Hey, OP, consider sleeping with ear plugs. They're scientifically proven to reduce night time awakenings due to audio disturbances. [1]
[1] https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/s...
[1] https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/s...
That's the idea
:)
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https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-wearing-ea...
You shouldn't be looking at just various kinds of earplugs as options for this. You can get custom made earplugs for your ears for differing use cases (sleep, concerts) at an ENT.
Silicone: expensive, effective, fussy.
Wax: cheap, effective, disposable. (Needs warming up, slight drawback.)
Foam by far has the most effective NRR. Silicone and wax are fine but will not provide as effective of NRR. That said, if it’s for sleeping silicone and wax are probably fine. I would argue that foam is not scratchy at all but I usually buy more expensive brands like Mack’s and it’s good to try out different sizes.
Foam: The most effective, by far. I suspect many people wear them incorrectly and do not insert them far enough. You can use lube (they make special ear lube for stuff like hearing aids, although I think anything medical grade will do) if you have difficulty doing so. I have unusually small ear canals; the most comfortable and best I've found by a mile are Mack's Ultra Soft Foam Earplugs. These are much more comfortable than slim fit alternatives and also have very high attenuation.
Silicone: expensive (but they're reusable and last years), but the least fussy once you get them. They are moulded to your goddamn ear---it's a perfect, pressure-free fit every time and they go right in. Drawbacks include lesser attenuation and attenuation that isn't immediately at 100%---it takes a while for it to "seal". I abadoned these once moisture started to accumulate between my ear canal and the plug and I'd hear it as I moved and it became very annoying.
Wax: joke attenuations compared to foam, and bad compared to silicone. The most expensive long-term unless you're serious about reuse. Somewhat fussy and may fall out. Very comfortable (little insertion).
Foam + wax: this is what you really want if you care about maximum attenuation. My ear canals are slightly too short to comfortably insert an entire Mack's earplug, so I snip the ends off mine, lube them up, and insert them completely flush into my ear canal. Then, I take a wax plug and mould it on top. It's perfectly comfortable and it performs better than any other option I'm aware of. I tend to also wear a Bluetooth sleep mask and play rain sounds on 100% volume and it just comes through the double earplug situation to mask any very loud/spurious noise. To remove the flush-inserted earplugs, I use a pair of blunt tweezers.
When I used slim fit foam earplugs I'd routinely get ear infections. Switching to silicone fixed that, but suffered from the aforementioned issues. With the ultra soft earplugs + wax method I never get ear infections. I make sure to always insert a fresh pair (but I reuse the wax ones for a few days) and to always do so with clean hands. I think the infections are due to friction between the plug and the canal during insertion as well as plugs that are too large/exert too much pressure once expanded---the lube and very soft plug addresses those issues.
White noise also helps without the need for ear plugs. Depends how loud the disturbances are.
huh, potentially a game-changer. Thank you!
The only downside is you get used to the quiet and it means when I don't sleep with them I get a worse night sleep than I used to. (But I still get a better night sleep with them than when I didn't use them.)
I’ve been using swimmers plugs for a few years now and they’ve been fine. Do you use an eye mask too?
But I think you need to get lucky with the ear canal print. Mine had 30 days return policy of they don’t fit well. I did it in a local store
The downside is they're very expensive, relative to other earplugs and mine no longer seal as well as they used to so I'd need to get a new pair. They're still better than nothing. I started using earbuds around the same time, from using cans, and I wonder if I've very slightly widened my ear's opening.
I also use an eye mask if I'm somewhere that doesn't have good curtains or blinds. Really works very well, but I recommend one that wraps around and doesn't have an elastic band to dig into your ears (Matador makes a good one).
Once I also had automatic blackout blinds, they would slowly roll up before my my alarm rings. All controlled by home assistant, which can read the phono alarm time. Waking up slowly by light is nice :)
Again, not medical advice, just anectdotal experience..
Edit: this is entirely due to the 'Stop playing when falling asleep' function of iOS 26, which I loathe. But this feature barely make it worthwhile.
1. You have to find the right ear plugs for YOU. Everyone has different ear canal size, shape, sensitivity, etc.
2. They should never be painful unless you are doing it wrong. Yes, they are likely to be uncomfortable at first, but the first time you wake up feeling like a million bucks because you got 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep for the first time in your life, you will happily accept the temporary discomfort.
