It works!: How special headphones help against stress on the train

A friend recently said she much prefers driving to taking the train. You can't talk to anyone these days because everyone's staring at their phones. They often wear large earbuds, signaling: Don't talk to me.

We felt a bit caught out because we tend to be antisocial people when traveling by train and don't like being spoken to. The travel time—especially on long ICE trains—is a wonderful place to spend time reading, listening to music, and texting friends you haven't heard from in a while. A little nap in between isn't bad either.

Unfortunately, it's often the case that other people's conversations interrupt us. For example, the young woman on her phone, presumably with her best friend, discussing a date that apparently didn't go so well ("He just doesn't know what he wants. Then I said . . ., then he said . . .") Or the smart-ass man who briefly explains the state of the world to his neighbors at the table for four, so loudly that you simply can't ignore him. Remember: sometimes even the most communicative people are antisocial.

Not to mention the football fans who, since the start of the season, have been storming the onboard restaurant in hordes once the crate of beer they've lugged into the compartment is empty, and who then get more cheerful and loud with each round of wheat beer. Then, when nerves are frayed, you become a spoilsport even before kickoff: "Excuse me, could we turn it down a bit?" But we're not at all comfortable in this Miss Rottenmeier role.

So we decided to actively eliminate all distractions in the future and boughtheadphones with electronic noise cancellation: a small, handy in-ear model, meaning they have buttons that fit in the ear. While reviews credit headphones with earcups with earcups for providing a bit more peace and quiet, over-the-ear headphones are bulky and cumbersome to carry.

These small noise cancelers are now always in your handbag. It's not that they completely block out the outside world, but they do help you enjoy your train journey in self-determined peace and quiet. Should you ever feel like having a conversation, you can quickly slip them into your pocket.