This reminded me of a great article about ear plugs: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2007/03/breathing_lessons.single.html ht

This reminded me of a great article about ear plugs: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2007/03/breathing_lessons.single.html http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_exa... The author Nicholson Baker has written about writing with earplugs: "I’ve always been helped by sensory deprivation. I used to wear earplugs a lot. Sometimes I would write with my eyes closed. But writing in the early morning is different because you haven’t been able to see anything for hours. I would get up and feel my way around. The only help was the moonlight, if it was a moonlit night. You think differently if you can’t see." http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6097/the-art-of-fiction-no-212-nicholson-baker http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6097/the-art-of-fic...