Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA


--
You know it's time to clean the refrigerator
when something closes the door from the inside.

On 3/14/2015 1:49 PM, KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA



Curious myself.
At shooting range this week, I wore both foam plugs and ear muffs.
I guess you should look for rating on package. I'm seeing stuff that
varies from ~22 to ~34 decibels reduction. I think plugs designed for
shooting are highest.

On 14 Mar 2015 17:49:04 GMT, KenK wrote:

Any suggestions?

Check the dB level ratings.

"...A noise level chart showing examples of sounds with dB levels
ranging from 0 to 180 decibels."

http://www.noisehelp.com/noise-level-chart.html

(howitzer cannon is 175 - just below a rocket launch) g

On Sat, 14 Mar 2015 14:29:43 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 3/14/2015 1:49 PM, KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA



Curious myself.
At shooting range this week, I wore both foam plugs and ear muffs.
I guess you should look for rating on package. I'm seeing stuff that
varies from ~22 to ~34 decibels reduction. I think plugs designed for
shooting are highest.

I'd be looking for military or law enforcement spec in gun shops or
local "cop shops".

0;115;0cOn 2015-03-14, KenK wrote:

Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The foam(?) ....cylindical ones
with the rounded end work very poorly....

Pretty much worthless! I discovered this at an NHRA top fuel drag
meet, where they were selling them NHRA branded.

You want really good foam ear plugs? Right he

http://www.amazon.com/3M-CAS310-1060-E-A-R-Classic-earplugs/dp/B007GBUC7M

I can tell you, as a drag racing fan AND an avid gun owner/shooter, I
will use no other kind/brand. The flat shape at both ends makes 'em
reusable a cpl times and they work where the round ended plugs do
not. Even the US Navy uses them.

One exception.... they are only the best "foam" earplugs and will only
work as well as foam earplugs, alone, can. OTOH, these E.A.R plugs,
along with even the cheapest pair of wallyWorld ear protectors (ear
muffs), will be more than enough to protect most ears from all but the
loudest racket. I use this combo for shooting magnum rifles.

You can get better, but it's gonna cost you, either in $$$$
or in bulk.

nb

KenK writes:

Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

And why would noise interfere with sleeping?

I used to live right next to railroad tracks.
Trains would make all kinds of noises all night
long. I'd sometimes get woken up, but I'd go right
back to sleep.

Now I have tinnitus.
Nothing will stop that noise.

Anyway, they make ear plugs out of something
like Play Dough, I've tried to use them for
swimmers ear, You just stuff some in your
ears. Fits some of the criteria you mention above.


--
Dan Espen

On 3/14/2015 1:49 PM, KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA



Best ones I've found are Heraros 'Ultimate Softness Series'. They have 32dB
attenuation and are soft, pliable, and comfortable. I've been using
earplugs, including expensive custom units, for decades and these are
superior. On top of that they are fairly cheap at least when bought in a
20-pair pack from Amazon.

On 14 Mar 2015 17:49:04 GMT, KenK wrote:

Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed?

Well sure. There are several brands in different colors. Not that the
color matters but what color are the ones you used?

I usually use eaR*plugs, or however they capitalize it, and they work
quite well.** I find the change dramatic, even though I can still hear
something from the outside. I think the difference between you and me
might be that I roll them until they're quite thin and I push them in
until the outside end sticks out only slightly or not at all beyond the
lowest surface in my outer ear. In that position, I can sleep on my
side, on my ear, without the mattress or pillow pushing the plug in any
farther than it already is (though Idon't like sleeping with earplugs
because, it's too quiet and remote from normal sleeping)

I'm sure my ear canal is longer than it was when I was a little boy, and
maybe not all adults have one long enough to push the plug in all the
way. The first few years I used them I didn't push them in as far, and
I think it was when one pair got older that it was easier to roll them
thinner. I have some new pairs around and maybe I wouldn't push them
in as far, I'm not sure -- I can check if you want.

So don't push it in so far that it hurts or even that you feel it
hitting the eardrum. My ear canal is long enough, and I suspect almost
everyone's is or they wouldn't sell them so long, I can push it as far
as I said without feeling or hearing anything that could mean it's
touching the eardrum. That is, there is no added noise at all when
putting it in.

EARplugs are the brand, last I looked, sold at newsstands in the NYC
subways. Trains are a lot more quiet now then they were in the 70's and
I probably wouldn't even use them there. I did however take a pair to a
Sting concert a girl took me to, and I'm glad I did. Also at the race
track west of Ft. Worth. I didn't bring any but they sold them there,
some brand or other. .

