Got Ears? Get Informed!

Riley joins our Earmuffs for Babies Wall o' Fame!

Holly just sent us this fabulous photo of Riley, 9 months old, enjoying the Switchfoot concert. Riley's safe and sound in a pair of Earmuffs for Babies, and looks like she's having a great time!

 

Thanks Holly! And welcome to the Infant Earmuffs Wall o' Fame, Riley.

Until next time, be safe and do the right thing.

Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman

Kingston joins our Infant Earmuff Wall o' Fame!

Many thanks to Jeannie for this great photo of Kingston, stylin' in a pair of our Ear Muffs for Children at the No Doubt concert.

Keep rocking, Kingston and Jeannie.

Incidentally, Jeannie originally posted this photo to our EPSS Facebook page, which definitely doesn't see enough love and attention. If you're on Facebook (and really, who isn't these days?) look us up -- we can't wait to hear from you.

The UE-4 Pro: Hot New In-Ear Monitors from Ultimate Ears

The Ultimate Ears UE-4 Pro is the latest, hottest new model of earphone available from Ultimate Ears. [buy it here]

Released just days ago, the UE-4 Pro is the most affordably-priced full custom earphone available from Ultimate Ears. These full-custom musician monitors have already taken the blogosphere by storm -- and for good reason.

If you're familiar with Ultimate Ears earphones, you may have noticed that there's historically been a pretty sizeable price gap between their non-custom earphones (the popular Super.fi and Triple.fi series) and their full-custom earphones (which previously started at around $600). But the UE-4 Pro closes the gap, offering superior sound quality and a true full-custom fit at a cool $400. For those looking for a true audiophile experience, or for musicians looking to make the transition from wedge monitors to in-ear monitors, the new UE-4 is a good solution that won't break the bank.

Like all full-custom earphones, getting a pair of UE-4's means you'll need to get a set of ear impressions made -- these impressions are molds of your ears, and allow the Ultimate Ears techs to create a set of UE-4's that are totally tailored to fit your unique ears. That means that most online stores you could purchase a pair of UE-4's from, including the manufacturer's website, will require you to visit your local audiologist to get a set of ear impressions (a service which the audiologist will, of course, charge a small fee for). 

But for further savings, when you purchase your UE-4 Pro in-ear monitors from Ear Plug Superstore, we automatically send you a Do-It-Yourself Impression Kit with instructions that you can easily follow to create your own custom ear impressions. Just mail your impressions back to us, and we'll send you your own custom fitted Ultimate Ears UE-4 Pro Earphones -- no trip to the audiologist necessary.

And to put a cherry on top, we're also currently offering Free Priority Mail Shipping on our UE-4 Pro Earphones. Order your UE-4's now to get the most bang for your buck.

Be safe, and do the right thing.
--Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman

New MRI-Safe Products

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines let your physician peer deeply inside your body without the dangers involved in surgery and without the damaging effects of an x-ray machine. MRI sounds great -- but the process takes time, and the MRI machines are very noisy, which makes them an uncomfortable and scary place to spend time in.

Fortunately, most MRI labs now offer patients the option to listen to music or to at least wear ear muffs while inside the machine where the noise is loudest.

With this in mind, we've created a special MRI Safe Hearing Protection Page which provides a convenient listing of our top-recommended products for use with MRI machines. These products include a variety of passive hearing protection ear muffs to block out sound, along with some special tube-style MRI earphones that work with a special kind of sound source that's available from many MRI machines. All of these products are MRI safe -- that is, they do not contain metal of any kind.

Too, you should know that any of our foam ear plugs are safe for use inside an MRI machine (aside from metal detectable plugs, which contain small amounts of metal).

With hearing protection like foam ear plugs or passive earmuffs, or even better, with an MRI-safe set of headphones, having an MRI scan done can be a much more pleasant experience.

