffice to say, Bose’s QuietComfort earphones would have saved me much mental scarring.
Tony H
Being of Vietnamese decent, my parents talk about me behind my back in front of me, so pretty much any friends and family gathering, they bag me out or other people in front of me or others
Lachlan T
Last Friday this old lady in a flower dress was walking around my bus stop playing Christmas tunes on a recorder. Most annoying 10 minutes of my life!
Richard N
A peaceful ride home on the train when a group of unruly teenagers steps aboard and one of them proceeds to inform the world how he will shoot everyone up and and we had better not mess with him. It was truly bizarre to see an acne faced 14 year old trying to show off to his friends so were trying their very best to ignore him.
Steven D
Hearing your parents doing the horizontal tango is bad, but the time when I really needed the new Bose QuietComfort 20i Headphones was when I had to endure listening to my in-laws going at it in the room next door.
Ben K
“Most of the situations in which I would use noise-cancelling headphones would be fairly mundane – public transport, the sound of office basketball being played while I’m on the phone, whenever a Mumford & Sons track comes on in the office…However, one scenario that stands out is when the F1 Grand Prix is in town – I used to work fairly close to Albert Park Lake in Melbourne, and the novelty of the whining engines is cool… for the first day of qualifying!
On a side note, writing the review sounds like fun – smithsonianmag.com posted an article of the ten most annoying sounds for human ears – perhaps a roadtest is in order?”
Emily W
Over hearing a lady give full on details of her love life on the train very loudly to someone on the phone.
Blair b
When I was in a bus and then a phone war broke out which was then followed by a console war.
Sean G
We have an annoying manager in the office who at the best of time talks way too loud, be it work or personal… sometimes a bit too personal. When she starts singing though, it really gets bad. These head phones would be a god send.
Prashanta S
A self talkative man murmuring in the car of the train I was in on my way back home from a very long day of work. Wow! This Bose QuietComfort 20i Headphones would’ve been so good.
Wai N
On Sunday morning with my coffee and newspaper but all I hear was my 2 kids shouting and fighting. Gee I wished i had a Bose noise cancelling headphone then.
Ryan S
Laying in bed at 2am while the couple in the apartment above me become intimate. Noise cancelling headphones would have been a sanity saver as I have a vivid imagination.
Phaneendra N
Listening to my wife :).
Jason B
Hearing my neighbours activities that are accompanied by a slapping sound and bellows of moaning, at 2am, 3am, 11pm, 2pm in the afternoon.
Lucas R
My neighbours have the custom of practicing sexual activities in a loud manner so one of these would be awesome when playing games or exercising in my backyard… I would also use it at the gym (my gym has the worst taste for training music) or when running from bondi to bronte. 🙂 I would love to review them and also include a video review 🙂
Samps R
“I ride a 1200cc bike! I NEED noise cancelling badly!
Doing 20-30K a year, so plenty of time to evaluate earphones under extreme circumstances…”
Sam A
It would have to be the time I was the only one at the party to not “partner up” so to speak and had to sleep on the couch and listen to some things you should never hear from your mates bedroom…
Andrew
I was at uni working on a paper while a large group of engineering students were celebrating Oktoberfest on the lawns outside the building. The noise from the keg throwing competition was particularly distracting and I would have loved some Bose noise cancelling headphones to allow me to work without the temptation of going outside!
Jack L
When a couple who were seated beside me on the plane discussing and planning on how they will join the mile high club.
Dave P
A colleague next to me at work was stage whispering into his phone to his doctor about how the infection was still there and wouldn’t go away no matter what cream he used!
Shaun /
“Quite few years ago a good friend became single. In an effort to get him back on the horse i took him to a local night club.The evening was going well. He was up dancing with a very attractive woman when her friend came into the picture. As a good wing man I tried distract this womans friend from spoiling my mates night. I went and sat next to her and as the music was quite loud I leaned over to chat with her. I said hi and she said …. well i don’t know what she said. When she spoke I wished I had noise cancelling headphones as to this day im not sure that the high pitch noise was actually words. If you combined the voices of Fran Drescher, Bernadette Rostenkowski, with a casio PT-1 synth and some chip tunes you still would not come close to what I had heard that night. A 1000 Justin bieber fans have nothing on what this one girl achieved by herself. Im luckily there was no permanent damage otherwise winning a set of these fine head phones would be pointless.
