Here is something I posted on another thread. I thought I'd share again. Read only if you have the time. All in fun….
On my first walk in 2005, I stayed the night in Larrasoaña. The beds were pushed right next to each other. I was sleeping next to an older man. In the middle of the night, I was awakened by the most horribly grotesque sound I had ever heard. Imagine what a drowning fish might sound like gasping for its last breath. This is what it sounded like all night long. I was really scared for the man. I thought he was going to pass away in his sleep!
I tried all the "tricks" to maybe disrupt his breathing, but nothing was helping. It wasn't the loudness that was scaring me, but it was the way he sounded. After about an hour or so, he rolled over and paused. This wasn't for long through as he rolled back over and gargled/gasped/choked even louder.
Earlier in the day, my Camino brother gave me some earplugs. I had never used them before. I spent some time digging them out of my backpack in the dark this night. It was useless. I spent an hour battling to put those darn things in, but they kept falling out. It was extremely frustrating. How can a grown man not put in earplugs? It seemed the REST of the room had them!
The man kept drowning. One of the plugs rolled out of my ear (again), and I had enough. I grabbed my sleep sheet and went into the "common room" to sleep. I quietly shut the door behind me of the dorm room and slept on the eating table. Shh, don't tell anybody.
It was only my 3rd night of the Camino. I had made the decision that night to not be anywhere near the man, ever. Nothing against him of course, I just didn't want to have nightmares if I ever did sleep again. This remedy worked better than the earplugs, and I didn't have any ill-will toward him. I saw him wake the next morning. I was happy he was alive and not fish-flopping on the ground.
I tried earplugs only one more time, same result. Ugh! All of my travel of the last 15 years is by backpack. I mostly stay in hostels, airports, train stations, bushes. Of course on the Camino, I stay only in refugios unless "impossible". I have walked 3 times and will return for another 2014. I'm used to "communal" sleeping. I hope that doesn't sound risqué.
If you're not tired of reading yet (thank you), here is my point....those darn earplugs are used by so many except for me because I can't put them in! Frustrating! All these years later, I found my "problem".
On a recent visit to have my hearing checked, (Don't laugh, it was free, and I was trying to prove a point to my dad who drives me insane because I have to repeat EVERYTHING I say to him. Another story.) and while I was getting hooked up to be tested, the technician became extremely flustered. Guess what? She couldn't put the earphones in my ears! She tried over and over and over, but the sensors (or whatever they're called) kept falling out. Hmm...I've been here before.
Then the skies parted and the angels sung as she exclaimed, "You have baby earholes!"
So my problem was never my skills. My problem is having tiny earholes which make it even more difficult to put earplugs in! Wahoo! I explained this story to her, "Yep, that makes sense." she replied.
Darn, too bad I can't have the flexibility of a baby. Too bad my belly looks like I'm carrying one.
ANYway...(for those still with me)...I found something that helps me with snorers. In many of the refugios, there are pillows that seem extra long. These are great for me because I can wrap the pillow all the way around my head from one side to another. My head becomes a "taco filling" with the pillow covering both ears. Ah-ha! This and a bottle of wine really help me sleep next to the "snorkelers"!
(I probably should have put this part at the beginning huh?)
Keep a smile,
Simeon