My headphones are not earbuds. They’re canalphones.

Headphones are generally bulky “cans” worn over your ears. Earbuds fit inside your ears. Canalphones go a step further: You place them inside your ear canals.

That puts canalphones closer to your eardrums. You hear more details in your music. Additionally, special tips seal your ear canals to block outside noise.

That’s called noise isolation. With a good pair of noise-isolating canalphones, outside noises won’t distract you, even at low volumes. Of course, you shouldn’t wear them in potentially dangerous situations. Busy traffic would be an example. Driving would be another.

Canalphones should block 25dB to 40dB of sound. A quiet restaurant is about 50dB. The more isolation, the better.

Don’t confuse noise-isolating canalphones with noise-cancelling headphones. They’re different technologies.

Noise-cancelling headphones sample outside noise. They cancel it by emitting the opposite noise. They require batteries and have a bulky battery pack on the cable. Some people complain that they pressure the eardrum. They don’t damage your hearing, but they can hurt.