Noise canceling

You need to bear in mind that noise cancelling technology works best on continuous noises as the algorithms need to predict the sound you are going to hear next and play the inverse waveform real-time.  You're never going to get rid of sudden sounds like barking unless the dogs keep to a regular pattern, you'll just lose some of the peaks.  Also remember that the headphones are actually playing noises into your ears to cancel the other sounds.

Noise cancelling like the Bose QC etc work best with over-ear coverage and on regular sounds like airplane noise.

It seems like what you need are noise dampeners - the kind worn over ears to reduce jack-hammer sounds.  You could then feed ear-bud earphones under them to allow sounds you want.

Silence is golden but not necessarily achievable in all environments.

WOW! I am impressed. You seem to know a lot about this noise-canceling/dampener stuff.
But I sense that what your telling me is that there is no solution to my problem. So this won't be solved.
One last question: Please! Are there Noise Dampening Headphones I can wear (hopefully not too expensive)?
GadgetDude

(MASQUERAIDE) or anyone out there:
I need an answer to my final question:

Are there Dampening Headphones out there?
Otherwise, I will have to find the best Noise "Canceling" headphone available for a reasonable price.

If I do not get an answer within 24 hours, I will cancel this question.

GadgetDude

Word of Advice: no apology is necessary.
I am simply frustrated and probably suffering from sleep deprevation.
Gee, I wonder what it's like to have a quiet time and get the rest you need?
Is that a good thing? (I love quiet; I dislike excessive noise)
Peace be within you.  GadgetDude

P.S. I shall investigate your suggestion and reply soon.

I apologize for being tardy in my response. I have not been completely satisfied with EE; but more importantly, I have been very sick. It is hard to do many things when you are not well. Thanks for the information and education. Because of you, I am a little smarter today than I was yesterday :)

Thanks for the points - hope you're getting better.

If you get some time could you post what you think we could do here to make things work better for you?


EDIT

BTW was concentrating so much on the headphone solution that I completely forgot that I have a set of professional earplugs I use for rock concerts (they seem to be getting much louder nowadays :)) that might work for you too.  http://alpineearplugs.com/