Earplugs tips

[Teo del Fuego]

[..... 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??

I totally understand the sentiment. I know that as BM spreads its roots it draws in more people from the mainstream which, perhaps, will dilute the weird and wonderful element that made the event so unique in the first place. I am not advocating the over-regulation of the Playa. Resort to RPGs should be purely voluntary.

I applaud all those who go to the effort to bring something unique to the Playa. But even finely wrought art cars with superior sound systems can cease to be "gifts" when they patrol the camping areas at 4 a.m. booming high-decible sounds to no discernible audience.

It's the dudes who just dont know when to quit that bother me. When is it time to quit? When the only person at the camp or on your art car is the DJ or driver. Feel free to troll the deep playa to find someone you can impress with that rocking sound system, but geeeze, let the other "artists" get at least 3 hours of sleep. They may have some really cool gift to give the Playa that needs a few hours sleep to pull off.

But, I digress and certainly don't want to start the umpteenth "sounds-issues" thread.

[DJ Dominus]

Custom plugs. Pricey, but worth it. Just get an extra -15db filter for really large systems.

http://www.ultimateears.com/custom/ER-9_earplugs.htm

[DrPeffer]

My experience from last year worked like a charm. I'm no candy-ass, but if I can block out extraneous noise while trying to sleep, I'm much happier, as I'm sure you all are.

I used the cheap orange foam dealies you can get anywhere. THEN, I put on a pair of headphones (cheapo old-school walkman type guys that...and this is probably important...wrap around the BACK of your head, at the base of your skull). Into the headphones, I piped my white noise generator at a pretty hefty volume. You could do the same with a portable radio tuned to a dead spot on the FM band. I slept like a baby every night until 9 AM, when it was just to f-ing hot to sleep anymore.

[Kers]

One of the gifts I'm bringing is a bunch of the little conical foam earplugs.

Look for me if you get to the playa and say "Shit, I don't have ear plugs!"

But you have to deal with the moop packaging yourself :)

[tapioka]

seriously, the BEST thing you can do for yourself this year is upgrade your earplug situation. last year i tried out those silicon earplugs you can buy at walgreens [the brand i use is Mack's Pillow Soft earplugs]. they come in a six pack little plastic box are about the size of a piece of bubblicious gum and are like beeswax in consistency. THEY ALMOST COMPLETELY GET RID OF OUTSIDE NOISE. there's nothing that can be done about bass thump vibration, but i sleep on an air mattress in my tent and that takes care of that. they're not much more expensive than foam, either. i couldn't believe the difference.

you have to really mold and press them into your ear, but their tackiness helps keep them in place much better than foam. my other tip is to use them smaller than they come in the packaging ["reduce" is one of the three green "R"s, right?]. i pull each plug in half and use the resultant smaller size, which is more manageable in pressing into my ear. try using them whole first though.

i currently have construction next to my apartment, and i'm able to completely stay asleep for two hours after they get started at the crack of dawn sawing and hammering.

okay, so while i'm on my soapbox, my other major discovery is eye-mist spray instead of eye drops. a pharmacist in reno last year recommended that i try this stuff called natures tears--it's a little 1oz mist bottle and you spray the mist a sterile "tear layer" directly onto your eye. AMAZING. so refreshing. apprarently "flooding" the eye with eyedrops unbalances the [understandably] delicate composition of the tear membrane. or something.... it's quite expensive relatively [$8 a bottle], but i'm going to buy a bunch of it in bulk and use spritzes of it for gifting, very appreciated last year. you also don't have to worry about any kind of pink-eye contamination or anything because the can never comes close to one's eyes.

okay, that's all. see you all out there!!

[Toolmaker]

seriously, the BEST thing you can do for yourself this year is upgrade your earplug situation. last year i tried out those silicon earplugs you can buy at walgreens [the brand i use is Mack's Pillow Soft earplugs].

As a machinist I have tried every plug there is. These are the best I have come across and I have been using em ever since finding them.

[Ugly Dougly]

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.

Doesn't fit in my ear.

[Megaflow]

Typically I buy the industrial size box of earplugs and gift them. If you see me driving around in my chariot this year stop me and ask for a pair.

[karr]

Just ran around like crazy until I was tired enough to sleep uninterruptedly...

I found that to be the best remedy to ear plugs. I did not need earplugs my second year...Even with the camp across from my camp playing loud music.

My first year I did use the regular type ear plugs from Wally World and took a sleeping pill. You roll them and they thin out a bit and you insert. I did wake up a few mornings to find them out of my ear.

I hate ear plugs, regardless of the kind of plugs I've tried, the insides of my ears get itchy.

[AntiM]

An oldie but goodie. Bump.

Mind you, this is an old thread, many of the posters are no longer haunting eplaya.

[Rilopie]

ooh thanks for bumping this. I seem to have the ear canals of a 6 year old because I can never get the adult sized "squeeze and roll" ones to even get into mah ear holes. A dj friend of mine was recommending some kind of ear plugs with rings(?) and said that you can adjust how much sound is blocked by pushing them in or pulling them out more (heh heh).
Does anyone have any experience with these?
I'm liking the idea of the custom molded ones though.

[Parasitoid]

Good info for people that need quiet.

however I really look forward to being woken up by all sorts of strange music and sounds all the time. There is something lovely about waking up to something incredibly obnoxious, laughing, roll over, and fall back asleep.

