I hate to be cut off from life so completely with full ear ANR headsets. It is very important to hear what is going on. With one ear off, and turning around talking to a visitor to the F/D of a 747, I dimly heard a distant quiet 'boom'. It was so soft I carried on talking, but then the realisation hit me it was just like the sound of a surge. I spun around to see one of the EGTs rapidly increasing towards the limit without autorecovering. I would not have heard it with both ears covered by a Bose. I also used to get fed up jumping out of my skin when I didn't hear the cabin crew come onto the F/D and tap me on the shoulder because I was blithely unaware of their presence. I just don't like being so divorced from my surroundings