Noise cancelling headphones! Oh Joy! (and other ways to block sound)

Yes, I've just put mine in, and once they're seated, I can't really feel them. I know they're there because I can't hear anything except that slight humming you get from blood flow, but there's little or no sensation in my ear. *

The reason these work for me as a side sleeper is that they go far enough into the ear that there's nothing projecting far enough to feel it when you lie down. The end of the plug is sort of level with the bone, and the fleshy outer part of your ear effectively provides a cushion so that it doesn't make contact with the pillow.

* (For women who use tampons successfully, it's kind of similar – not always the comfiest thing to get into place, but once it is, you forget it. Sorry if TMI!)


ETA – just realised @lunarainbows has said they're out of stock, so this is redundant anyway! Apologies...

 

I have a sneaking suspicion my lugholes are a non standard, Friday afternoon job. They don't even match each other!

I have bought ones like that before and as soon as I lie down on my side they start to hurt. This is when they're already in as far as they will go or should go.

You can tell the difference between it tipping the sides of the ear canal and touching something it shouldn't, presumably the drum. Ouch!

I think pillows used may make a difference. I have a tempur one so it's kinda firmer than a normal pillow. I did try sleeping with a normal pillow just to see & it still hurt but took slightly longer to hurt, if memory serves.

Nothing in life is straightforward it would seem.

 

Mine too. The left and right ear plugs sit at bizarrely different angles.

Worse still, they obviously ran out of materials that particular Friday afternoon and made them pathetically small – though it's clear which one which they made last, as it's even narrower than the other.

In fact, my whole body looks like two different people bodged together in a 'cut and shut' operation. One side is an inch taller than the other, and unadjusted new glasses sit drunkenly across my nose like a bloody percentage sign.

 

@Kitty we make a right pair!

 

I do have a passing interest in the 'calmer' version - but £20 plus whatever exorbitant charge they make for postage, seems like a lot for .8p worth of shaped rubber - as there doesn't seem to be anything else to them.

Especially as I have no idea what size I would need. (I've looked at their '100 day' return policy and am not impressed)

 

I guess they have to recoup pretty substantial development costs, which is why the 8p of rubber costs so much! I get more annoyed when it doesn't come down after the first couple of years.

No experience of this type of ear plugs myself – they do seem to get good reviews, but I'm not sure exactly what's being reviewed, if that makes any sense. People just seem to like the experience of them.

What I can tell you is that their postage charges reflect the actual cost unusually well. My last order a few weeks back was £1.99, of which £1.29 would have been the cost of a first class large letter stamp. Too many suppliers charge something like £4.99 for everything, even if they're only sending you a postage stamp! Really gets my goat.

 

The reviews, at least the ones on amazon, really aren't that good, at least for the isolate mini.

 

Ah, okay, I hadn't seen those. Isolates are an absolute bloody miracle as far as I'm concerned; I never thought anything would be developed that (a) blocked all sound, and (b) would actually be wearable by an unreasonably allergic and over-sensitive autistic person.

They've saved my sanity on too many occasions to mention. The only shame is that they're not suitable for the profoundly autistic young people I used to work with, due to their small size and the fact that you need to be able to put them in yourself to avoid discomfort. I really felt for the students, having to alternate between wearing acutely uncomfortable ear defenders, and putting up with the acutely uncomfortable racket of daily life in a special school when they took them off for a rest.

 

So I ordered the QuietOn on Amazon U.K to try. I’ve mainly got them for two reasons, one to take with me when I go away from home (the Bose noise cancelling ones I’ve got have got a long trailing wire on them which attach to the phone, which I get tangled up or if my phone slips etc), and also mainly - I can’t sleep in them, and two because the neighbour above me has decided it’s a good idea to play loud music about 3 times a week now, during the day and evening. It’s making me feel very ill. And they like to play it at 11 or 12 at night as well. So I need something I can sleep in during the day / night when needed.

First impressions, pros: I can actually lie on my side in them! They’re not comfortable but not awfully uncomfortable. As in, I think if I needed to, I might be able to sleep in them? I’ve only tried them for about 10 minutes so not sure how a whole night would be. I hope the noise cancelling trade off vs the pain might be ok for this one. It doesn’t go deep into the air canal, only slightly in as it’s an ear bud. Also has a 20 hour battery life before recharging.

Cons: it doesn’t block out all sound at all. Noise cancelling only does certain frequencies. Can still hear the thumping music and only my over ear defenders can block that out properly. But I can’t sleep in those either. But this does reduce it.

I will experiment again with the ear plugs (Moldex) and cut off tips on them next to see if that helps and how that compares to QuietOn.

 

I tried my over ear defenders and they fit over these ones, which means I can use both together, that’s good as well.

That person has just started up their music now - this time not even the ear defenders are blocking it out and I can hear the thumping and vibration (although reduced). It’s going to be a very difficult evening.

 

I forgot to say, it comes with 3 different sizes of ear buds to find the right size. I used the smallest one, and it fits really well.

 

I find the moldex foam is quite firm, the Hearos brand are wider but *much softer. If you'd like me to PM me & i'll post you a pair so you can try before you buy xx

 

There's more discussion of noise-cancelling headphones etc. here:

https://www.s4me.info/threads/sound-sensitivity-new-quiet-washing-machines.19406/#post-329562

 

I've been trying a new brand of reusable earplugs lately: https://www.loopearplugs.com/

They are really nice

Loop Quiet is my favourite, they are super comfortable and effective. Very soft and light, easy to put in, they stay in place really well, and they come in several different sizes. Great design, aesthetically very pleasing too. They are not cheap though, so I'm hoping they will hold up well over time.

I've tried Loop Experience as well, but they aren't effective enough for my needs. I tried using them together with my Bose headphones, and while they allowed me to listen to music for a few minutes without pain, I still got horrible symptom exacerbation afterwards. With the Loop Experience plugs in I didn't get the really weird and painful "blown speaker" sound in my ears when I put the music on, and the music sounded great, but sadly it still affected my brain

I'll try Loop Experience Pro next.

Would recommend

ETA: Forgot to say that they are very easy to clean too!

 

@mango, can you rate the Loop Quiet ear plugs for me?

How do they compare to using foam-type, cheap ear plugs and wearing Bose noise cancelling headphones in addition, over the ears with the foam plugs in place.

My aim is to be deaf to sound.

 

Sorry I can't, because I don't use foam-type earplugs.

Compared to my all-time favourite reusable earplugs Alpine SleepSoft (average noise reduction of 25 dB) and Alpine SleepDeep (27 dB), the Loop Quiet are very close in effectiveness (27 dB).

 

I've tried the Loop Experience Pro with the mute add-on now, too. I was able to listen to music without getting the painful "blown speaker" sound in my ears, and the music sounded great Felt amazing to be able to enjoy music, if only for a few moments! I'd say the difference between Experience and Experience Pro is big enough to justify the higher price.

Sadly, I did still get horrible PEM including increased sound sensitivity the following day So, it seems that in my case they only protect the ears, not the brain.

 

Wondering how they’d do for gardening in a place where there is intermittent engine noise. Currently use noise cancelling headphones but it would be nice to be able to hear someone talking to me without the engine noise.

(In my dreams it would also filter out all children screaming too - in a low cognitive function day I struggle with the work of processing that they’re play-screaming. Not my children, they don’t expect me to need to help but my brain struggles to process that and goes onto alert).

 

I haven't tried them with engine noise, will let you know if I do.

 

I ordered some - but needed to change the size. How on earth do you get them on the loop bit?