How do you deal with being overwhelmed?

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My sensory issues aren't that bad, but I've been finding taking the train pretty stressful because inevitably a group of people (generally women ) will sit next to me and start chatting so loudly that I can still hear everything they say even with my headphones on.
I've tried giving them dirty looks and looking at my watch repeatedly and snorting, trying to remind them that it's ducking six in the morning and not everybody wants to hear about their gastric reflux treatment or why everyone should eat organic or why their sex life sucks, but it doesn't seem to be working.
I mean, I consider myself a pacifist, yet I can see myself smashing someone's face into the window if it goes on like this
As face-smashing is not an option if I ever want to add the letters M and D to my name (Ph and D would be nice too), I'm not sure of what I can do.
Do you have any strategies to cope with offending sounds such as people's voices?

People have a right to talk.

Of course, it's obnoxious if they talk LOUD.

Probably the best thing to do is bring headphones.

Well I just avoid people. But if I was in your situation and had to take a train then I would bring earplugs and have them underneath the headphones then crank the music up again. I especially enjoy earplugs then white noise rather than music it provides a much more constant noise suppression. I just use the travelling earplugs that you can pick up at most drug store's but I have been pondering getting a pair specifically fitted to me theoretically they'd block out the sound even better but I'm not sure if the price would be worth it.

what kind of headphones are they, are they noise cancelling or supposed to keep out outside sound? If not perhaps getting a pair of headphones like that could help unless that is already what you have. Otherwise I know it sucks but is there ever an option to move to another seat further away? sometimes if I get on the bus and the area I am in is too crowded or people are too loud I just move somewhere else when a spot opens up I usually prefer sitting towards the back since most people seem to cram towards the front when its crowded.

our trains here have "quiet carriages" where it would be perfectly polite to ask people to shut up or move elsewhere. I guess you dont have that there?

+1 for earplugs under the headphones.

if you want something a little more.. fun. pick a random religion, get some pamphlets and start trying to convert the chatty ladies. they'll find another carriage if you're persistent for a few days.

It's a very crowded train, so changing seats is not an option. And sadly there are no "quiet carriages".
My headphones are isolating but not noise cancelling (I don't have the money for good ones!).
I think the idea of wearing earplugs and headphones is pretty good, I usually do that during longer trips but for some reason I didn't think about it.
The idea of trying to convert the noisy people, on the other hand, is pure genius I wish I had the nerve to pull it off.

Could you possibly take an earlier train that might be less crowded? It would mean getting to work earlier but maybe you could use that time to read or relax before starting work. Sometimes even just a half hour to an hour before the rush hour means a nearly empty train. I used to work at the airport and I had to be there ridiculously early and those trains were almost completely empty and anyone who was on them was usually reading the morning paper or taking a nap or not quite awake yet to talk.

Maybe try earbuds? I don't know what I'd do in a situation like that, probably have a meltdown and get thrown off the bus.