7 ms·
Hey, OP, consider sleeping with ear plugs. They're scientifically proven to reduce night time awakenings due to audio disturbances. [1] [1] https://academic.ou
by babblingfish 5mo ago
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/sleep/zsag001/8452884?login=false https://academic.oup.com/sleep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/s...
- b3ing 5mo agoI would think earwax build up would increase with that
- knicholes 5mo agoMy suspicion from regular use of ear plugs is that the wax sticks to the plug every night. I use a new set every night. Pretty wasteful, but man, I need my sleep.
- donkers 5mo agoI use Loop silicone earplugs, they’re reusable and washable. Used to use the disposables but got tired of the waste.
- wafflemaker 5mo agoWhen my wife showed me the Loop ad, I told her it's a scam. 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.
- knicholes 5mo agoOh yeah, I bought a few different types of ear plugs to test them out. The silicone putty and the loops left my ears sweaty. I'd pull them out at night to dry them out. Tmi, I know, sorry, but yeah, I tried 'em.
- DANmode 5mo agoI used to have lots of earwax buildup that kept me from using earplugs. Then I fixed my health.
- PyWoody 5mo agoWhat did you do to fix your earwax buildup?
- strathmeyer 5mo ago[dead]
- DANmode 5mo agoLeave the environments that stimulated it. Stop eating the foods that stimulate it. I now have visible production on a tissue or cotton swab once a week or fewer.
- sevg 5mo agoThere’s no real evidence linking specific foods with ear wax production. 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).
- deleted 5mo ago[deleted]
- DANmode 5mo ago> There’s no real evidence linking specific foods with ear wax production. 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.
- sevg 5mo agoYou’re free to share your anecdata. 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.
- anonymars 5mo agoYeah, they can block drainage
- koyote 5mo agoDefinitely does. 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
- ulrikrasmussen 5mo agoI can confirm. I also use in-ear headphones daily which I think exacerbates it further. It can be fixed by an occasional ear wash though.
- showmypost 5mo agoI have custom molded ones. They help a lot, however high pitched sudden noises still get through and wake me up. I never managed to sleep without earplugs since moving to this city. Not considering moving due to the quality of life (apart from the noise)
- joenot443 5mo agoAre custom molded ones better? I’ve been using swimmers plugs for a few years now and they’ve been fine. Do you use an eye mask too?
- udfalkso 5mo agoThey don’t block much more noise but they’re much more comfortable
- avidiax 5mo agoYes. Wearing regular earplugs will change the shape of your ear, and many people can't tolerate it every night.
- throwaway219450 5mo agoThey are pretty comfortable, though they take getting used to because the seal is perfect and you'll slightly pressurize your ear canal which is a strange feeling. They'll also fit slightly inside your ear, so lying sideways is fine. 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).
- showmypost 5mo agoThere are special molded ones optimized for sleep. Cost me around 100€, never going back. 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
- Eridrus 5mo agoYeah, this seems like a way overengineered solution. 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.
- helsontaveras18 5mo agoI recommend these: Mack's Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs. Can be found on Amazon. Block out A LOT of noise. 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.
- dddddaviddddd 5mo agoWax-style earplugs like you describe are the only kind that a friend of mine uses. The foam ones never fit them.
- arwhatever 5mo agoQuies foamies. After wearing military issue 3M foamies around jet engines for years, I bought some of these Quies and were very surprised to discover that they could be made so comfortable, and also long lasting.
- elchief 5mo agoi find earplugs so uncomfortable that it ruins my night
- avidiax 5mo agoGet custom fitted ones at an audiologist. They are very comfortable, at least in the upward facing ear, for me. Foamies are only tolerable a couple of nights for me.
- duskdozer 5mo agoDo they suppress as much noise?
- jaggederest 5mo agoThe ones I have are rated at about 20db, compared to approximately 30db for the best foam earplugs, but they are much more comfortable for every-night wear. I use foam ear plugs occasionally when I know I'm going to be in a very noisy environment or need perfect sleep.
- DANmode 5mo agoI was dealing with longterm chronic infections, when my ears were that sensitive.
- apt-apt-apt-apt 5mo agoDon't listen to him– he is a cat burglar, and you being deaf at night helps him steal your cats.
