A:Answer The noise canceling comes from the sound received at the microphones in each earbud. Noise cancelling works best with a constant noise that doesn't vary much, like a fan. If the noise varies, like wind gusts, the sound is damped, not cancelled. Engine noise is blocked if it is above the cutoff frequency for the noise cancelling algorithm. I don't believe the microphone is noise damped at all. The level on noise reduction is also based on the fit and seal of the earbuds, an over ear device may prove better overall noise reduction. There is only so much you can do with an earbud.