Be safe, and do the right thing.
--Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman

The Perfect Mother's Day Gift: Peace and Quiet

Give Your Mom What She Really Wants for Mother's Day: Some Peace and Quiet! Our unique “Pink Pack” contains a selection of our most popular products to help her relax, concentrate and sleep like a baby. With the Pink Pack gift pack, you can create the perfect gift package for Mom (or any other special woman in your life!) with just a click of your mouse. This luxurious gift pack contains an assortment of our softest, smallest ear plugs, our most comfortable sleep mask, and a soothing pink noise CD, to provide her with only the best in comfort and relaxation. And best of all, the Pink Pack includes a pretty pink gift bag, so your gift will be ready for giving as soon as it arrives! Anyone can give her flowers or candy -- but with the Pink Pack, you can give her something she really wants: comfort, luxury, and peace and quiet. Each Pink Pack gift assortment contains all of the following: 7 pairs of Sleep Pretty in Pink Ultra Soft Earplugs with a reusable carry case. These incredibly comfortable foam ear plugs are some of the best sleeping earplugs available anywhere today -- and even better, they're pink! 1 Sleep Pretty in Pink Sleep Mask. Super-soft and extra-cushioned, this luxurious sleep mask will make Mom feel like a movie star! A quality sleep mask like this one is a highly recommended sleep aid, especially when you cannot make your bedroom completely dark. 10 pairs of Mack's SafeSound Earplugs For Her. These extra soft and small earplugs made especially to help women sleep with a snoring partner. And as a bonus for women everywhere, a portion of the proceeds from these earplugs go to support Breast Cancer Awareness. 1 RoadRunner Audio Pink Noise CD that can be played in any CD player to create a comfortable blanket of sound to sooth away the cares of the day while Mom drifts off to dreamland. Pink Noise works just like white noise, and has all the same benefits, but pink noise is specially frequency-adjusted to provide a more soothing listening experience. 2 pairs of Quies Boules soft Wax and Cotton earplugs. These luxurious ear plugs have been imported straight from France for the discriminating lady! Bonus: Includes 1 Pink Gift Bag to let you easily create the perfect Mother's Day Gift with just the click of your mouse. What are you waiting for? Mother's Day is almost here already! This is way better than flowers or candy. If bought separately, these products would cost over $30! Order your Pink Pack today for just $24.95! (plus applicable shipping and handling)

New Product: E-A-R EarSoft Yellow Neons Ear Plugs

We are proud to introduce our latest addition to our selection of industrial foam ear plugs: E-A-R EarSoft Yellow Neon Foam Ear Plugs (NRR 33). These foam ear plugs from E-A-R offer the highest NRR available in any earplug, 33. That means these plugs block the most sound it's possible to block using ear plugs alone!

E-A-R EarSoft Yellow Neons are a high-visibility neon yellow color (just as the title suggests!). That makes them just as great for compliance at the workplace as they are for use around the shop or yard.

EarSoft Yellow Neons are exceptionally comfortable. These soft urethane foam earplugs are extra smooth, and feature a gently tapered design. These are some of the most comfortable foam plugs available, which makes them a good choice for sleep and study as well as for industrial noise protection applications.

Keep in mind that wearing high-NRR ear plugs while you sleep can be dangerous, since high levels of noise protection can prevent you from hearing important sounds like alarms, children calling, etc. So if you're looking for a good foam ear plug to block out snoring or other sounds while you sleep, it's a good idea to try lower-noise-reduction plugs first, and then move up to these EarSoft Yellow Neons or other high-noise-reduction plugs if you find that more noise-blocking is necessary. For sleeping, wearing the minimum protection that still lets you get a good night's sleep is always the best choice.

E-A-R EarSoft Yellow Neons are available in single pairs, ten, and 50-pair packs, as well as in larger box and case quantities. These great new plugs are available with or without a cord. (Corded plugs are easier to keep track of while you're working; uncorded plugs are better for sleep.)

Ear Muffs for Kids: Photos from our Customers

Tate just sent us some fantastic photos of his adorable daughters wearing our ear muffs for children!

Tate Writes:  My wife ordered some ear muffs for our youngest kid and we all had a blast at the Long Beach Grand Prix last weekend. We were worried about the muffs getting here on time and they arrived just in time for the race. My 1'st daughter loved her muffs and now casey won't take hers off. Thanks for the prompt service and great product, we received so many compliments and smiles while at the races. --Tate

More great photos from Tate & the kids (click to open large version in new window):

Which Snoring Solution is Right for You?