- gchamonlive 5mo agoIs there such a flourishing black market for subtracted cats that would prompt burglars to steal these pets?
- ro_bit 5mo agoYeah they just finished their series A funding yesterday. Sorry to hear you missed out
- fwipsy 5mo agoI don't think it will work out. Dwarf fortress got it right. Cats own you, not vice versa.
- sebastiennight 5mo agoWhich is the infinite money glitch. You're worth X. You have 1 cat who owns you, total value X. Get 10 black market cats for free, now 11 cats own you for a total net worth of 11X. That's even before considering the compound effect of each cat owning a human worth 11X, which means you can divest from 1 cat for 11X, and still be worth 110*X. The system basically works like xAI shares. Don't look too close into it.
- gchamonlive 5mo agoThat's seems like a shady business, I'll have a thousand shares
- sebastiennight 5mo agoThere you go, here are your 1,000 shares for $0.0001. Everybody! Pay attention now! Only 22,999,000 share tokens are left, and due to gchamonlive's massive transaction, the liquidity pool is moving fast, and a share/token is now worth $150,000. Don't miss out, act now!
- seemaze 5mo agoI have fallen into the (questionable) habit of sleeping with Airpods. I used to wake up with my mind racing and not be able to fall back asleep. The Airpods helped distract and sedate my midnight thoughts such that I would fall back asleep much quicker than without. I've progressively shifted towards falling asleep listening to the droll of engaging non-fiction, but keep them in my ears in noise canceling mode with no media for the remainder of my night. 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.
- foobarian 5mo agoI was wondering how good their noise cancelation would be for night-time sleeping, how effective would you say it is?
- seemaze 5mo agoIt's pretty good, but I guess it depends on your environment. Pretty decent at removing things like traffic, air conditioning, television. Even Sirens are pretty muted unless they are extremely close, which is a good thing I guess. They probably won't block the base beat if you sleep above a night club..
- vlod 5mo agoMaybe I've seen too many horror movies, but aren't you concerned about not hearing an intruder and being able to respond? Maybe I'm paranoid. :)
- Waterluvian 5mo agoIs the risk of intruders a real or a perceived problem? How does it weigh with sleep quality? Frankly, my sleep is so poor that if they mind the noise level they can take what they can carry.
- lsaferite 5mo agoAs I sit in bed at midnight, winding down from my day, this comment gave me a great belly laugh. Thanks!
- vlod 5mo agoA would be intruder did bang on my door at 3am (I guess to test if anyone was in) and I looked pretty pissed off and menacing when I opened the door (ex prop forward rugby player) and they ran off. Maybe not the smartest move on my part. Apparently they immediately decided to break into my neighbours a few doors down while people were sleeping.
- CalRobert 5mo agoSmoke detectors are another reason
- Zetaphor 5mo agoI wear ear plugs every night. The disposable foam ones are good enough to prevent me from being woken up by my partner getting ready before me, but I would most certainly hear a fire alarm. I'm laying in bed right now with them in and I can still hear the fan pointed at me. They significantly reduce low-mid range frequencies, but they're not 100% soundproof
- jaggederest 5mo agoLuckily smoke detectors and true (loud) emergencies seem to punch right through without any issues.
- i5heu 5mo agoAFAIK there is some inflammation potential if earplugs are used all night everyday. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-wearing-earplugs-every-night/ https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/advice-wearing-ea...
- w29UiIm2Xz 5mo agoTrash night (early morning) is once a week in my area. You can use the ear plugs strategically.
- d--b 5mo agoyeah my wife has some custom made silicon ones. She frequently gets external otitis from wearing them too many nights in a row.
- danaw 5mo agoime finding the right earplugs is the key. there are lots of options a of diameter, density and material to try out. getting the right one made a big difference for me
- card_zero 5mo agoFoam: cheap, scratchy, ineffective. This one will give you abrasions sometimes. Silicone: expensive, effective, fussy. Wax: cheap, effective, disposable. (Needs warming up, slight drawback.)
- zfnmxt 5mo agoI have like 20 brands of foam earplugs in my drawer, 5 different pairs of custom silicone airplugs, unusual earplugs from Kickstarter like [1], and so on. What I'm saying is I know my way around the earplug block. Here's what I'd write for your categories: 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. [1] https://paxauris.com/ https://paxauris.com/
- wiseowise 5mo agoHow can anyone sleep with these things? My ears get extremely sweaty and sore after half an hour.
