Ear Plugs

[spfleisig]

Looking for recommendations for good ear plugs for sleeping.

[MuddyWaters]

How small are your ear canals?
Do you intend to reuse repeatedly?

I have smaller ear canals, smaller dia plugs are a lot easier to insert

Theres a coating in the foam which slows the expansion giving you time to insert. This wears off some fast, and makes them difficult to reuse many times. Just getting warm in hand may make it impossible to insert it expands so fast after a couple times use. This gets frustrating quick.

I wear in office at work often when other people get noisy, so Im taking out and reinserting many times in a day. I dont want to go thru 20 pr per day, because im particular and have to order mine.
My preferred are smaller yellow 3M earsoft that come wrapped in pairs. Overall they are easiest for me. I order them at work .https://www.amazon.com/Ear-Soft-Earp.../dp/B01N0XJHDL

The cheap multicolored ones that work sites have in bulk are too large.
Howard Leight max lite model is good, but gets hard to reuse quickly after a couple times. Laser lite is bigger. https://www.uline.com/Product/Detail...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

You may need to stick to what walgreens has though. They all work. Just matter of how long you can reuse really, and how hard to insert. My work backpack has a mixture in it, but Ive always got at least half dozen new pr when travelling.

[Sugarfoot]

I find that the moldable silicone earplugs, sold at most drug stores, work well against snoring frequencies. If you wash your hands and/or ears before using them, they last a couple of weeks. Otherwise, the impregnated dirt makes them uncomfortable.

[peakbagger]

I use the 3M foam earplugs, just thrown them in with the wash when they get dirty. The key to using foam earplugs is how you put them in. This may sound like bizarre ritual but its how we are trained in industry

Use one hand and reach over your head and grab the top of the opposite earlobe and tug up and back slightly. Insert a prerolled ear plug into the ear canal and then hold that position until the plug expands, you can hear the noise being blocked out. Now repeat on the other ear. If you just try to stick them in without prerolling or tugging on your ear odds are they are not inserted fully and will fall out soon.

[spfleisig]

I use the 3M foam earplugs, just thrown them in with the wash when they get dirty. The key to using foam earplugs is how you put them in. This may sound like bizarre ritual but its how we are trained in industry

Use one hand and reach over your head and grab the top of the opposite earlobe and tug up and back slightly. Insert a prerolled ear plug into the ear canal and then hold that position until the plug expands, you can hear the noise being blocked out. Now repeat on the other ear. If you just try to stick them in without prerolling or tugging on your ear odds are they are not inserted fully and will fall out soon.

Thanks. What is "prerolled"?

[TexasBob]

I find that the moldable silicone earplugs, sold at most drug stores, work well against snoring frequencies. If you wash your hands and/or ears before using them, they last a couple of weeks. Otherwise, the impregnated dirt makes them uncomfortable.

These work well for me also.
image.jpg

[John B]

Thanks. What is "prerolled"?

Roll a plug back/forth between fingers until it is compressed thin. When you insert into ear canal, it will expand back to original diameter and thus retard sounds more efficiently.

As a caveat, though, I always carry them with me because it's hard for me to sleep in a room with someone snoring. While ear plugs help (I use the Hearos brand), they do not block all the sound. I've been in a hostel (Standing Bear) with a jackwagon that sounded like a chain saw. I seriously contemplated the cost/risk/benefit of committing an axe murder.

That's a long way of saying that ear plugs can help, but the only 100% effective method is to tent rather than stay in shelters and splurge on a private room in hostels if possible.

Good luck.

[BuckeyeBill]

Like most everyone above I have used soft foam plugs. Now I use a pair of form fitted semi soft ear plugs. They look like in the ear style hearing aides with a short stub for easy removal . I got them for when I go to the shooting range.
They still let a little sound through, but all ear plugs tend to do that. You can find a company that offers both in lab made plugs and DIY kits for making plugs at home here.

[Puddlefish]

3M soft foam earplugs. They're sold for much less at hardware stores than they are at pharmacies, and can be bought in bulk. For me, the softest smallest ones were best. I hated the Mack's ones, they were too hard and expanded too much, so that I couldn't sleep on my side. I kept a bunch of pairs in various places, so I could always find a pair in the middle of the night. Plus, once you drop one on a hostel floor, you do not want to put it back in your ear.

