They do compete with external sound. If there’s noise you want to drown out you can do it by turning up the volume. You can also plug your ears or wear ear plugs which I will do on occasion, like when grinding coffee while listening to a podcast.

Likewise if you want to be able to hear the outside world you have to turn down the headphones. On the quieter side you can hear what people are saying to you but you probably want to pause to talk. Medium volume i can hear people talking to me but cant make out what they’re saying. Louder volume they gotta be close or shouting.

They’re mostly used in situations where you want to hear your surroundings. On a plane I use airpods with anc. Around the house or on a run I use shokz. I can wear them all day unlike airpods which I hate the sensation of having the world dulled and something in my ear.

Probably the single best piece of tech I’ve found since getting a smartphone. I wear the all the time, if they break I’m buying a new pair same day. They kinda suck for music but i would never use anything else for spoken word unless I was on a plane or something.

Since they lack noise isolation over ear or tight fitting buds this can be a problem. I have the OpenSwim Pro and they are fine outside except for really high noise. But while on a treadmill in the Gym they could not overwhelm the background noise.