Over the years we have seen a downright incredible array of anti-snoring products come and go, attesting to the pervasiveness of the problem. Sleeplessness due to a snoring bed partner afflicts more people than does marriage... uh, maybe I should rephrase that, but you get the point. Snoring is a big drag, and except for the occasionally funny YouTube video, snoring is no laughing matter.

As I have written many times over the years, if you sleep with someone who snores, you have four options: make them sleep somewhere else, go sleep somewhere else yourself, make them stop snoring, or defend yourself with earplugs or a white noise masking system of some kind.

Once they have dismissed the first two options, most people focus on the third option: make them stop snoring! ...and that has created a veritable cornucopia of solutions that include sprays, nostril expanders, pills, pillows, jaw re-positioners of all kinds, and of course surgery. Now, I am not going to tell you which, if any, of these solutions might work for your particular snoring situation, but I will suggest that you have a heart-to-heart discussion with your doctor before you try any of these products. Every one of them has some risks, which vary from minor to major, so you need to be careful in your quest to get some sleep -- you do not want to harm your hubby!

People tell me that most of the “Make them stop!” products offer little or no benefit (unless you consider the economic benefit to the companies selling them, that is). Even surgery, I am told, is effective in less than half the cases in which it is used. And research suggests that even successful surgeries can't always provide a solution in the long-term.

Now, none of this is intended to make you not try the alternatives out there. I know most of you are probably going to try these products. Heck, if you suffer with sleepless nights due to snoring, I know you have probably already have tried several of them (and I do not blame you one bit). I just don’t want you to get your hopes up too high; remember, most people trying to sell you snoring cures will not always tell you the downside to the product.

At the end of your quest, after you have visited with your physician, after you have tried all the gadgets you think might work for you... just remember that there are always ear plugs. Those humble, inexpensive little blobs of foam rubber that you stick in your ears are, without any doubt, the most effective solution to sleeping with a snorer that exists today. If you haven't already, give them a try sometime. All you have to lose is your sleeplessness.

I know many of you have already tried earplugs, and for some of you, even plugs did not solve your problem -- you can still hear the snoring, and you're still missing sleep. Don’t despair! When passive hearing protection won't work, there is still one more solution to try: white noise sound masking, which works to actively block out that snoring. For more information, please read my next article on using white noise to mask the snoring (coming soon).

Until then, be well... and do the right thing.
--Tom (Dr. Earplug) Bergman

10 Tips for Getting A Good Night’s Sleep

Some lucky souls sleep like a happy baby, and some suffer from insomnia virtually every night. Most of us are somewhere between these extremes. Lots of our restless nights are caused by the obvious malefactors: being sick, eating something that disagrees with us, too much caffeine, and stress related to our life problems can all cause us to miss out on sleep. Add to that list frequent traffic noise, thumping from the apartment above (don’t those people EVER sleep!?), a lumpy mattress, sirens or trains passing in the night, and that lovely person next to you who, to put it delicately, snores like a lumberjack, and it is a wonder any of us ever get a good night’s sleep!

In my years with Ear Plug Super Store, I’ve heard so many heart-breaking stories from people who suffer chronic sleeplessness that I want to offer a few tips that may help you, in the event that you are one of the afflicted. (Mind you, I am no physician and you really ought to check with your doc if you suffer from chronic sleeplessness!) Still, people are very complicated creatures and we frequently mis-diagnose our own problems, so my first piece of advice to you in getting a good night’s sleep is to address each and every one of these recommendations before you resort to pills or surgery or other extreme measures, like moving or divorce. These are tactics that should help most people who give them an honest try, and none of them are harmful.

1. Create a good set of bedtime habits. Reserve your bed for sleeping and, well, let’s call it intimate recreation. Don’t use the bed for watching TV or reading. For regular TV and Reading, do those activities elsewhere so you do not get yourself trained to associate those activities with your bed.

2. Cut out the afternoon caffeine. People have wide variations in their reactions to caffeine, but coffee, energy drinks, tea, soda pop, and even chocolate contain variable amounts of the drug, and it is increasingly easy to get more than we plan or think we are getting. Caffeine effects, though rapid in their onset, remain for hours, long after we have “come down” from the initial high that follows ingestion. If you fall asleep, only to wake in the middle of the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, caffeine and/or alcohol are very likely culprits. Try eliminating all caffeine from your life after noon for a week and see if that helps your sleeplessness.

