Noise-canceling headphones can give you peace or a wall. Know which one you’re putting up.

One object does two different jobs depending on why you reached for it. Sometimes it is recovery, a way of getting through a loud bus with your head intact. Sometimes it is a wall, so nothing can reach you, including the people you would like to be reached by. The headphones cannot tell the difference, so you have to.

Notice the moment you put them on and what happened just before. If it was noise, fine. If it was a person approaching or a conversation you did not want, try leaving one ear out this week and see what comes through.