I am a new poster so I apologize if I am violating any protocol about posting, or threads.

I am a huge Mac fan (iBook G3, iMac G5 iSight, new MB or MBP with next refresh). I am a novice however when it comes to iPod usage. I am currently using a first gen iPod nano 4GB. I use it mainly to listen to spoken word podcasts.

My daily walk is in an urban setting with loud ambient noise (mainly traffic noise). I really want a pair of in-ear headphones (I like in ear the best, I know they don't have the best sound quality, but like I said I listen to mainly spoken word), that help block out some of the background noise. I do not want to block it ALL out (I would like to know if a car is honking at me before running me over). My problem is with the current standard apple earbuds, the only way I can hear anything is by cranking the iPod volume, which then blasts the audio enough to hurt my ears.

Question: What would anyone recommend as a good in ear headphone to listen to spoken word which blocks out some background noise. (Preferred budget is <$40 so I'm not looking to fancy)

Any help would be great, thanks.