What kind of ear plugs work best for light sleepers?

[Maureen O'Donoghue]

I will be doing the Camino next April. I have just spent a week on a walking holiday in Italy. It turned out that at times my room mate snored in a pretty operatic fashion. I thought this would be a good test of whether several hours walking a day combined with getting used to the noise would enable me to sleep better in a noisy room after a few days. The results were not promising. Since I am eager to experience the Albergues any tips on effective ear plugs would be much appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I use the cheap, disposable foam ear plugs. After 3 to 5 uses, I throw them away, so I take about 5 pair.

 

[efdoucette]

I've had luck with the silicon ones that swimmers use. They are pliable, reusable and pretty cheap. Available where swimsuits and goggles are sold.

 

[JohnMcM]

[ any tips on effective ear plugs would be much appreciated.[/quote]

The ones that stop you hearing things?

 

[SYates]

The ones sold in the Spanish pharmacies are also very good, no need to take spares, they are used in Spain to cater to pilgrims needs ;-) If you don't speak Spanish, just point to your ears and make snoring noises ;-) Buen snore-free camino, SY

 

[peregrina2000]

I've tried every ear plug sold in Spain, I think. It really depends on the shape of your outer ear and whether your ear accepts the shape of the ear plug. I have had bad luck with all of them EXCEPT for the Ototaps. They are wax balls with lots of furry covering, they warm up inside your ear and they mold themselves to the shape of your ear when you press them in. They don't block the noise, none of the plugs do, but they push it far off into the background and should baffle the sound enough to let you sleep. They come in boxes of 12 and can be used a couple of times, but they are very cheap and plentiful.

 

[celined]

I am a light sleeper and I have been using silicone earplugs used by swimmers.they are brilliant as they stay on all night and I can't sleep without them. Bioears from boots,but I guess you can find similar stuff elsewhere. Sleep tight and buen camino!

 

[createspace]

I will be doing the Camino next April. I have just spent a week on a walking holiday in Italy. It turned out that at times my room mate snored in a pretty operatic fashion. I thought this would be a good test of whether several hours walking a day combined with getting used to the noise would enable me to sleep better in a noisy room after a few days. The results were not promising. Since I am eager to experience the Albergues any tips on effective ear plugs would be much appreciated.

I have custom made ear plugs which are molded to your inner ear. They muffle enough to let you sleep.

 

[dalston999]

Apparently the trick with ear plugs is to put the in properly. Not sure how this is achieved, but something to do with pulling your ear up and only letting go of the plug then. Anyone else know?

I find an iPod the only thing that stops me getting caught up in the snoring of others enough to get to sleep. The distraction of listening to some favourite music is the most effective lullaby I found. The only downside is that quite often you wake with it still on and run out of power. Good luck!

 

[Kathy F.]

I never found earplugs that worked effectively. Fortunately, there were only two times during my entire Camino that snoring really interfered with my sleeping. The rest of the times, exhaustion overcame noise, I guess. And, since I didn't use an alarm clock, I depended on hearing others rousing themselves in the morning to serve as my own wake up call (although, never before 0600). For me, eyeshades were the most important element to getting a good night's sleep and I had never used them before! But I can't imagine doing without them now.
Kathy
PS - For a story about one of those nights, go to my blog, http://kathyfootenotes.wordpress.com and look for the post about how I sleep with 7 men.

 

[LTfit]

Indeed none I've tried keep out the noise entirely but rather muffle it a bit. On my first Camino I took the inexpensive foam ones but would wake up in the morning without, they just didn't stay in my ears. On another Camino I used the silicon type which molds to your ears but be careful! I lost one of those too and so divided the remaining one into two pieces and placed in my ears..bad move, the following morning I needed the assistance of a fellow pelegrina with tweezers to dislodge it from my ear! I promptly bought a replacement at a farmacy but beware what you ask for...my Camino buddy and the female farmacist got a good laugh as I guess I asked for 'tampones' instead of 'tapones' although heck, they might just work as well!

 

[PeregrinaIR]

Silicon ones worked best for me - soft, easy to shape and fit in your ear, used foam ones previously but they work their way out if you toss and turn (in agitation as you listen to the cacophony of various snorts, whistles, apnoea induced breath holding etc. around you!) Bought generic pack in Boots, comes in 3 pairs, took one with me as didn't want to start hunting down a farmacia first night out.
Buen camino for April

 

[coldweather]

In addition to the earplugs, I found that eye shades were also very helpful. The sun light in Spain in April extended to around 9pm. There is little shade on most alburgue windows. I put my eye shades on, ear plugs in and due to my exhaustion from walking I slept deep every night.

