# Earplugs for sleeping? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385 "2017-01-28T13:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/1 "2017-01-28T13:28:27Z")
Looking for good earplugs to use while sleeping. I sleep on my side if that matters. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/2 "2017-01-28T13:47:13Z")
I like the soft [squishy earplugs](http://www.harborfreight.com/50-pair-disposable-earplugs-96365.html) they gave me when I had an MRI. Works well to drown out the noise when the cat starts yowling in the middle of the night. And stays in place even when I roll around in bed. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/3 "2017-01-28T13:58:35Z")
Every chain pharmacy I’ve been to carries the squishy kind marketed for women (forget the brand and don’t have the original packaging, but they’re hot pink of course) which are a bit smaller, and more comfortable if you have narrow ear channels. Saved my sanity (not that you could tell:D) over the years. I’m a light sleeper under the best of circumstances, and someone snoring eight inches from my head is not the best of circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/4 "2017-01-28T14:20:56Z")
Once, in Mexico, there was a disco not far from the hotel. I turned on the shower and put a plastic bucket in there, and let it run all night, which pretty effectively neutralized the outside noise. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/5 "2017-01-28T14:22:48Z")
I favor [silicone earplug](http://www.earplugstore.com/moldable-silicone-ear-plugs.html)s. I use the [Mack’s](http://www.macksearplugs.com/images/products/OriginalSilicone6Pair3112013F.jpg) brand. You squish them in a bit until they cover the opening and they stay because they’re somewhat tacky. They do not go down into the ear canal. They’re good for several (usually 4-6) uses until they lose the tackiness. I sleep right next to a fairly loud snorer and they work great. I could never get the foam type in well enough to work properly, and they always felt odd to me. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/6 "2017-01-28T14:25:35Z")
If ya ask me…those “squishy” foam-filled things aren’t good enough. They are only good for reducing painfully loud noises, such a factory machinery, so you can _work_ alongside the noise–not sleep with it. If you need total silence for sleeping, go for the waxy type of plugs, like in the post above. They _totally_ plug your ears. And they also take an irritating 2-3 minutes to get used to each time. (for those 2 minutes,there is an uncomfortable buildup of pressure in your ear, and you can hear-and feel!-your own pulse. It’s weird.) But then you settle down into a world of quiet. Those ear plugs saved my sanity for years–when sleeping in army tents with 30 other guys, half of whom were snoring. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/7 "2017-01-28T14:33:52Z")
Something I’ve wondered about, if you wear earplugs, can you still hear a smoke alarm? I know that doesn’t answer your question, but I have had some concerns about that and thought this might be a good place to ask. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/8 "2017-01-28T14:40:48Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > And they also take an irritating 2-3 minutes to get used to each time. (for those 2 minutes,there is an uncomfortable buildup of pressure in your ear, and you can hear-and feel!-your own pulse. It’s weird.) I never experienced that. I only noticed the reduction in noise. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/9 "2017-01-28T14:47:31Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > if you wear earplugs, can you still hear a smoke alarm? Yes–if you are asleep, a sudden loud noise will still wake you up, even with the ear plugs. If you are not asleep, you can still hear well enough through the plugs to carry on a conversation, although you have to concentrate carefully. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/10 "2017-01-28T16:54:24Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > I favor [silicone earplug](http://www.earplugstore.com/moldable-silicone-ear-plugs.html)s. I use the [Mack’s](http://www.macksearplugs.com/images/products/OriginalSilicone6Pair3112013F.jpg) brand. My wife uses these; something about the other side of the bed being too “snory” 😕. Plus, the Border Collie thinks they’re delish, when found the next morning. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/11 "2017-01-28T17:11:25Z")
The ones I recommend are called [Leight Sleepers](https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-R-01680-Sleepers-Pre-Shaped/dp/B004VN62VS). Of all of the foam earplugs I’ve tried, these seem to be the softest and most comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![4kad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/7cd45c/32.png) [@4kad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/4kad)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2017, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/12 "2017-01-28T17:23:07Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Looking for good earplugs to use while sleeping. I sleep on my side if that matters. Yes I bought some last night because the people who lives above me were noisy on saturday morning making me wake up before I wanted to. And they work well and I was able to sleep to 11am this morning instead of getting up at 7am. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/earplugs-for-sleeping/778385/13 "2017-01-29T22:21:07Z")
I like the Leight brand foam ones as well.