Bone-conduction headphones. THey're great. Better yet they're nice in quiet public places like a doctor's office and whatnot so you can use your phone how you like without broadcasting what you're doing to the world. You can use them out on the street for GPS directions but they're competing with ambient noise so they're kind of hard to use in that situation.

Still a good option though.

Aftershokz bone conduction headphones are so discreet and I recommend them to ALL visually impaired/blind folks. Ultra sleek and you can still hear your surroundings

I personally use airpods, it’s really discreet and definitely does not block outside sounds.

I use the Bose soundsport earbuds with one bud in while in class. I prefer these because for my ears, they have little to no noise isolation, so I can still hear just as well as I can without having them in. Also, I prefer not having lag when doing stuff in class. Bluetooth audio devices usually have a decent lag when using them.
I've just gotten use to being able to filter out either the sounds of voiceover or the professor if they're not saying something immediately relevant.
But, the only thing I do in class is take notes, so I don't need to hear voiceover while in class really, except for hearing the typing echo.
I use Airpods sometimes, but I've noticed that due to the way they fit my ears they block noise more than I'd like.
And I've tried bone conducting headphones several times and I can't stand them. I know a lot of people like them, but they never sounded great, the vibrations from the actual sound felt weird, and there was a decent bit of sound bleed from them. However, that was back in 2016 the last time I tried them, so maybe newer models are better?

When I was professionally delivering webinars online, I often used a $30, 1-earpiece, USP headset (with microphone), so that I could also hear other things as well.


Plantronics and Jabra make several versions, including one that does not go across your head, but hangs on one ear, which is less noticeable.


And there are versions that go across the base of your head, versus across the top. Again, that's much less noticeable.


Of course they make wireless bluetooth versions, with tiny earbuds, but those are usually more pricey.

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If you do decide to go with wireless bluetooth headphones ear buds, beware they are fairly limited hours per charge , they might be device (phone only) specific, and they can be quite difficult for the VI/blind to operate, as they rely on 1 button to do multiple functions, and you might have to see an ultra tiny display.


Personal note: I really like people knowing I'm wearing headphones when I'm working in public, because it eliminates lots of interruptions. But I understand that's different than sitting in a classroom!

For years, I've been using https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004T8R2/. They are standard on-ear headphones, but block virtually no noise.

If you have the resources, a Braille display is also great for reviewing content while not disturbing others, it helped me get through my programming courses, where a screen reader may have had trouble with pronunciation.

I'm not a student anymore, but I'll chime in with another vote for Aftershokz. I got a pair a couple of years ago so I could listen to music when I went out for walks and still hear traffic. They're great.

One single earbud with the other one hanging off worked for me. Yes, it does block a bit of sound, but it's adequate for my uses at least. I also recommend people to get used to typing with character announcement off, and if possible with word announcement off as well. This minimises the amount of chatter from the screen reader, at the expense of more potential typing mistakes.

I heard people use those head phones that go over your ear so that you can hear your surroundings but still hear your screen reader. I don't know what they are called bones or boes.

Hi. I personally use one earbud. Earbuds dont block out as much noise as headphones unless you are using a higher quality type.

I like to have the over ear headphones rather than the ear buds style, so I have one headphone over one ear and then listening to the professor and contributing to class that way.

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