Except that all of the studies suggest the headphones &#x2F; earplugs option doesn&#x27;t help very much. Most of the damage is done because of lack of <i>privacy</i> and noise is a secondary (though still large) effect.<p>The headphone solution is also insensitive to people with extreme aversions to distracting sounds, such as sufferers of misophonia. In a lot of cases, if you are embedded in an open plan, there is no such thing as &quot;opting out.&quot; It&#x27;s a fixed decision mandated upon you.