You can protect your hearing by wearing noise-cancelling headphones, in addition to enjoying your music. The only way to drown out ambient noise without noise-cancelling technology is to turn the volume up. Done on a regular basis, this can lead to permanent hearing damage. Noise-cancelling headphones let you listen at lower volumes, reducing the impact on your eardrums. ANC is also useful if you have hypersensitivity, hyperacusis or a similar health condition, as the technology can help reduce the strain on your ears.
ANC can affect the sound quality of your headphones because the noise-cancelling wave interferes with the frequencies in what you're listening to. The effect is usually minimal, and better than putting up with background noise. You might also hear a slight high-pitched hiss in the background when nothing is playing – but, again, it’s a small price to pay for the ability to enjoy your music untroubled by intrusive external sounds.