On Mon, 12 Jan 2004 16:55:52 -0800, Top Spin
wrote:

. . . Are there any ear plugs (or other devices) that are
effective at filtering out this kind of background noise so I can
think and concentrate?

Drugstore earplugs work fine. I prefer the wax kind that you knead
until they are soft and then stick into your ear canals. The rubbery
ones that you knead until they squish try to expand again when they
are in your ear and can be annoying after a while. Way, way back,
before pilots used headphones (early '70s and before), I used wax
earplugs in the cockpit because they reduced my fatigue level
enormously.

. . . opposite question. One of the
reasons I hate cocktail parties is that once the background noise gets
to a certain level (and not that high), I have a very difficult time
hearing what is being said right next to me.

According to my sister, who has similar symptoms, a physician will
probably diagnose this as a genuine neurological/hearing problem. She
also says no one has offered her a cure for it.

Don