 

[Sarahandlouise]

Try mighty plugs available from Amazon and other Internet sites. They reduce noise entering the ear by 34 decibels and are reusable. You can buy multi packs and of all the types we tried were the only ones that delivered on not falling out, comfort and really effective.

 

[dulcitea]

I have a 100% success rate in blocking out snoring with Zolpidem (aka Ambien) with a wine chaser Listening to music on iPod a distant second. If I combine the two remedies I feel like I have an understanding of what heaven is like.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

You may have exchanged insomnia and/or snoring for:

• After taking AMBIEN, you may get up out of bed while not being fully awake and do an activity that you do not know you are doing. The next morning, you may not remember that you did anything during the night. You have a higher chance for doing these activities if you drink alcohol or take other medicines that make you sleepy with AMBIEN. Reported activities include:
  • driving a car (“sleep-driving”)
  • making and eating food
  • talking on the phone
  • having sex
  • sleep-walking

 

[dulcitea]

You are right Falcon: Ambien isn't for everyone and it isn't for nightly ingestion. It is a last resort. It is, of couse, a prescription drug (in the u.s.a.) and one needs to have all his/her ticks and tocks runnng smoothly before a (good) doctor will write a script. Fortunately, I am basically fit for a grandmother, but I am an insomniac like my mother before me. For an insomniac a full nights sleep is pretty sweet and worth the possible nightly run on the fridge. And, for that reason it is good to have a housemate who can watch over you in case you sleep-walk. My husband keeps waiting for me to initiate sex in my sleep, but unfortunately for him my side-effects have been zero. My husband will not be on the camino to keep keep me in line. Since I 've been taking ambien on and off for a while with no glitches, I doubt anything untoward will occur. However, if you see a grandma trying to climb into the bunk of a 20-something Norweigen, will you please be so kind as to intervene and save the poor guy? I will be so utterly mortified that next nights drinks will be on me!

 

[DesertRain]

Instead of basic earplugs, I highly recommend sound isolating ear phones (ear buds) that have expanding foam tips. The ones I used are by Shure (http://www.shure.com/americas/produ.../se-earphones/se215-sound-isolating-earphones). The foam tips are the same material as most ear plugs, so they block out lots of noise. They come with the added advantage that you can play music, the sound of crashing waves, an audio book, etc. as you fall asleep. Between the sound isolation and quiet classical music, I heard nary a snore or rustling during my Camino. The Shure ones are a bit pricey; there are others that are less expensive and may work as well. However, they do have the advantage of being able to replace not only the foam tips (make sure to order extras), but also the cord when it (inevitably) shorts out. I still have mine after three years of daily use.

 

[vicrev]

That is correct Lise T , being an old Boilermaker , this is how you do it correctly , roll them with thumb & index to a point , pull your ear outwards and insert them quickly, as for drugs for snoring...................myself,I prefer a tent........Vicrev

 

[JabbaPapa]

One very effective alternative to ear plugs is to walk far enough every day to be so absolutely exhausted at night that no snorer will be able to keep you from crashing into sleep ...

 

[David]

best earplugs are attached firmly to a double bed in a five star hotel

The reason earplugs tend not to work is that people don't know how to put them in properly. One rolls them until they are really thin and then quickly put them in, holding them deeply in the ear until they re-expand.

The only downside is that if there is a fire one may not hear the commotion.....

 

[jmcorrigan]

One very effective alternative to ear plugs is to walk far enough every day to be so absolutely exhausted at night that no snorer will be able to keep you from crashing into sleep ...

The only downside to this is that for some of us, being exhausted like that makes for some ferocious snoring that night.

 

[JabbaPapa]

The only downside to this is that for some of us, being exhausted like that makes for some ferocious snoring that night.

Let them wear earplugs then !!!

 

[StuartM]

One very effective alternative to ear plugs is to walk far enough every day to be so absolutely exhausted at night that no snorer will be able to keep you from crashing into sleep ...

I have the opposite problem. Lots of physical activity during the day makes my brain come alive at night. If I dont read or something to make me switch off then I have no chance of sleeping after a big walk.

I like the mouldable silicone plugs. I also found this time that an ibuprofen before bed also switched the aches and pains off enough to sleep. I've got a noise generator on my phone that has a range of sounds: white noise, rain falling, railway carriage, etc that is quite good for hiding external sounds through earphones.