”
Dakota O
The strangest situation I would have to say was when I used to live in America. The house diagonal from ours was being invaded by the SWAT team again in the middle of the night. So there were megaphones blaring, some gunshots, and at one point a concussion grenade. It was at this time I would’ve done anything for a pair of Bose headphones to try and get some sleep and be oblivious to the exterior chaos.
Peter f
Whenever i’m happily sitting down to watch a movie and the THX sound suddenly shakes the living room with a deafening roar – that is most definitely a time I crave Bose noise cancelling headphones. Even if it’s only for that small instant 🙂
Damian M
Travelling home on a bus in Sydney, I was stuck next to a rather large passenger who was loudly announcing his break up with a girl to EVERYONE on the bus. He was quite descriptive of how she reacted and you could see other passengers cringing in awkwardness . We ALL needed Bose noise cancelling headphones especially me!
Rob R
On a recent trip to Manila on Qantas, I was surrounded by drunk Aussies who seemed to be going on mid-life schoolies trip.
Joel K
Living with my brother and his girlfriend + paper thin walls + broken headphones = bad time
Murray B
I once told my girlfriend how much I hate the voice of Bernadette of Big Bang Theory. Then, to annoy me, she figured out how to do a near perfect imitation of Bernadette’s voice. I have no defence against this exceedingly annoying tease, please Gizmodo, help me!
Ryan D
” Commuting to work with a train full of teenage girls. ….While spending “Family time” at home while they all watch relativity tv shows. “He was like…I was like….We where like…. ”
”
Jared K
It was 3:30am when my next door neighbors starting having an argument. The catalyst to this argument you say? well the young woman next door was extremely upset because someone had smoked her last joint, which she had been saving. The whole street needed to know this apparently. I would have given good money not to have to listen to that ridiculous argument.
Robert G
On a leadership camp stuck in a tent with 10 other snoring blokes. . .
Nicholas D
“I endured a 40 min train ride with a loud teenage couple who insisted on awkward role play for the entire trip.
It consisted of:
1. The guy pretending to not know who the girl was, despite her insisting she was his girlfriend
2. The guy would make some disparaging remark such as “my girlfriend isn’t that fat”
3. The girl would go to storm off and he’d stop her
4. They’d make up (and make out)
5. Rinse and repeat.I would have cut off my left arm for a pair of bose noise cancelling headphones on that trip
”
Daniel N
I have the great displeasure of living within a feline breeding grounds… For some reason, all of the stray neighborhood cats, and there are quite a few, have delegated the area immediately outside my bedroom window as their preferred place of racous sexy times. I am subjected to hours of the none-too-pleasant screeching, grating and disturbing howls of an amorous clowder all through spring. Please save me from the horror!
Graham M
We live in a boarding house situation. One tenant spends friday nights getting drunker and louder as the night wears on, my wife starts work at 6am so we head for bed early to get up at 5am. The next door neighbours war constantly – all night, BUT, to cap it all, the newest tenant got drunk and slashed his wrists at 3am, crawled into the kitchen groaning MY name! We spent 4 hours cleaning the CSI / Horror movie blood splatters from everything and mopping up the lake of blood. NOW, if I had a pair of these I could have lived in my own peaceful world instead of coping with this because I can’t afford the trauma counselling!. P.S. All true! (well, not the counselling bit)
Andrew F
Back at uni I was staying in a share house with a couple other guys. It was a Friday night and I was in bed – had to be up early for my crappy part-time job – when I heard one of them roll in with a house guest he’d picked up at the pub. Needless to say, If I’d had some Bose QuietComfort 20i Noise Cancelling In-Ear Headphones (instead of my war-torn iPhone buds), I’d have heard less ‘oh m’ god!’s and ‘harder!’s, and maybe got a little more sleep!
