In my first tech job as a tech support guy, I sat near this C/++ programmer who wore earmuffs. They looked like the kind of things one might wear to a shooting gallery or the old 70s style headphones. They were explicitly to block noise. When someone wanted his attention, he had a little button near the entrance to his cube that would light a little light on top of his monitor. When I asked him and the earmuffs one day, he said they helped him think better...maybe they could help you too?

And, before anyone comments on the potential for isolationism with this, this guy had a perfectly pleasent demeanor and was always helpful when you lit his light : ) Had he been at all grumpy, I'm sure the earmuffs would have been considered rude and nasty. But, because he was so nice with them off and because everyone sorta knew he had a tough job no one thought twice about it.

-- I'm a solipsist, and so is everyone else. (think about it)