[Bounce530]

Get a can of expanding foam, give a shot in each ear, wait a few minutes, and there you go..custom earplugs.

[TomServo]

or...for a more permanent fit

[Savannah]

The white silicone earplugs from the pharmacy section continue to suit this light sleeper the best. I have small ears so I rip them in half, which made them a lot more comfortable. Bonus: a box lasts longer this way.

[TomServo]

Used these, when I worked as a press operator. Think the cord may reduce the chance of one getting lost and becoming moop.

[robbidobbs]

I use the yellow cylindrical cheap-ass ones.
Just add exhaustion and Melatonin. Oh, and apathy.

[C.f.M.]

ooh thanks for bumping this. I seem to have the ear canals of a 6 year old because I can never get the adult sized "squeeze and roll" ones to even get into mah ear holes. A dj friend of mine was recommending some kind of ear plugs with rings(?) and said that you can adjust how much sound is blocked by pushing them in or pulling them out more (heh heh).
Does anyone have any experience with these?
I'm liking the idea of the custom molded ones though.

I don't like the ringed ones.



I've never used any better than



Including yellow ones from the Army, the wax stuff you mold into your ear, the ringed ones, the ones with a stopper at the end, etc. I'm a light sleeper and my first few burns were difficult.

I've had people in my tent talking to me, and I didn't wake up (and I'm a light sleeper).



Unless you really are like, a baby, I don't see how they wouldn't fit. You roll it thin and let it expand after it's in your ear.

[Turnip]

I use the basic squish and roll ones. They work almost too well.
My only problem is a life time of ear problems and scar tissue have shrank my ear canal on my left side so it takes a little fandangling.
Also I'm one of those types that has to have white noise when sleeping so having ear plugs in can only be explained as "Blaring Silence" that takes me a good while to actually get used to.

[Boijoy]

I have tiny ear canals also, the larger purple ear plugs hurt & stick out too far. I use the "pretty in pink" for ladies. they are great!

[AntiM]

If I'm stuck with regular ear plugs, I whack off the ends with a pair of scissors.

An altoids tin under your pillow is perfect earplug storage when not in use.

[gyre]

Ears have very different shapes.

Cirrus makes a child's version that usually works for those.
Use over the ear to really be effective.
There are custom molded ones too.

[BBadger]

I know someone who likes those Hearos and doesn't use any other brand despite trying many.

For myself, I found some old pair that my friend gave me and I somehow had in the jacket I decided to bring along. Didn't help with the thump music, but it worked for most everything else.

For walking the playa itself, I wanted to hear the music, but I didn't want to be deafened by it. So I just wadded up a bit of tissue paper and put it in my ears. It cut the high frequency noise down, but it was still very listenable. I could wander into dance areas without problem, and it helped with hearing peoples' voices too. Your high frequency hearing goes first, so protect that as much as you can.

[teardropper]

I bring 'em, but rarely use them. The noise doesn't seem to bother me much. I don't go to BM to sleep. I get enough and the noise, even some insane decibel blasting art car coming down the road at 4 AM just makes me roll over and muse, cool, I'm at Burning Man...

[DrPeffer]

The best way to get a good seal out of those foam earplugs is to pinch and roll them between your thumb and index finger, and then hit them with a little spit before putting them in your ears. You'll be amazed...

[BoyScoutGirl]

I've used the silicone earplugs in other camping situations, albeit less noisy ones and love them, especially when I get the seal just right on the more outer part of the ear.

One quick question though: how do they stand up to the heat on the playa? I don't want to come back to my box truck and find my earplugs reduced to a puddle of dusty silicone...

[Savannah]

My silicone earplugs never melt in a hot tent. I wouldn't leave them on a nice piece of velvet or anything in case they soften or whatever, but they always make it through the burn okay.

[inthecolumbiagorge]

I can't seem to deal with earplugs in while I am sleeping, every different type, even made just for me silicone ones, but after even just a short amount of time they hurt my ears and the same goes for earbuds for my mp3 player. I can handle them for about an hour and then they hurt. I am a however a light sleeper what works best for me is a white noise machine, rain, ocean waves, waterfall, crickets, ect. and mine has a 110 plug in or it works on batteries, 4 AA which lasts for about 4-5 nights at full volume. No matter what is going on outside the tent, I still sleep like a baby. More comfortable then the darned earplugs:-) They cost anywhere from $16.00 to probably $50 and I don't go anywhere overnight without it.

[lemur]

for whitenoise at the burn i turn my little radio i bring to listen to bmir/radio to a fuzzy station and crank it up.. put in the earplugs and enjoy a wonderful sleep.


my campmates may wonder what the wooshing noises are but nobody has ever commented on it.... and it aint loud enough to disturb anyone anyways.. just enough to get the little convos and people walking past out of my head.

[mzfit]

I use the foam Hearo's earplugs. I used to have trouble sleeping in them - but found that if I insert them a bit deeper - that there is nothing sticking out past my ear to catch on anything when I roll over. I haven't lost an earplug during sleep in a few years. They are soft earplugs and they fit well - for me at least. I am fairly sensitive to pain in my ears from most headphones - they tend to stretch things and it leads to a dull ache after a bit. I ended up spending a small fortune on great headphones (Shure brand) that fit right. It makes a difference when I go snowboarding - as they don't stick out of my ear much and don't get pressed on by my helmet ( yeah helmet - I have had several friends with life altering injuries from not wearing a helmet - and I have had a few concussions from falls so I always wear a helmet now when boarding).