Important Information for Those Who Sleep with Earplugs and Want to Avoid an Ear Infection

No, not custom. You can get silicone earplugs at most drugstores. I like Macks. Rated the 22dB NR which I find is fine for sleeping.

https://www.macksearplugs.com/product/pillow-soft-silicone-earplugs/

 

So strange/frustrating how everyone's experience is different, isn't it? I think that's what's been so annoying in this whole process, what works for one person might make someone else feel worse and vice versa! The sound of running a bath seems to help me, yet shower doesn't (shower slightly more high pitched and closer to my ear, I suppose).

 

It is torture, but sometimes my wife's snoring can be worse.

 

I think you mean you can get foam plugs at drugstores?

Aren't custom ones more comfortable?

I think there is a very small minority here who have complained of discomfort while wearing foam plugs?

 

You can get both silicone and foam plugs from most drugstores. I find silicone more comfortable when sleeping.

 

But, the drugstore variety might not have an accurate NRR rating?

 

Just to add my pennies worth, I personally don't wear earplugs at night as I find they tend to exacerbate the perception of tinnitus loudness, however what I have found helpful( aside from meditative breathing practices which are an integral part of my DIY tinnitus treatment plan) is a sound source that is generally neutral in nature and is just at about the right volume to draw attention away from, or mask out, the tinnitus, rather than advocate a particular sound I would advise experimenting with different sounds until you come across one that is beneficial in your particular case.( I use mynoise as there are a plethora of sounds available for the app and you can also adjust intensity at various preset frequencies, not to mention there is also a built in timer feature and "animate" feature which automatically changes intensity over the frequency range cording to several algorithms that you can choose from.

 

I find it incredible that tinnitus patients can sleep with earplugs. Any occlusion of the ear canal makes my tinnitus unbearable.

 

Did you have an outer ear infection?

I'm taking amoxicillin for outer ear infection and I'm not sure if that's the right antibiotic for an outer ear infection.

 

Classic.

 

that was me for several years. Then a number of different people suggested to me independently that learning how to meditate with earplugs in might be quite useful to me.

That was helpful in general for dealing with life; it also unlocked my ability to sleep with earplugs as a bonus, which has made my sleep quality a lot more effortless given the general din and chaos around here, and my propensity to find myself in cities that I'd rather not be in.

At some point I realized I liked earplugs, and would default to putting one in, if one ear or the other was really bad, to sort of "soothe" it and let the ear rest. I have no idea if this sort of 180-degree-change-in-reaction to earplugs is possible for everyone with tinnitus, but it certainly was for me. (Also fairly necessary; I am basically forced to use significant amounts of tools that are > 90db and just not reasonable to use without serious earpro). I can always hear my tinnitus so of course I can always hear it like a siren with earplugs in, but sometimes I put on double protection and go mow for an hour before I realize I've thought about it at all... a concept which would have been totally unthinkable in 2012, both in terms of "not thinking about it" as well as "using a 90db mower in the first place"

 

I'm a very light sleeper too and have always used an app called SleepAidFan it's like a fan noise to block out external noises ... I connect it to my Bluetooth speaker so the sound is diffused and sounds exactly like I have a fan on ... having said that I tend to use foam earplugs when travelling to block out hotel room noises etc

 

Did your ear infection clear and were you left with muffled hearing @Bill Bauer?

 

After a long day, I find the earplugs quite helpful at night. I think of them as being able to induce a period of acoustic rest, as I refer to it.

I have found that after a few minutes my tinnitus definitely goes down in volume and stays there for the duration of the night, including when I wake up in the morning.

 

@Bill Bauer I realize this is a completely old thread, but I just did something similar myself. I showered, dried my ears with a towel and waited about 20 minutes. Then I ended up putting ear plugs in for about an hour - hour and a half. Took them out and realized I could trap water in my ears.

Do you think that’s likely? How long should we wait after shower to put ear plugs in? I wonder if there is anything I can do now to ensure they won’t stay moist inside. Currently I don’t feel any difference. But my suspicion is that it wasn’t smart to do. Thanks x