[peakbagger]

I expect almost anyone who works in a factory has access to the free 3M earplugs at every entrance. They either come as two separate plugs or attached with vinyl cord which makes it easier to keep track of them. The cord will break if tugged on. I usually grab a few when visiting a plant plus I bought a box of 100 with the cords and stash a few in my safety gear that I bring for plant visits. I like the "classic" versions that are cylinders shaped then the ones that have shape molded into them.

As noted they only temper the sound (20 or 30 db) and for many folks its takes a few nights to get used them. They also can be of less use to people with tinnitus as it can make it more noticeable.

[Berserker]

Don't know the brand, but I use the typical foam ones that you roll up to put in and then they expand. The ones I have came from a drug store or grocery store, and what's really neat about them is they come with a little clear plastic container to store them in. Just thought I'd throw that out there...the container for me is almost more awesome than the ear plugs because I can keep them in my pocket or pack without crushing them.

[TwoSpirits]

As noted they only temper the sound (20 or 30 db) and for many folks its takes a few nights to get used them. They also can be of less use to people with tinnitus as it can make it more noticeable.

Absolutely. Earplugs can really backfire for you if you have tinnitus. And sometimes it can take days to get back to where you can "ignore" the sound again.

(And just a note to anyone who thinks they might be starting to experience tinnitus: be cautious and conservative in taking ibuprofin. It can exacerbate the ringing, and there's really no going back.)

[Dogwood]

Go into a pharmacy or one of the big box home improvement stores and buy a $2 multipack of foam earplugs. DONE. Don't over anal- ize it.

[Tipi Walter]

Where I go backpacking in the mountains of TN and NC overhead jet traffic noise is terrible and so I use 3M foam earplugs in camp. There are actual jet interstates right over our last remaining wilderness areas and they are nearly constant except between 2am and 8am. "Induced deafness" with earplugs brings back the wilderness feel.

[rocketsocks]

Orange.......

[OCDave]

Ear plugs are cheap. Ear plugs are disposable. Buy a half-dozen different brands and stick with the one you like best.

[rhjanes]

I use those Macks. I use one at the house (don't ask why just one)....I can use the same one for a month. However on trail, they probably will get dirty after 2 weeks. I cut the tops off two soda bottles. Sand down the cut area (under the lip that all these bottles have, that way, you have like 1/4 inch of flat plastic to....) Use plastic (model) cement to glue the two halves together. let dry, stuff in two ear plugs, put both caps on. Toss into your "nighty-nighty" gear. Always at hand. Also, I carry a very light pair of eye shades. Get the cheap ones at the drug store. When there is a full moon and you don't have a lot of tree cover.....to me it is like sleeping with the light on and the blinds open....

[davesailer]

I've been using Flents Quiet Please to sleep since 1993. Foam. OK. Can be bought in bulk, or usually available in a package of 10 at Wally-mart. (Flents Quiet Please: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...s+quiet+please)

Can be refreshed by putting into a dry coffee cup and setting that in almost-boiling water for 5 - 10 minutes. Keep them dry. I don't know what the limit to this is, but it helps a lot (I can't buy any more where I am right now.)

I've also heard of "aviator's earplugs" but don't know what they are or where to get them. Supposedly they filter out lower-frequency sounds better than most earplugs.

Some quickie reviews from "Cool Tools":

* Radians Custom Molded Earplugs: http://kk.org/cooltools/radians-custom-molded-earplugs/

* EarPlanes Earplugs: http://kk.org/cooltools/earplanes-earpl/

* Max Earplugs: http://kk.org/cooltools/max-earplugs/

* Mack's Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs: http://kk.org/cooltools/tim-ferriss-...j-bestsellers/ ()

And something I found just now...Ear Plug Superstore!: http://www.earplugstore.com/

[Venchka]

These work well for me also.
image.jpg

Let's make it 3. Found in just about all national chain drug stores. The last time I bought them I got 12 for a few dollars. A lifetime supply. I use these on motorcycles, with all manner of gas powered yard destroying toys. They last until I loose them. Then I get 2 new ones out.
Side benefit discovered on my bike: they keep your ears warm in a cold wind.
Should be required safety equipment.
Wayne


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[Venchka]

PS:
The silicone ear pillows are sold under several brand names. They are all alike.
Wayne


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