Drown out the racket with gadgets to mute secret conversations and accessories for stealth silencing, says

Technology Samuel Fishwick

crushed in your pocket on public transport. They do bring up questions of etiquette — generally, a tap on the shoulder is a good way to catch the attention of colleagues who wear them, and more dignified than chanting their name repeatedly into a silent void.

There are now talking cures too. Muzo, a crowdfunded noisecancelling device that wouldn’t look out of place in Bladerunner, creates a personal sound field, blocking out the noise in your surroundings. It emits vibrations that drown out intrusive sounds, using something called Billionsound Technology. There is also a function that allows you to have a secret conversation, by sending out vibrations that mask what you are saying. Muzo has three modes: serenity, an anti-vibration system; sleep, creating a soothing soundscape; secret, which uses voice-cancelling masking to create a bubble of privacy (from £111.60, kickstarter.com). The handset-sized device sticks to flat surfaces such as windows and kitchen walls, with more than a thousand “environments” available from rainforest to riverside campfire.

Similarly, Hushme (inset), a gadget that fits around your mouth and connects to a mobile phone for calls, claims to mute a caller’s speech to anyone in their vicinity (£165, gethushme.com). A microphone-enabled mask clips in front of your mouth, insulating your voice and filtering out elements such as wind, ocean and rain, as well as passing traffic. Not only will no one be able to hear your conversation apart from you and your intended recipient, but they’ll be able to hear you better, too.

Everyday appliances are also being muzzled. The Noise Abatement Society, which promotes ways to combat noise, hands out a quiet mark for gadgets that have put a lid