I bought these to use on trips to India that included long flights and layovers. I got a pair of Koss over-the-ear style headphones for use when I wanted some noise to filter in (flight announcements, etc) but I also wanted a pair to block out the world. The Sparkplugs did exactly that. The foam inserts expand within your ear to provide a snug fit that keeps out external noise. I agree with other reviewers that the bass is a bit lacking, but as has been suggested, simply blocking the holes on the outside of the buds corrects that completely. My only complaint is that after a while, one of my ears always got a bit sore. Might be because I have pretty small ears that all buds have a hard time staying in. Regardless, these are worth having. For longer term use, and for when I don't need the sound cancelling, I liked the Koss Portable over-the-ear set.Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones