I hardly ever listen to music while really coding. If i'm doing the same ole boilerplate stuff, then yeah, but if i'm doing data transforms or trying to decipher bug reports, its not a good idea to have music on while trying to comprehend. But since I only code 10% of the time, the rest is perfect for music listening, especially trying to drown out the insanity that is my office. Or signaling for people to walk away.
I recall someone's suggestion to wear ear buds, even if your are not playing anything. The social norm is to avoid interrupting such a person -- keeps at least some of the interruptions at bay.
I've found some CD's of "white noise" and I intend to try playing this. In the past, I've used a fan to take the edge off of background noise. One of the CD's is for "fan noise"; maybe this will help.
I'm cautious of playing anything too loud for too long. Even lower level noise can be damaging when heard for extended periods of time.
