I'm curious about the effectiveness of noise cancelling headphones during drum recording sessions.  
 
My ears cannot take the level of volume required to get the metronome and music in my headphones loud enough to overcome the invading volume of the acoustic drums.  At the moment, I'm using ear buds with shooting ear muffs squeezed over them and that actually works really good.  
 
But man that is a pain in the ass to take off and on, and I can only take the squeezing on those ear buds for so long and then I need a break.  It's not a permanent solution.  
 
So how do you all do it?  I'm wondering about noise cancelling headphones.  Something easier and more comfortable to take on and off.  

I use these (see link) for that purpose. I find that I have to put some of the overheads into the headphone mix or I don't hear enough drums. if you wear glasses the phones will leak a little sound because the frame of your glasses will prevent the phones from sealing to your head.
These things are basically "shooting" ear protectors with transducers built in. They are also good for listening to music while cutting the grass.  :-)
 http://www.extremeheadphones.com/studio-features-benefits/

mikedocy
I use these (see link) for that purpose. I find that I have to put some of the overheads into the headphone mix or I don't hear enough drums. if you wear glasses the phones will leak a little sound because the frame of your glasses will prevent the phones from sealing to your head.
These things are basically "shooting" ear protectors with transducers built in. They are also good for listening to music while cutting the grass.  :-)
 http://www.extremeheadphones.com/studio-features-benefits/

 
Hey that's pretty cool.  Sound isolation might be a better direction for this.  Which model are you using?  I noticed they had a few different ones. 

I HAVE A PAIR OF THESE:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRAS800AP-Active-Smartphone-Headset/dp/B00NBMI5X8?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAJM4NKIQGABP2PIRA&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00NBMI5X8&tag=thewire06-20&ascsubtag=WC59200
 
Made for workout,
would work well for a drummer.
 
in ear, no bleed, also good for tracking vocals when over ear allows bleed..

batsbrew
I HAVE A PAIR OF THESE:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDRAS800AP-Active-Smartphone-Headset/dp/B00NBMI5X8?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAJM4NKIQGABP2PIRA&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00NBMI5X8&tag=thewire06-20&ascsubtag=WC59200
 
Made for workout,
would work well for a drummer.
 
in ear, no bleed, also good for tracking vocals when over ear allows bleed..

I didn't see anything about noise isolation or cancellation with these.  Do you notice external noise being incredibly attenuated, like several orders of magnitude, like shooting ear muffs?  
 
I've actually been re-thinking this whole thing and I may just perform a DIY update on my current rig.  If I can harvest the transducers out of a cheap set of headphones and find a way to install them into the ear cavities of my shooting ear muffs, then I'd have a fairly simple and comfortable solution.  Stole the idea from a Youtube video.  

maybe these would work:
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/IsoHdph?adpos=1t2&creative=83049424441&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=CNiwmfKmp8kCFYKUfgods9cDIg
 

batsbrew
maybe these would work:
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/IsoHdph?adpos=1t2&creative=83049424441&device=c&matchtype=b&network=g&gclid=CNiwmfKmp8kCFYKUfgods9cDIg
 

Hey now those ain't bad at all.  And a little cheaper than the EX headphones.  Thanks for the tip.  I'll probably pull the trigger on these.  
 
And this is why I come here to ask questions.  I was down in the wrong rabbit hole, looking at noise cancellation and didn't realize noise isolation was probably the better and way more affordable direction for my broke ass.  
 
Thank you sir.

I have used the Creative EP-630 buds for years.  I use them to listen to music while driving, cutting the grass, and have even worn them at the shooting range and they work well to block ambient noise in the environment.
 
They are quite comfortable to wear for longer periods due to their soft silicon cups. They provide 3 pairs in small, medium, and large so you can get the perfect fit. I've used these in the studio when tracking vocals and the leakage from these is near zero vs my cans.
 
For $20, you can't go too far wrong. You can look on Amazon and get then for $20 a set or less.
 
http://us.creative.com/p/headphones-headsets/ep-630#
 
SPECIFICATIONS

Wearing Style In-ear

Weight 9g (0.3oz)

Driver Size 9mm (0.35 inches) Neodymium magnet

Frequency Response 6Hz ~ 23kHz

Cable Length 1.2m / 3.9ft 
 

Ultimate music clarity with 9mm Neodymium magnet transducer

Soft ergonomic silicone in-ear earbuds provide excellent noise isolation

Find the perfect fit with the extra set of alternate sized earbuds, included

1.2m Oxygen-Free copper cable for uninterrupted music transmission

Available in a variety of colors 

Noise-cancelling headphones are a ripoff. A good pair of snug-fitting around-the-ears headphones (e.g. Sennheiser HD280Pro) give better isolation than the Bose, for a third the price.
 
But if 28dB reduction isn't sufficient (which it might not be for a drummer) then IEMs are the way to go. Check these out - only 50 bucks.

I disagree with you bitflipper...Noise cancelling headphones are not a rip off.  They function nicely to remove outside noise when it is constant like on an airplane.
 
I agree with you that snug fitting around the ear phones or IEMs are better for studio monitoring.  The noise-cancelling ones will not help at all because typical studios are very quiet.  There's no noise to "cancel".