3. Reduce your alcohol intake. For smaller individuals, one drink a day (one ounce of spirits, or one beer or one 6 ounce glass of wine) is heart-healthy and will not normally affect your sleep. If you are a larger-statured person, one or two drinks are recommended by some for good health. If these guidelines are followed, you should not be affected negatively in your sleep patterns. But if you overindulge, what seems to happen is that once your body has metabolized the alcohol, which takes several hours, your sleep pattern is disrupted and you often cannot get back down into the deep sleep you need for complete rest.

4. Exercise, but not right before bedtime. Being fit will reduce the little aches and pains which will help you sleep better, but if you do cardio-exercise right before bedtime, your system will remain on high for a good while afterwards, making it very difficult to fall asleep. As an alternative to cardio-exercise, a few minutes of good stretching can help to relieve stress, ease your little pains and make your transition into sleep more comfortable… but don’t overdo it.

5. Don’t fight just before bed. Plan your arguments for early in the day. Going to bed angry is always a bad idea for sleep’s sake. Sometimes you can get your angry spouse to agree to postpone the discussion until morning or lunch the next day without either of you having to give in or lose the argument. As a bonus, if you can both agree to postpone the argument, it may even be less stressful when you finally do get around to it. At least you will both have had a better night’s sleep than you would have had if you kept at it until the fight was resolved.

6. Reduce your stress. At the core, all stress is self-induced. If you feel on edge all the time, worried about all sorts of things, or fearful of all manner of risks you have no choice but to confront, stress is most likely your frequent, if not constant companion. And living in a constant state of stress is no way to live a happy life. You will not sleep well, and your health will suffer. How to deal with stress? The first step in reducing your stress is to identify its sources and then begin methodically to remove or change those sources as best you can. I also suggest you buy a book or two on stress management. At the heart of all the stress-reduction strategies I have seen is the idea that, if you can gain control over your situation, your stress will be reduced. For example, if you are stressed by being too busy, find a way to cut down on some of your activities, so you can better manage the ones you need to handle. Try meditation, a long soak in a hot tub, a nice vigorous walk (but not right before bedtime), a soothing massage (both giving and getting massages will reduce stress), or get a hobby that takes you outside your daily grind. Nobody lives a stress-free life, but every one of us can work to reduce the level of stress we live with, and any reduction will help to improve your sleep.

7. Maintain a healthy weight. Yeah, yeah, you say, easier said than done. But the truth is that losing a few pounds will not only help you get a better night’s sleep, but if you snore, it will also do more to reduce your snoring problem than almost any other snoring solution will--especially if your snoring began after you gained a few pounds. Weight loss is not always the easiest solution, but it will make you more healthy, happy and stop snoring, so now you have even one more reason to lose the weight. You and your spouse will sleep better.

8. Make it dark while you sleep. Humans are hard-wired to function in the daytime. Accordingly, we do not do well trying to sleep when it is light outside. (Those of you who have worked the night shift know about this in dreadfully real terms.) When light hits our eyes, they are designed to open, ending anything resembling useful sleep. More than a simple discomfort, exposing your eyes to bright lights while trying to sleep can seriously decrease the quality of sleep you get throughout the night. Your best sleep will always happen in the dark. If you cannot darken your windows with shades, try wearing a sleep mask. As a bonus, wearing a sleep mask to bed will make you look like a movie star.

9. Eliminate or reduce the noise in your bedroom, and try to stop that snoring. Just like we will always sleep better in the dark, we will sleep better when it is quiet, too. This is a difficult one for many people, especially those who live with a snoring spouse or roommate. My best advice to you is to try the above tips on this list first: most of them will help with snoring as well as with getting a good night’s rest. Once you have tried these and the snoring persists, there are a world of snoring remedies available--but be wary. These options fall roughly into three categories: sprays that lubricate the mouth and throat areas, drugs and supplements that reduce blockages in your airways, and mechanical devices or surgeries that open up your airways. Some of these remedies may help some people, but none of these will help everyone--and our customers tell us that all of these snoring “miracle cures,” even the surgeries, eventually fail as long-term solutions. Always be careful with drugs and unregulated “food supplements,” which can be downright dangerous.