Steven C
When I sky dived, it was noisy, I was wondering what would be like if I have Bose noise cancelling headphones … that doesn’t came off my ears while diving … 😀
Noa C
“Having a 7 month old, most would naturally assume that I would be keen to get the noise cancelling headphones to drown out his crying and soothe the soul when not on baby duty with mellow beats or to hear the finer points of a favorite symphony that I haven’t been able to catch for some time.but no, that is not the case…
He went on a trip with my missus to Perth from Sydney last week and in a short time I will be flying across the country after him and all I need is to get lost in the tunes so I can pass the hours before I see his face again and listen to his cry once more.
If I can feel the music rather than the passage over to him, well then we have some headphones.
”
Matthew Y
Probably when I was podcasting at school with my ATR-2100 and a pair of crummy headphones and I ran a few test recordings in Audacity and decided that the room was fine for recording in, so I went ahead and recorded it and then when I got back home to edit it, I could hear how terribly noisy the background was and I had to discard the audio :(. Or when I’m at the school library after school trying to do my homework and they keep trying to get me to chat with them when I really need to finish off my homework, I usually give in and chat a bit. XD
Shannon T
Mum and dad going at it in the bedroom.
Chris F
6 hours of unremitting noise. That is what you get as a teacher on a coach full of teenage girls going on a camp to the Snowy Mountains. Ranging from giggling to shrieking, singing to incessant chatter at a volume appropriate to talking during a football match at the MCG. Any normal human beings would tire, calm down and sleep, watch the moving on the buses television….Not girls. Teenage girls appear to have a completely limitless source of internal energy at least when it comes to talking and making noise! Of course you try to quiet them down, be tolerant of a bit of noise. They are kids! Its okay. But a few minutes of quiet where you could relax in your seat and listen to music or an audiobook to kill the boredom of a long bus trip would be wonderful. Unfortunately you can’t hear it properly over the noise of the kids. I would love a pair of Bose in ear headphon es with noise reduction! Given the only method for stopping teenage girls from making noise I have previously thought of involved a bulk order of very large everlasting gob stoppers, a head phone that cancels external noise sounds like paradise!
Kevin O
I was listening to a script on my headphones and dictating it, i was a 1000 miles away when the ear-piercing and head splitting voice of my mother-in-law distracted me… after this disruption I couldn’t get back to work for hours, I love my MIL but she has one of those voices you cant ignore.
Emil J
Sitting on a 4 hour flight back from New Zealand a few months back, the lady next to me decided that she wanted to (try to) sing along to the music channel with her headphones plugged in. I don’t think she knew how loud she was, but we all did unfortunately.
Brett L
The strangest situation would have been coming back from work late at night when you could hear two people having loving cuddles in the toilet, could have really done with some noise cancelling headphones at that point.
Nico N
My office chair makes a buzzing sound. im yet to find out what it is. Im sure these will help though.
Julian W
When i was in a plane for the first time and released how loud it was and listening to family members talk for a long time.
Colin C
At a conference. A “speaker” who was supposedly telling us how to inovate -but was more of a “look how good I am and my company is too” speech. His monotone voice would have been captured by any noise cancelling headphones as noise to remove
Peter B
I am scared crapless when going on holidays and the plane takes off or lands…..just give me something to block out all the sound..except for what I’m listening to.
Leon C
BoysIIMen concert. One – what the hell was I doing listening to BoysIIMen and Two – all I could hear was screaming and crying girls anyway…
Victor A
Overhearing my parents giving my younger sister their abridged version of the birds and bees talk
Ken G
Out on tour in north QLD & trying to get new music arrangements done for other projects & all you can hear is either the Possums, Koalas, assorted wildlife or the other patrons of the hotel procreating LOUDLY & continuously …. there must have been something in the water 😛
Simon W
With an 11 month old and a 2 year old the question is what’s the funniest or strangest situation I haven’t craved Bose noise cancelling headphones…
Benjamin M
My wife likes to watch DVDs on her laptop. That would be fine, except the show she wants to watch is ‘Call the Midwife’. Why anyone would want to watch a show that contains multiple births each episode is beyond me – the sound of mothers in labour is traumatising! Either she needs these headphones, or I do.