Also, when I drive my convertible on the Interstate, when the top is
down, the noise is fine up until 65MPH. When I used to drive at 75 or
80, I would use earplugs to make the wind noise tolerable. I'd have to
turn up the radio a lot so I could hear it, so much that when I slowed
and took out the earplugs, the radio was so loud it was intolerable.***
Then I would get to a toll booth and I couldn't hear what the toll
collector was saying, So they work well. ***I may have had a power
amp or left and right reverb/amps then.

**They are plain yellow cylinders,with no points or rounded ends or
different diameters. But I've also used green ones, ones with a
rounded, almost pointed inner end, ones that are bigger at the outside
end, ones that have a string from one to the other (I don't like the
string.) . Even though they are bigger, iirc you can still rolll them
small enough to put the whole thing in the canal iirc.

I wash them once in a while by leaving them in a pocket when I put
something in the washing machine.

That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

Most stores only sell one brand of something if the other brands are
basically the same thing.

BTW, I might mention that I've had some tinnitus in one ear since I was
10 or 20 years old (I'm 68 now). When I was 20, i had a job for a
couple weeks rebuilding a 20 foot diameter steel chimney that involved
someone using a jackhammer in the steel vaulted, steel walled chamber**,
every 20 minutes for 10 or 15 seconds. I didn't attribute the noise
in my ear to that, perhaps because it had actually started when I was 10
or even younger. I can't remember.

Then about 5 years ago, the volume of the noise doubled all of a sudden
and is now pretty annoying, when at the lower level I didn't really
notice it.

But in the last two weeks there have been times, whole days almost, when
the noise is 1/4 of what it normally is, 1/2 of what it was before 5
years ago. It's most likely to be that way when I wake up in the
morning, so it may have something to do with sleeping on my right side
(same side as the ear) but I've been sleeping on my right ear for 5
years. Hmmm. That might imply that that's what doubled the noise in
the first place, but I don't think so. Maybe I can start sleeping on
my left ear, or lose enough weight so I can go back to sleeping on my
stomach (or learn how to sleep on my back, in preparatoin for the
nursing home!)

Anyhow, I'm hoping the noise will reduce and stay that way

**Even though I wore a professional quality dust mask, not just a cloth
mask like surgeons wear, I also came home every day with dried pink
mucous in my nose. I didnt' worry about that either, and when I started
hufffing and puffing to get up one flight of stairs, it occurred to me
that maybe I had ruined myself, but after I lost 30 or the 70 pounds I
want to lose, I was pretty much back to normal. Still, I don't think
one can count on the dust filter to do everything if my nose was dusty
pink inside, and one can't rely on nose hairs to keep all of that out of
one's lungs.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA

Per KenK:

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

I like the yellow foam ones that have to be twirled into a small size
and then inserted into the ear where they expand to a perfect fit.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 14 Mar 2015 19:19:47 GMT, notbob wrote:


You want really good foam ear plugs? Right he

http://www.amazon.com/3M-CAS310-1060-E-A-R-Classic-earplugs/dp/B007GBUC7M

These are the ones I was trying to spell. I aid EAR*plugs, but it was
E-A-R Plugs. I haven't seen them yet with the "classic" included. ;-)


I get far more than 2 uses out of them.

Per notbob:

You want really good foam ear plugs? Right he

http://www.amazon.com/3M-CAS310-1060-E-A-R-Classic-earplugs/dp/B007GBUC7M

+1.... Those are the ones I was going on about.

Used to keep a couple in my computer bag at this place where I worked
that had ungodly-loud fire alarm klaxons.

During fire drills I was the only one walking around calmly.
--
Pete Cresswell

KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA


This link http://preview.tinyurl.com/kc4v5
will take you to webBikeWorld a site for motorcycle
riders. There are earplug reviews there. Helmets aren't all that quiet.

"micky" wrote in message
...
On 14 Mar 2015 19:19:47 GMT, notbob wrote:


You want really good foam ear plugs? Right he

http://www.amazon.com/3M-CAS310-1060-E-A-R-Classic-earplugs/dp/B007GBUC7M

These are the ones I was trying to spell. I aid EAR*plugs, but it was
E-A-R Plugs. I haven't seen them yet with the "classic" included. ;-)


I get far more than 2 uses out of them.

Where I worked we had some like this that had a cord between them so you
could pull them out and let them hang from your neck when not in use. As
they were free (company furnished them) I used a new pair every day. I was
not in the noisey areas much of the time,but when I did have to go to the
noisey areas they worked well. There were also some others with the brand
name Quiet that are orange and you do not have to roll them up like the EAR
foam kind. Thew worked ok also. I have a pack of them on my desk and they
reduce the sound 28 db.

Sometimes it is how you insert them in the ear that makes a big differance.

I am not sure how they would work around a gun range as I always wear ear
muffs for that.

KenK wrote:

Anyone found any ear plugs that work?

3M EAR - the yellow foam cylinders. No coating around the barrel - just on the
top and bottom. Have been wearing them for years and haven't found anything
better. Ultra cheap if you buy the box of 100 pair at Grainger or Amazon.

