We recently got a great question from one of our customers:
"What is the best earplug for sleeping for someone who sleeps with an incredibly LOUD snorer? I sleep on my side so they need to be comfortable too! I appreciate the advice! Thank you!"
This is a very common problem, and unfortunately, snoring can ruin sleep, sanity, and eventually even marriages. Sleep is critically important, and snoring is a big problem. Fortunately, there are some safe solutions available.
Foam ear plugs are simply the most effective ear plugs you can buy at any price. Many people who have tried foam ear plugs consider them ineffective and uncomfortable, but that is almost always the result of improper use. You cannot simply jam them into your ears and expect them to work. In fact, they actually are a bit tricky to learn to use properly. Here is a video that will show you how to use them in case you have never had instruction in the art. We offer several ear plug trial packs so that you can try different kinds to get the ones you like best.
Sometimes, ear plugs simply cannot do enough, so I want to suggest that you consider a masking noise for your obviously awful sleep-depriving situation (but do try the foam ear plugs first).
White noise machines can give you the closest thing to complete isolation of any consumer device. Here are four ways to use these machines that you might try, in increasing levels of effectiveness in creating a noise isolation field:
- First, a table top white noise machine will fill the bedroom with a masking sound that will do two things. First the masking noise, usually called white noise, will keep your threshold of hearing elevated so that you do not hear so acutely. You may have noticed that the quieter you make it by using plugs, the better your hearing seems to get? This is a natural phenomenon and any masking sound will help prevent it. The masking sound will compete with the irritating noises, and as long as the masking sound is louder in your ears, you will be unable to hear the irritating noise. This may not be sufficient to address your noise problems if they are severe, but it is a good place to start. Just be sure you get a white noise machine that has a headphone jack so you can use it in the systems described below if necessary.
- Second, add a set of pillow speakers that plug into your white noise machine. This will let you increase the volume right where you are sleeping, to greatly improve the intensity of the masking sound. Note, that white noise types of masking sounds carry no information so your mind can easily tune them out after just a few minutes, allowing you to sleep more soundly than you would in a quiet environment.
- Third, if the pillow speakers do not do adequately mask the noise that is bothering you, you might try a Snoremasker Pro in-ear white noise generator. This is a combination of an ear plug and an in-ear white noise machine.
With persistence and the willingness to try different solutions, you may be able to find the right combination of ear plugs and white noise to block out enough of that very loud snoring that you can sleep peacefully again.
Until next time, be safe and do the right thing.
Tom Bergman, Vice President
Ear Plug Superstore