Robin H
So my room mate and i get along well almost all the time. I wouldn’t say i am the most tidy person but this particular day my bed was especially cluttered with clothes and books and i had just curled up within the mess to go to sleep. After a couple of minutes my roommate walks in talking to his girlfriend on the phone. The conversation is pretty ordinary i just lay there trying to fall asleep. After a while though i realised that i am can not fall asleep. At this point though i have been lying there for a good ten minutes and felt it would make things to awkward to make my presence know. Unfortunately the tone of the conversation changed and phone sex was now on the table. This was the most awkward 10 minutes of my life and i am not sure i slept at all that night.
Damian H
Driving the car, packed to the hilt with kids (5 of them – only 3 are mine) camping gear, dogs (2 of them) and the missus. Being the designated driver means that control of the stereo belongs to the missus and kids…..I hate 1Direction…. Not sure that these headphones would help cancel that noise though… would be worth a try….
Chris M
Okay, so here’s what happened… over at a friend’s house I was waiting for him to finish having a shower when his dog decides that NOW is the perfect time to get, uh, intimate with his favourite toy… a stuffed animal with a squeaker. Did I mention that the dog was a pug? It was a pug. *gronffsnuffsnuff* *SQUEAK* *gronfsnuffsnuff* *squeak* I don’t think I’ve ever blushhed harder.
Chris S
I craved Bose QuietComfort Headphones the most when I was travelling on an underground train overseas and couldn’t concentrate on reading my book as my thoughts were continually distracted by competing wub-dub tunes from multiple pairs of white generic earplugs from a certain fruit company. Please let me have some noise cancelling headphones so I can have some peace and quiet! (and maybe even something nice to listen to some music with!)
Ash J
I love listening to music, and I love to do it distraction free. It would take a great set of headphones to cancel out the screechy voice of my nagging girlfriend, or the intolerable insults hurled at me by my boss, and I think Bose QuietComfort Headphones would be up to the challenge! More music, less interruption!
Luke M
A man has become famous here in Perth for walking up and down the train line every day screaming gibberish and dancing. It’s funny the first time, but I have to deal with this everyday on the way to uni! I’d use these to block out the ramblings of a mad man… Now if only Bose could release vision cancelling goggles..
Alex M
Working as a doctor on night shift I once recently faced a near “zombie” like experience where nearly ten patients had all began to become delirious. A phenomena known as sun downing. One of the patients (a poor old chap) would lay completely still… not move a muscle or even acknowledge my presence. Every few minutes in an irregular pattern this patient would emit a 300+ db bleat just like a sheep that would wake everyone up on the ward. He would make this noise the entire night.. disturbing the other patients and of course disturb my concentration as i went about my work reviewing the other sick patients. A pair of noise cancelling phones to drown out the “bleating” would have been a god send! alas, when the sun came back up, he stopped bleating and everything was back to “near” normal..
Anthony F
I was lying under a bus working on an axle when someone started the 16 Litre diesel engine. I was using my awful iphone headphones at the time and i could not hear a thing
Daniel D
haven’t had any strange situations, but what could be more annoying than noise when all you want to hear is music!
Graham C
While living at home with my mother many years ago I had the nightmarish scenario of having my room next to my mum’s. On this particular night my mother had her boyfriend over for some extra curricular activities, what made this audio hell-scape even more torturous is that the walls were made from the thinnest material known to mankind, easily allowing any stray ambient sound waves to pierce the adjoining wall and forever embedding themselves into my brain, a quality sound cancelling aide would have made me the happiest boy in the village.
James B
Regularly having to do the long haul flights to Sydney or Melbourne I’m often looking for a little extra leg room. The problem is that in Economy, the leg room is mostly in emergency exists right next to the toilets. The leg room comes with the added bonus of the sights and sounds of effectively sitting in the foyer of a public rest room. Sights and sounds aside, the smell… oh wait… NOISE cancelling, not NOSE cancelling. Never mind.
Michael R
Every day I work next to a guy that all day will answers questions with sound effects, hums sounds that aren’t actual songs, makes a different random noise every time he makes a mistake, or gets something right, gets excited, or is just thinking. Often it will be a merging of several sound effects where it will start like Chewbacca, move into a machine gun, then finish with a UFO. Seriously.
Low G
early in the morning when my housemate decided to ohh-ahh with his girlfriend. Bose noise cancelling (including ohh-ahh cancelling) headphones would do the job
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