A noise reduction control system for an ear-worn speaker carrying device ("ESD"), comprising: means for sensing ambient noise on its way towards an ear of a wearer of the ESD, and for developing an electrical signals indicative of said noise, means for inverting and filtering said electrical signal to generate a noise cancellation signal; means for forming a gain adjusted noise cancellation signal by applying a noise cancellation level control signal to the noise cancellation signal, characterized by means for receiving a further electrical signal relating to sounds intended for the wearer's attention; means for adding the gain adjusted noise cancellation signal to the further electrical signal to form a composite electrical signal; and means for feeding the composite electrical signal to a loudspeaker in said ESD, such that the loudspeaker generates sounds capable of interfering destructively with said ambient noise when it arrives in the vicinity of the loudspeaker, further characterized by: means for determining when a level of the further electrical signal exceeds a threshold level; and for setting the noise cancellation level control signal such that the gain adjusted noise cancellation signal is set to a first predetermined percentage of the noise cancellation signal, when it is determined that the level of the further electrical signal exceeds the threshold level, and the gain adjusted noise cancellation signal is set to a second predetermined percentage of the noise cancellation signal, different from the first predetermined percentage, when it is determined that the level of the further electrical signal does not exceed the threshold level. means for sensing ambient noise on its way towards an ear of a wearer of the ESD, and for developing an electrical signals indicative of said noise, means for inverting and filtering said electrical signal to generate a noise cancellation signal; means for forming a gain adjusted noise cancellation signal by applying a noise cancellation level control signal to the noise cancellation signal, means for receiving a further electrical signal relating to sounds intended for the wearer's attention; means for adding the gain adjusted noise cancellation signal to the further electrical signal to form a composite electrical signal; and means for feeding the composite electrical signal to a loudspeaker in said ESD, such that the loudspeaker generates sounds capable of interfering destructively with said ambient noise when it arrives in the vicinity of the loudspeaker, means for determining when a level of the further electrical signal exceeds a threshold level; and for setting the noise cancellation level control signal such that the gain adjusted noise cancellation signal is set to a first predetermined percentage of the noise cancellation signal, when it is determined that the level of the further electrical signal exceeds the threshold level, and the gain adjusted noise cancellation signal is set to a second predetermined percentage of the noise cancellation signal, different from the first predetermined percentage, when it is determined that the level of the further electrical signal does not exceed the threshold level.