I’d encourage you to use one headphone but face that headphone towards people you don’t want to talk to. That way you can still hear things around you and kinda tell people to fuck off.
The Sony earbuds I have have an “ambient sound” setting that actively brings in exterior sounds along with whatever you’re playing. Depending on the scenario sometimes I’ll wear my earbuds to send the “prefer not to interact” signal while not even listening to anything but with the ambient setting on. Yes, it’s like listening to the room with extra steps, but with the outward appearance that I’m not listening to anyone around me.
I’d encourage you to use one headphone but face that headphone towards people you don’t want to talk to. That way you can still hear things around you and kinda tell people to fuck off.
The Sony earbuds I have have an “ambient sound” setting that actively brings in exterior sounds along with whatever you’re playing. Depending on the scenario sometimes I’ll wear my earbuds to send the “prefer not to interact” signal while not even listening to anything but with the ambient setting on. Yes, it’s like listening to the room with extra steps, but with the outward appearance that I’m not listening to anyone around me.