Earplugs tips

[AntiM]

We all know they're handy, we all know they don't block 100% of the noise, especially if the music is booming in your bones.

I use mine on and off all year at home, and realized I had to learn how to sleep in them. So if you've never slept with your earplugs in, try it a few times at home.

I use the basic crap yellow ones. Mine are getting crunchy after five years, so I'm looking at replacements. I have some nifty conical neon foam ones, but hey, don't these things come in sizes? I must have small ears, I needed to trim them down lengthwise or they catch on my pillow. I've yet to find the molded plastic ones which are small enough for my tiny head.

And you know those cool mint tins which make great ashtrays? They also make great earlplug containers to stash in your tent. Keeps the little darlings less dusty. I mopodged mine, it has cats on it (shut up) and sits beside my bed. How Martha of me. Oh, and don't use the same one for ashes and earplugs, bleh. Unless you're using your ciggie butts as earplugs, which I guess wouldn't kill you, but again, bleh.

I'm beginning to wonder if my new earbuds might do the trick, I can't even hear my freakin' home phone ring with them in, and I play my music really low. skullcandy, local utah company, if anyone is interested.

[emotion_sickness]

yeah i know what you mean about the ear buds. i have some that you twist up and cram em in and then they expand to fit your ear...great bass from the ole ipod too! personally i cant sleep without some music or ambient noise going and they work great for that. i think they are phillips...got em at wally world for like $10-15

[phil]

The conical ones work better while they're in, but mine do tend to fall out more often than the cheaper cylindrical ones.

Out there, one pair doesn't last the week before they're too crunchy for me. They dry out more in the tent than they do at home, I'm sure. I bring 3 or 4 pairs and go through maybe three. Depends on how my ears do out there.

[Dork]

Earplugs at hardware stores often come with little plastic cases big enough to squeeze 3 pair inside.

If you have the bucks (Amazon sells them much cheaper) these are WONDERFUL for getting to sleep on the playa:
http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i.aspx
They shut out a lot of the noise and allow you to play familiar music to drown out what's left.

They also sell earplugs with no embedded speakers for $12/pr, which is more expensive than the foam ones but they are very durable and washable. When you're wearing them sound is reduced but not muffled so you can wear them on the dance floor and still hear everything and have conversations.

[gyre]

Cirrus has clear ones great for public clubs.
Silicone so they hold up.
They come in kids sizes too.
Everybody's ears are different.
I use over the ear style too-Black Leightning by Howard Leight.
Far better than the cheapos, especially at bass.
Very comfortable too.
Around $35.
I use mine anytime I have power anything going.
They can be used with inserts too.
There are far better ones with active noise suppression, but they start to get pricey.

I may bring some cirrus to give out.
I haven't needed to use mine at burning man yet.

[unjonharley]

I plan to sleep in the van this year... So am building a box, head board about 20 inches deep lined with egg carton type foam..

[robotland]

I finally remembered to bring my radio-equipped hearing protector headphones last year, and never used 'em. Just ran around like crazy until I was tired enough to sleep uninterruptedly...usually I'm one of those people that pops up in bed like toast at every floorsqueak or mouse fart but on the playa I sleep Crazy Good.

[Lord Of Ruin]

I'm to be a first time burner this year so I've been lurking and studying here at ePlaya for months now.

Finally I have something to weigh in on!

In the past few years, I've developed nasty snoring habits that has my lovely wife at wits end.

She began with the foam plugs which you describe. They do come in softer and more tapered varieties. Try your local hardware store in the section where they have the safety glasses, breathing masks, etc.

However, after trying those and other earplugs made of different material (foams, rubbers, latex, and even nifty beeswax ones!) she discovered Mack's earplugs.

Mack's earplugs are silicone based and mold to fit in your ear like putty. Each pair lasts for about a week before they start to lose their elasticity and stiffen up. My wife can wear them in two ways: in the hear for sound reduction, or sealed for total silence.

She gets them at the local Rite-Aid and the ones she gets are the adult size which are clear/white. There is also a kid/women's size that are a pink color by Mack's as well if size is an issue. They come in packs with 5 pairs per box.

You'll LOVE these things and will find yourself throwing a pair in the luggage for plane flights, noisy hotel rooms, etc

LoR

[Teo del Fuego]

for Snoring try Breathe Right nasal Strips. To stop the 150 decible booming megabass from that loser patroling the playa by himself at 4 am in his "art car," try a rocket propelled grenade.

[phil]

Regarding Mack's:
http://www.macksearplugs.com/products.htm
has two products described at Adult Siliocone Earplugs, one "Pillow Soft" and the other "Shooter's Putty." I assume she wears the Pillow Soft?

