{"id":95,"date":"2018-08-27T10:37:49","date_gmt":"2018-08-27T10:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/?p=95"},"modified":"2023-06-20T09:13:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T13:13:29","slug":"sleep-with-ear-plugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/sleep-with-ear-plugs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sleep with Ear Plugs: The Whole Night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I’ve written a lot about how to get a better sleep<\/a>, and one of the top recommendations is always<\/em> to get a good pair of ear plugs. But with potential discomfort, ear infections (gasp!), and hassle – they are not without their problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sleeping well<\/a> with ear plugs is mostly about having the right type. Wax molded plugs are the best for blocking sound but also allow you to sleep on your side. Make sure to keep them clean with quick washes every other day, and if using foam, replace every 2 -3 days.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Health Risks – how bad are we talking?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Disclaimer: I’m about to tell you all about the possible bad side of ear plugs – but don’t worry. I’ve written these to make you aware of them, not to scare you off.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of people a scared of using ear plugs overnight. There is a bit of truth to it – ear plugs can cause ear infections and even tinnitus – but only if you don’t use them properly<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One issue is when an ear plug sits way to deep in your ear. It creates a blockage of ear wax, which can cause hearing loss or even tinnitus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 1: Don’t ram anything too far into your ear.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Next, is that bacteria can build up on ear plugs themselves – especially foam ones. Neglect to wash them or put them in with dirty hands, and you’re asking for trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rule 2: Use clean ear plugs.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow both of those rules and you’ll be absolutely fine. Do be careful of sleeping on your side pushing hard ear plugs further in, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But here’s the deal – while there is some slight risk here, we are missing out on a much bigger deal. Which is the risk of getting bad sleep. Not to sound like Fox News, but consistent lack of sleep has been proven to increase the likelihood of high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes, heart attacks.. the list goes on. Personally I’ll take a little ear wax hassle over those horrors any day!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re worried about using ear plugs in a bad way, just follow these steps:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you’re reading this because you ear plugs seem to be making no difference – it may just be the type. There’s four different types of ear plugs, generally increasing in effectiveness. Here’s a quick rundown:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, wax earplugs, and custom earplugs especially, can be a bit more expensive. My comment on that is to remember just how important sleep is. Good sleep is one of the most precious things on earth – not just to feel good, but for countless<\/em> health benefits. Honestly, I can’t think of anything more worth the money than something that will really help you sleep better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If normal ear plugs aren’t your thing, there are a few other options out there for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main one I’d like to recommend is audiobooks. Instead of blocking sound, replace it with a soothing voice reading you some good fiction. Sometimes it’s not the noise that gets to us, it’s being in our own head. For this, I’ve found no better solution that to lie in the dark and tune in to someone reading a book. It won’t take long before your thoughts are replaced by a gentle drifting to sleep without worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Obviously noise cancelling headphones are key, but typically these aren’t the most comfortable for sleeping. Instead, you can actually get an eye mask with <\/a>built in headphones – operating on bluetooth. This gives you everything in one, with wireless sound meaning there’s no wired complications in bed with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone has their own way of sleeping, but all of us want to be able to do it without being troubled by uncomfortable ear plugs. Obviously, the best way to sleep with ear plugs is like a zombie, arms crossed and flat on your back. But I can bet that’s not how you typically drift off. (Though, some people really do sleep like that!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Realistically, most of us love to sleep on our side – which pretty much requires that you’ve got a good set of wax or custom molded ear plugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Foam can work just because it’s easy enough to crush down when you lie on it, but if you’ve tried this before we both know what happens. The second your head comes back up, the foam ear plug expands in a weird way and falls out. If you’ve used them too, you’ll know the trials of constantly finding foam ear plugs in your bed..<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you just can’t get comfortable with any form of ear plugs, you might need to get creative. First, make sure you’re sleeping environment and routine are on point. I’m busy writing plenty of articles on how to perfect those, but basically try to make sure your room is cool, dark, and as quiet as possible. (I know, it’s sometimes not at all possible to get all three of those things, but just do what you can).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then I’d suggest replacing ear plugs is a white noise generator. The idea is that instead of listening to outside noises which are always changing volume and frequency, forcing you to pay attention to them, you instead create a sound that is constant and reliable. This is so much easier for your brain to ‘fade out’ and let you relax.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can get great white noise generators online<\/a>, or even just play them from your laptop, computer, or even mobile phone. Just have a google for free white noise generators – if you’re after a recommendation then Noisli<\/a> is a great place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While white noise isn’t as effective as silence, it’s a lot better than feeling like you’re trying to sleep with a weird object in your ear. Some people actually grow to absolutely prefer their white noise of choice, and swear they get a much better sleep with it than even in silence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’ve written a lot about how to get a better sleep, and one of the top recommendations is always to get a good pair of ear plugs. But with potential discomfort,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":703,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95\/revisions\/703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sleeping.guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Types of Ear Plugs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Alternative Options<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Best Positions to Sleep with Ear Plugs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Still having trouble sleeping?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n