- globular-toast 5mo agoI take ear plugs with me when travelling but I really hate wearing them. I've tried all kinds. Silicone is best. There is a knack to making them a bit more comfortable, but they're still not great. I sleep on my side which probably doesn't help. If I wear them for more than a couple of nights my ears get really sore. 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.
- ifh-hn 5mo agoThis, this exactly. Uncomfortable and itchy to the point of keeping me awake until I take them out. Do not understand how anyone can sleep with them in!
- bityard 5mo agoI've been sleeping with ear plugs for well over 10 years at this point, so I feel qualified to answer. 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.
- jillesvangurp 5mo agoI've been using those for a few years. I also cover my eyes with a sleeping mask in the summer. In this part of the world (Berlin) it gets light around 4am in the summer. About 3-4 hours before I want to wake up. I'm sensitive to light, I sleep longer in the winter.
- Mashimo 5mo agoOr as an alternative I use blackout curtains. 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 :)
- camillomiller 5mo agoDepending on your setup it might not be enough. I have those in the bedroom, but I can't install them on the rest of the flat (they're not the most beautiful). Leaving the bedroom door open for proper air quality leads inevitably to light coming in from other rooms. Yes it's that bright in Berlin at 4am in summer. Therefore I second the mask. There are a lot of option that are super comfortable and cheap on Amazon.
- khafra 5mo agoWhat about your rouladen? Articulated steel blinds block quite a lot of light, don't they?
- corgihamlet 5mo agoYou mean "Rollläden", Rouladen are the rolled meat things.
- khafra 5mo agoAre you sure they're not the same thing? I'm quite certain I've heard people talk about "beef curtains."
- linkregister 5mo agoThe tinnitus is deafeningly loud with earplugs for me. Better to have a white noise generator or a fan running.
- rob74 5mo agoI sympathize with you, but there are people who don't have a tinnitus, and for those, they might be a solution...
- CamelCaseCondo 5mo agoWhenever I sleep with ear plugs, I wake up with brain fog.
- camillomiller 5mo agoNo no, we first need to adopt a technology that consumes more water and energy than a small town to solve a problem we've already solved! 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.
- pech0rin 5mo ago[flagged]
- stavros 5mo agoIt's especially tiring how apparently datacenters were invented last year. Datacenters were fine when you were using them to encode video for the billionth mindless TikTok short, but AI suddenly made them the scourge of the earth?
- camillomiller 5mo agoMost disingenuous or misinformed or both take of the week
- camillomiller 5mo ago[flagged]
- alternatex 5mo agoI don't want to paint your comment as pro-AI brigading, but in the solution to any problem, considering the collaterals is a pillar principle of engineering. You don't get praise for solving a bug infestation problem by nuking the city. I feel some of the recent HackerNews stories start leaning a bit too much toward using AI regardless of whether it makes sense. A solution to any problem, however interesting or clever should be critiqued holistically, alternatives included.
- butlike 5mo agoQuestion: Doesn't this just allow ear wax to get impacted for 8 hours?
- empireofdust 5mo agoDo you use an alarm? Does this affect your wake up?
- preordained 5mo agoThis is very important question that demands answer
- brandall10 5mo agoHuge fan of my Anker Soundcore A20s w/ a mixture of noise colors over conventional ear plugs. Much more comfortable and don't create such a closed in effect. Easy to take in/out if I need to chat w/ a partner. Also a simple noise machine can work wonders.
- Aardwolf 5mo agoIs side sleeping possible with these?
- brandall10 5mo agoThey're designed for side-sleeping, but may present a bit of pressure on your ears... they do for me, I've adjusted. It's minor as the materials are quite soft. 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.
- jonheller 5mo agoAgreed. These have been a game changer especially for those with partners who snore. It took a few days but my ears got used to them after that. They are very comfortable. 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.
- alsetmusic 5mo agoI’ve been using fans as white noise generators for decades. When staying in a hotel room, I run the bathroom fan if it’s loud enough. It’s a great way to drown out thoughts if you have trouble falling asleep.