10. When you can’t eliminate snoring and other noises, defend your ears. For the noises you cannot get rid of, you can use earplugs or a sound masking solution to help you ignore the noise while getting the rest you need. The best earplugs for sleep are the disposable foam kind. Look for an NRR rating of 30 or higher, and most importantly, get some plugs that are comfortable for you. Ears are as different as fingerprints, so keep trying different plugs until you find some that you like. Important: if you use foam earplugs, be sure to change them every day; do not reuse them or you may get ear infections. Too, master the process of properly inserting the plugs so that you get the full rated performance the plug has to offer. The other option for defense against the noises in your bedroom is a white noise machine. You may be one of the millions of people who sleep with a noisy fan going in their bedroom at night. If so, you are already familiar with the concept of white noise; that is, a masking sound that drowns out the irritating noise. Running a fan is fine in the summer, but folks tell us they prefer a white noise machine in winter. The benefits of a white noise machine include more choices of masking sound, better volume control, less cost to operate than a fan, more portability, and more flexibility, since you can use a machine to pipe the masking sound directly into your ears for the maximum benefit. Just be careful not to turn up the volume in your earphones so loud that it hurts you hearing!

So, there you have it, my top ten recommendations for getting a better night’s sleep. I hope some of these suggestions help you improve your life through better sleep. Drop me a line if you have questions or other suggestions that have worked for you. tom@earplugstore.com

Be well... and do the right thing.

--Tom “The Got Ears? Guru” Bergman

Press Release: Got Ears?® Big Snore Challenge™ Underway

For Immediate Release

Ear Plug Superstore® Announces: The Got Ears?® First Annual Big Snore Challenge!™

December 31, 2008. Edmond, Oklahoma.

Is someone with a “big snore” keeping you awake?

Ear Plug Superstore, as sponsor of the Got Ears?® First Annual Big Snore Challenge!™, has just launched a worldwide contest to find the World’s Biggest Snorer of 2009. Entries will be accepted from all countries, beginning January 1, 2009, through January 31, 2009. Everyone who enters will receive a free Got Ears?® Snoring Relief Kit and the winner in each contest category will receive additional valuable prizes, all designed to help those who must sleep with a snorer get a better night’s sleep.

This “just for fun” contest includes six categories: Best Big Snore, People’s Choice Snore, Best Snore Video, Cutest Baby Snore, Funniest Snore, and Best Pet Snore. Contest winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2009 via the web site for the Big Snore Challenge (www.snorechallenge.org).

“For everyone out there who suffers from lack of sleep due to snoring,” said Tom Bergman, Ear Plug Superstore Director of Marketing and Promotions, “the Big Snore Challenge is your chance to prove to the one you love what a big snorer they really are!”

Even though the contest is just for fun, the issue of snoring can actually be very serious. “The Big Snore Challenge is a light-hearted way to help bring awareness of the very real sleep problems millions of people suffer with every night,” Bergman explained.

To learn more and to submit your entry, please visit the website: www.snorechallenge.org

After you enter, come back often to vote on your favorite entries for the People’s Choice Award.

About the Sponsor:

TM Manufacturing, Inc., doing business on the web since 2000 as Ear Plug Superstore (www.earplugstore.com), is a privately held Oklahoma corporation specializing in hearing protection and enhancement products, distributing worldwide to individuals, businesses, government entities, resellers, and other organizations via the Internet. Ear Plug Superstore is a Minority (MBE) and Woman (WOB) owned business with corporate headquarters and warehouse operations in Edmond, Oklahoma.

Contact Information:

Company:	TM Manufacturing, Inc., dba Ear Plug Superstore
Department:	Marketing and Promotions
Contact Name:	Tom (Prof. Earplug) Bergman
Contact Email:	tom@earplugstore.com
Address:	PO Box 8405, Edmond, OK 73083
Telephone:	1-405-844-5080
Fax:	1-918-512-4188
Website:	http://www.earplugstore.com and http://www.snorechallenge.org
Myspace:	http://www.myspace.com/earplugsuperstore