The best noise-canceling earbuds you can buy: Expert tested

The best noise-canceling earbuds are the Bose QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds. Although the battery life and weight are nothing to gawk at, their incredible sound quality and active noise cancellation make them the best pair of wireless earbuds on the market. 

*MSRP at the time of writing. Please note that actual prices may vary depending on available sales, deals, discounts, and coupons.

With workplaces and schools becoming so embedded with technology, the use of wireless earbuds has evolved as well. What used to be the primary way to listen to music has become a tool for taking phone calls and canceling out external noise.

There's been an evolution of wireless earbuds, with noise cancellation becoming a key feature. If you're looking for the best noise-canceling earbuds, look at this table to figure out which pair is right for your lifestyle and budget needs. 

As a commerce editor who specializes in earbuds and wearables, I test out a lot of headphones and earbuds in my day-to-day to see which products live up to their promises. So, while deciding which noise-canceling earbuds are worth your money, I considered these factors. 

• Noise cancellation: In essence, every earbud could be a noise-canceling earbud, because the job of a headphone or an earbud is to cancel noise by replacing it with music or another sound. We see that term attached to every headphone and earbud on the market today, but many earbuds lack the technology and the needed microphones to drown out external sound and deliver true ANC. The best noise-canceling earbuds that we have tested cancel out noise even when music isn't playing. The proof is in the pudding: when you are wearing a pair of true ANC earbuds, you will hear nothing. 
• Battery life: Earbuds have shorter battery lives compared to headphones, and range between six to 12 hours of juice before a recharge. The earbuds on this list also offer charging cases that charge the earbud while it's not in your ears to lengthen the battery life. 
• Price: From what I've seen, if you want noise-canceling earbuds that actually work, you normally have to pay a bit of a higher price for them. The earbuds on this list range in price from $60 to $300. $300, you may think, is a lot for a piece of audio tech, but we wouldn't put an expensive earbud on this list if it didn't truly fit the bill. 
• Special features: In-ear detection, seamless pause and play controls, and multi-point connection are all special features that come with higher-end noise-canceling earbuds. If you're paying over $200 for a pair of earbuds, you'll find more convenient features like those in your earbuds. 

On this list you will find earbuds that I have either tested out for myself or earbuds that have been vetted by one of our experts. We spend days, weeks, and even sometimes months on end testing our products to learn about their performance, features, usability, and whether they live up to the hype. For the noise-canceling earbuds on this best list, I ran with them in on busy city streets, took meetings and worked with them in the office, read with them to silence external noise at home, and jammed with them on the loud subway. I made my best list elections by considering sound, of course, but also battery life, comfort, connectivity, special features, and user reviews.

When we think a product is worthy of a shoutout, we'll write up a spotlight. When we think a product is the best of the best, we'll give it a spot on a best list like this. 

Noise-canceling earbuds use active noise cancellation to reduce background noise and improve the overall sound quality of audio. ANC works by using mics to pick up external sounds, and then it generates sound waves that are the exact opposite wavelengths (or "negative" of the external sounds) to create a "cancellation" effect that reduces background noise. 

Some noise-canceling earbuds also use passive noise-cancellation, which is achieved through earbud design, such as using noise-isolating materials. These are particularly useful in environments with high levels of ambient noise, like airplanes or busy streets. They can also provide a better listening experience in general, reducing the need to use max volume to overcome background noise.

For more on how noise-canceling earbuds work, check out Christina Darby's ZDNET explainer. 

No, ANC earbuds should not be confused with a hearing protection device, and experts agree.

"Nobody should ever think of them as, in my opinion, pure hearing protection. They're not," says ENT Dr. Joe Donzelli. And while noise-canceling earbuds can offer some passive protection like any sound wave boundary, Dr. Donzelli assures that they don't deter the culprit of hearing loss: Inner ear trauma.

"Everything is all about the sound you're delivering through the headphones, so you can get the greatest noise cancellation ever, but if you just turn up the volume and expose yourself to high decibels for long periods of time, you'll then create inner ear trauma," Donzelli explains.

However, since listening to music at high volume for long periods of time can damage hearing, a good pair of ANC headphones may have some secondary hearing protection benefits.

"If someone is using ANC earbuds to get rid of ambient noise, they may not have to turn the volume up as loud to hear the in-ear sound," Donzelli says.

Essentially, here's how ANC earbuds may help: You find your ANC earbuds effectively cancel out distracting noises. Before, you had to blast the volume just to hear accurately, but thanks to the magic of ANC, the sound is clear at half the volume. Now, you're listening at a lower volume for longer, and therefore likely have less exposure to damaging decibel levels, which means less inner ear trauma. 

But Donzelli reiterates that the "tighter you put something in your ear and the louder you make it, the more damage. So if somebody runs around with their [earbuds] turned up all the way with or without noise cancellation, it doesn't make a difference." 

Think of your finest pair of noise-canceling earbuds as high end noise reducers -- not complete noise cancellers. It's confusing, but let me explain. 

You've probably tested out a pair of noise-canceling earbuds like Apple's AirPods Pro 2 or Bose's QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, and still heard a little bit of noise and conversation with them in. Noise-canceling earbuds usually cancel low frequency noise, like the hum of an airplane engine, the AC unit in your apartment, or the sounds of the train. You might still hear people talking around you with your earbuds in, but the sounds of conversation will be reduced. 

According to ENT Dr. Joe Donzelli, noise-canceling earbuds alone don't damage your hearing. Long exposure to unhealthy decibel levels is what causes trauma to the tympanic membrane, and therefore can damage hearing. 

For reference, the hearing health foundation says that sounds at or below 70dB are considered safe for our hearing and sounds at or above 80-85 dB will damage hearing over time. If you're worried your listening levels are higher than this, you can easily monitor your earbuds' projected decibel levels via your smartphone settings. 

Noise-canceling headphones can be great for sleeping or falling asleep, especially for stomach and back sleepers. However, I'll warn that while the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds are sure to cancel any sleep-inhibiting sound, they're a bit chunky -- especially for side sleepers. Also, keep in mind that they're not the best option in the case of an emergency, since you're essentially tuned out to the world. 

For earbuds especially tailored for sleeping, check out our list of the top headphones for sleeping.  

In short, no. Noise cancellation is not bad for your ears. However, some people have experienced dizziness while using noise-canceling modes.

There are many ways I use my noise-canceling earbuds. Yes, they're great for hearing more out of your music. But you can also use them if you're feeling overstimulated by your environment and need some peace and quiet. I used them during the holidays whenever my family got in a fight I didn't want to listen to. I listen to them in the office when other people are taking conference calls around me and I need to focus. They are an anxious and overstimulated person's best friend. 

One guy on Reddit even used noise-canceling earbuds to tune out his wife in the morning (and an entire morality discussion ensued in the Reddit thread). This is all to say that silence can be valuable, and if it's something you can't get enough of, get a pair of noise-canceling earbuds and see for yourself how much calmer and more productive you can be with them in. 

There are over 4,000 search results when you type in, "noise-canceling earbuds" into your Amazon search bar. However, Amazon isn't the only place to secure a new pair of earbuds. You can find them at Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and so many other places! 

Here are a few that didn't make the cut, including some true wireless earbuds, that are great alternatives if the options above don't sound like the best fit for you.