New Earplugs

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

I recently got some green foam earplugs called quiet contour, and I've used those before, but my concern is these new Mack's Silicone Putty earplugs. I know you're not supposed to insert the but just cover the ear canal, but they're still too big to fit in that area to cover them, and they keep coming out whenever anything touches them or my ears. They already don't block out much because it has a 22 dB rating, but I can't return earplugs as I've already used them. Until I get some kind of ear defenders (which I'll probably have to ask for different kinds on Christmas until I get the right ones or just ask for money to order them.), I'm sticking with insertion earplugs. They at least work better.

 

[Judge]

I can't help but wonder how those earplugs might work in tandem with supra-aural ear protectors with noise reduction ratings in the mid-thirties.

One or the other may never quite suffice. But using both, who knows?

I have yet to put both to the test, but it sure sounds like a logical thing to pursue.

One thing for sure, such considerations have caused me to give great value to living in an apartment unit where my neighbors continue to make very little noise compared to other experiences that on occasion made life miserable for me. It's given me better perspective in terms of what I need to tolerate.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

I can't help but wonder how those earplugs might work in tandem with supra-aural ear protectors with noise reduction ratings in the mid-thirties.

One or the other may never quite suffice. But using both, who knows?

I have yet to put both to the test, but it sure sounds like a logical thing to pursue.

?

 

[Judge]

?

Supra-Aural devices fit over and around your ears. Intra-Aural devices are seated within your ear.

Use both at the same time to increase noise reduction capability beyond that of a single device.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

Supra-Aural devices fit over and around your ears. Intra-Aural devices are seated within your ear.

Use both at the same time to increase noise reduction capability.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh okay. Yeah, I tried that with the Califone earmuffs, but I think those were just a total rip off.. IdK if there are any earmuffs that actually work with or without earplugs. I already wear earplugs; I just need ear defenders to go with them and block out all the torture noises in class and anywhere else. Every time I to to English class, I nearly have a meltdown due to the popping stapler, banging chairs, slamming doors, and bumping backpacks.

 

[Judge]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh okay. Yeah, I tried that with the Califone earmuffs, but I think those were just a total rip off.. IdK if there are any earmuffs that actually work with or without earplugs. I already wear earplugs; I just need ear defenders to go with them and block out all the torture noises in class and anywhere else. Every time I to to English class, I nearly have a meltdown due to the popping stapler, banging chairs, slamming doors, and bumping backpacks.

I can only say that if it's truly your intent to eliminate any and all sounds, that it might be unrealistic.

But you can certainly block out a lot of sound, depending on just how far you are willing to go in using multiple devices. Though you also have to consider your other senses in the process.

That with some intense sounds comes unwanted tactile sensations. A sudden thud or crash, a vibration, whatever. That while you might be able to eliminate an unwanted sound, I wouldn't count on equally eliminating the feel of them when they happen. Where you may have to deal with learning and adapting to some degree of tolerance if possible.

It's a challenge for me as well, given my tinnitus, with my ears ringing constantly. A medical condition which presently has no cure. Where I'm simply forced to deal with it and little else.

 

[Monachopia]

I actually use the silicone moldable plugs, I find any other plugs just fall out of my ears and are no good. The silicone ones are great, they're the only reason I can sleep when my dear partner is blissfully snoring away next to me xD

 

[Judge]

I actually use the silicone moldable plugs, I find any other plugs just fall out of my ears and are no good. The silicone ones are great, they're the only reason I can sleep when my dear partner is blissfully snoring away next to me xD

I like the feel of silicone...so soft and supple. And yes- quite malleable.

My father snored so loudly it could wake up the dead. Don't know how my mother survived.

 

[AuBurney Tuckerson]

I like the feel of silicone...so soft and supple. And yes- quite malleable.

My father snored so loudly it could wake up the dead. Don't know how my mother survived.

The silicone ones just fall out of my ears and block even less than the in intra aural earplugs. I have to stick to intra-aural earplugs because I lose everything. (O lost my Chew Stixx more than once only to find it on the ground in the car. On gonna have to find a life of yarn or something I can attach it to... Anyway, I only want to block enough sound to where it doesn't torture me so much. That's why I'm looking for ear defenders. I'm thinking of getting any peltor 3M brand. It has the most good reviews and only 1% of bad reviews.

 

[Vinca]

When I first tried silicone earplugs I couldn't get on with them. They seemed to create an airtight seal and the resulting pressure of the air trapped in my ear canal was uncomfortable, especially when I was lying on my side and the pillow pushed against my ear/the ear plug.

In the pursuit of a better nights sleep, however, I've ended up using a combination of an in-ear foam earplug and an out-of-ear mold-able silicone earplug. The in-ear foam ear plug is the small version of the Moldex Contours ear plugs which is quite short in length and barely sticks out of my ear canal so doesn't interfere with the mold-able silicone one. (My ears are probably on the small side, so someone with larger ear canal may need a larger sized foam ear plug.)

I've found following technique helpful in using the silicone ear plugs

-Using fingers, mold the silicone ball into a disk shape, large enough to cover the Incisura, Cavum, Crux Helix and Cymba of your ear
-Use one hand to gentle hold and pull the top of the ear slightly upwards, and the other to gently push the disk, flat side facing the ear, into the shape of the Incisura, Cavum, Crux Helix and Cymba.

The idea is that the silicone will tuck under the Tragus, push/mold into the Cavum and also push/mold/wedge into the Cymba and around the Crux Helix, and this is what will help keep the silicone in place.

If the silicone creates a seal that produces uncomfortable air pressure in the ear canal, pulling down on my ear lobe once or twice and gently wiggling it about a bit, usually releases the pressure, without dislodging the silicone.