What they're good for is sleeping due to desperation while travelling. I couldn't imagine having to wear them every day at home. That sounds like hell.
I moved to the US 15 years ago and it was too noisey for me to sleep well (fire trucks, cars, etc), but ear plugs solved the problem and are portable to other places you might need to sleep.
They’re little putty molds that you shape to fit your ear.
I also rip them in half before molding so I get 2 ear plugs from 1 putty.
Also a simple noise machine can work wonders.
To the person who asked, I can sleep with these in on my side without a problem after I made sure to use the right tip size.
This is the bit that got me to look it up. Yeah, it's super tiny! I just ordered one. Thanks!
They have a newer model that is slightly slimmer w/ more features like active noise cancellation, but has a smaller battery that is marginal for full-night sleeping, so I didn't bother upgrading.
One thing to note is they have some bad reviews due to issues with batteries dying or depleting quickly - my right bud wouldn't charge past 50% after 9 months of daily usage, which only lasted about 6 hours or so before dying. That said, Anker's tech support promptly sent out a new pair with minimal friction, which I received just days after reaching out. I've had 4 months of usage on those new ones without a hitch. Hopefully those kinks have been worked out.
Even if these new ones die outside of warranty, they're so good that I feel I'll have gotten my money's worth and will immediately buy them again.
Jokes aside: overengineering issue like this to LEARN a new coding language, hardware setup, platform etc. used to be a great opportunity for skills growth. Now honestly it's hard to justify, if you're using AI to do it. With the added insult that the sycophantic AI will also make you feel like a genius for overthinking a stupid idea.
But now I'm the one using them. Haven't done as much work researching earplugs as some posters above, but like the Loops. For comparison, I have earplugs at work, that feel like someone was raping my ear every time I'm putting them on.
So, there's definitely earplugs and earplugs. If you need to use them, might be worth few hours and few bucks spent on testing/research.
I used to wear them every night and they definitely improved my sleep. But then I also had instances where my ear was blocked with wax for several days.
YMMV
Then I fixed my health.
Stop eating the foods that stimulate it.
I now have visible production on a tissue or cotton swab once a week or fewer.
Also, for anyone getting reading this, cotton swabs in your ears is a bad idea and usually makes the problem worse (pushes wax in and compacts it).
That’s not what’s being discussed.
They asked what I did.
This is anecdata.
and anecdotally:
I no longer make enough wax to see in a month.
But you also shouldn’t be surprised if someone challenges the implications or merits of your anecdata, for the benefit of others that might take it as good advice.
checks notes
consider switching up environment
or diet/things you’re ingesting,
if you’re generating excess goo known for waste-carrying,
and protection from environmental debris...
Are you serious?
Feel free to struggle until a peer-reviewed study gives you permission not to,
but don’t be surprised if others continue making basic observations and improvements for themselves.
But changing your diet won’t help with ear wax. And cotton swabs are a bad idea.
You seem upset; this is just a discussion on an internet forum. It’s ok for people to have different opinions and share them in a thread :)
Changing mine does - and I can reliably show it - and I’m what was asked about.
Also, cotton-swabs or a tissue aren’t a bad idea (again, anecdotally for me - what was asked about)
unless one has build-up,
and/or the ear opening has become smaller as a protective measure,
ensuring one rifles the gunk in from the walls,
instead of going past it in the center,
and then pulling out and around the walls.
Most have ear-openings too-tight to even know what I’m referring to.
Anyway, not upset, just steadfast that words matter.
and that individuals don’t need the permission of peer-reviewed studies (or you!) to make basic improvements in their lives.
Anyway, I’m not trying to convince you of anything. My comment was aimed at other readers; further discussion between us won’t be necessary. Good day! :)
Some people can do better.
I have been wearing ear plugs every night for over a decade and cleaning my ears with cotton swabs at least every other day for my whole life and never once had ear wax build up.
Network effects at play, here.
What we consider normal is informed by the people we spend the most time around.
They are very comfortable, at least in the upward facing ear, for me. Foamies are only tolerable a couple of nights for me.
Frankly, my sleep is so poor that if they mind the noise level they can take what they can carry.
Apparently they immediately decided to break into my neighbours a few doors down while people were sleeping.
They are effective at attenuating noise, ineffective at eliminating it.