[MrMullen]

All I know about this subject is that you don't get the ear plugs you get in a gun store or shooting range. Those ones will block tons of noise but your ear will hurt after a few hours.

[unjonharley]

Just off the top of my head... Make a short (18 inch L) tube out of material and fiberglass rods.. Then line it with egg carton foam.. Put it at the head of your bed, throw in the pillow and go to sleep..

I plan to make a box shaped one for the van bed..

[mdmf007]

Regarding ear plugs - Be sure to stop inserting them when it starts to hurt. Any farther and it hurts more.

[Bob]

Ear plugs...


snoring remedies...



anybody got suggestions on biodegradable adult diapers that fit in a thong?

[gyre]

All I know about this subject is that you don't get the ear plugs you get in a gun store or shooting range. Those ones will block tons of noise but your ear will hurt after a few hours.

It just depends on the store you go to.
Earmuffs are the most comfortable, but bulky.
I use Black Leightning.
Dramatically more comfortable than most and more effective.
Some inserts can be very painful.
Children's sizes can be useful too.
I have used macks too.
They must be a reseller.
The ones I used were pale green and made in sweden.
Very high quality.

[Teo del Fuego]

Be sure to stop inserting them when it starts to hurt. Any farther and it hurts more.

I promise I'll just stick the tip in a little bit

[phil]

> I promise I'll just stick the tip in a little bit

Yeah, _all_ the guys say that.

[phil]

anybody got suggestions on biodegradable adult diapers that fit in a thong?

at http://www.vegasmuse.com/CO04_1.htm

[Teo del Fuego]

anybody got suggestions on biodegradable adult diapers that fit in a thong?

said it before, Ill say it again, you just hang back and come in at just the right time to make me spew coffee all over my monitor!

[Bob]

Think about it. Assuming a small percentage turnover of attendees, a lot of them have to be over fifty or sixty. There's already a wheelchair camp, and I think there's an over-fifty buhrner tribe on tribe.net. I'm surprised there isn't a Grand-Kids Kamp, or first-timers guides on arthritis, coronary disease, carbuncles, etc.

[phil]

Assuming a small percentage turnover of attendees, a lot of them have to be over fifty or sixty.

Them? I'll be sixty in June, Bob.

[Bob]

How's your carbuncles?

[gyre]

There are plenty of people over 70, from what I saw at the gate.
They all seemed to be in good health, at least when they arrived.

There are only so many options when it comes to being a year older at each burn.

[unjonharley]

My camp mate wont wear his hearing aids.. He pisses me off with "huh" so I don't talk to him.. He's in his 80's..

[Bob]

See what I mean? The org really needs an Agony Aunt web page for senior -- excuse me, experienced -- buhrners.

Or start turning them away at Gate like they do minors.

[skeetsh00ter]

to get the real cream of the crop earplugs you need to go to a gun show or a large competition. Sometimes this company is there (forgot the name, it was forever ago) that makes custom earplugs on the spot. What they do is stick a small piece of cotton attached to a thread (i guess like a tampon for your ear) down into your ear canal. Then they use a big ole syringe and squirt latex (i think) into you ear. You wait 10 minutes for it to dry and voila, the perfect ear plug, i got a set 7 years ago and still use them whenever i shoot. I will probably bring those to the playa with me.

[dragonfly Jafe]

anybody got suggestions on biodegradable adult diapers that fit in a thong?

...perhaps NASA has something that would fit the bill....

[Davoid]

The best earplugs are like skeet said, custom-made ones. I don't know how much those quickies cost, but ear specialists make custom pairs which have little pieces you can switch out to adjust the decibel rating. I've never gotten a pair (they're a bit pricey).

The hi-fi plugs I order online are made, I believe, by the same peeps who make the etymotic headphones, earWear. They do indeed "turn the volume down" instead of muffling, preserving a much better range of sound and allowing you to converse more easily. Those are for loud music, however, not trying to sleep. But they will last you until you lose 'em, which for me seems to be all the time. They come with a case.

[wedeliver]

...To stop the 150 decible booming megabass from that loser patroling the playa by himself at 4 am in his "art car," try a rocket propelled grenade.

The sleeping sore point..

burningman is changing and one of the changes that has taken place in the last few years is how quiet it can get at night. You might be right that the guy is a "loser" with his art car and 150 decible booming megabass patroling the playa at 4am by himself.......but...... the fucker went to a lot of effort to have an art car with 150 decible booming megabass.... it is burningman after all and do you really want to miss the sunrise??

What about the adage that if someone else's music bothers you, yours is not turned up loud enough?

[gyre]

You can have loud everything 24 hours a day in the default world.
Why bring loud music to the desert?

There is a tremendous buzz just from the people, if you listen.
I can't understand having anything canned out there.

Burning man is full of people.
Can't we stick to live music?