KenK wrote:

Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.
....

by chance are you using the foam ones wrong?

compress them into a narrow strip by rolling
them between your fingers before putting them
in the ear.


songbird

On 3/14/2015 2:45 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 14 Mar 2015 14:29:43 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 3/14/2015 1:49 PM, KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA



Curious myself.
At shooting range this week, I wore both foam plugs and ear muffs.
I guess you should look for rating on package. I'm seeing stuff that
varies from ~22 to ~34 decibels reduction. I think plugs designed for
shooting are highest.

I'd be looking for military or law enforcement spec in gun shops or
local "cop shops".


I had found this an interesting site:

http://www.macksearplugs.com/hearing_protection.php

They sell for the various uses and all have the decibel reduction
rating. OP mentions Macks but there are much more than a single type.

On 2015-03-14, micky wrote:

I get far more than 2 uses out of them.

Me too, but that's only cuz they're hard to find, hereabouts. Also,
I'm now more conscious of using/tossing disposable plastics.

The US Navy also uses the V51R sgl-flange earplug and the SMS
trpl-flange earplug. They are washable and reusable. I've not tried
them, but I will. Again, these are all only partial attentuation and
will provide even better protection when used in conjuction with
"muffs".


nb

On 14 Mar 2015 17:49:04 GMT, KenK wrote in


Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA


This type works best for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-...oise+reduction

--
Web based forums are like subscribing to 10 different newspapers
and having to visit 10 different news stands to pickup each one.
Email list-server groups and USENET are like having all of those
newspapers delivered to your door every morning.

On Sat, 14 Mar 2015 19:49:29 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 3/14/2015 2:45 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 14 Mar 2015 14:29:43 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 3/14/2015 1:49 PM, KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA



Curious myself.
At shooting range this week, I wore both foam plugs and ear muffs.
I guess you should look for rating on package. I'm seeing stuff that
varies from ~22 to ~34 decibels reduction. I think plugs designed for
shooting are highest.

I'd be looking for military or law enforcement spec in gun shops or
local "cop shops".


I had found this an interesting site:

http://www.macksearplugs.com/hearing_protection.php

They sell for the various uses and all have the decibel reduction
rating. OP mentions Macks but there are much more than a single type.

The link implies: "The highest noise reduction rating (NRR) currently
offered by an earplug is around 33 decibels."

Seems best the OP can do.

On 3/15/2015 2:31 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 14 Mar 2015 19:49:29 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 3/14/2015 2:45 PM, Oren wrote:
On Sat, 14 Mar 2015 14:29:43 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

On 3/14/2015 1:49 PM, KenK wrote:
Anyone found any ear plugs that work? The silicone surface plugs don't seem
to work at all. The foam(?) cylindical ones with the rounded end work very
poorly - quite well if you put your fingers in your ears on top of them but
that's frequently not practical (brand, Mack's). Any I missed? That's all I
saw on the store shelf I tried.

I need something that fits in the ear, not on the surface like ear muffs or
headsets with or without music. I want something I can sleep comfortably
with. The sound generators that make surf or rain or whatever sounds don't
help me much.

Any suggestions?

TIA



Curious myself.
At shooting range this week, I wore both foam plugs and ear muffs.
I guess you should look for rating on package. I'm seeing stuff that
varies from ~22 to ~34 decibels reduction. I think plugs designed for
shooting are highest.

I'd be looking for military or law enforcement spec in gun shops or
local "cop shops".


I had found this an interesting site:

http://www.macksearplugs.com/hearing_protection.php

They sell for the various uses and all have the decibel reduction
rating. OP mentions Macks but there are much more than a single type.

The link implies: "The highest noise reduction rating (NRR) currently
offered by an earplug is around 33 decibels."

Seems best the OP can do.


It has been an interesting thread and had me check an unopened package
of Hearos ear plugs and they are rated at 33. They were probably bought
at the drug store or Walmart:

http://www.hearos.com/ear-plug-hearos

I've got the blue ones shown but this looks neat:

http://www.hearos.com/products/skull-screws

On Sun, 15 Mar 2015 14:54:01 -0400, Frank "frank
wrote:

The link implies: "The highest noise reduction rating (NRR) currently
offered by an earplug is around 33 decibels."

Seems best the OP can do.


It has been an interesting thread and had me check an unopened package
of Hearos ear plugs and they are rated at 33. They were probably bought
at the drug store or Walmart:

http://www.hearos.com/ear-plug-hearos


I like 'em. "HEAROS gives back by providing over 200 full time
assembly jobs to mentally and physically handicapped workers."

I'll be looking for them.

I've got the blue ones shown but this looks neat:

http://www.hearos.com/products/skull-screws

Hey