earplugs, earmuffs, and noise reduction

Post Reply New Topic

I have fairly acute sensitivity to noise. Moreso than for any other sense. More than I do for texture or light levels.

In the past I have used a number of various earplug styles. The cylinder shaped foam ones, the slightly more effective bell shaped ones intended for construction workers, and the high range specific sets made of a rubber type substance that are intended to block out only one specific type of audio (they are used mostly for firearm shooting). The trouble with earplugs for me is that they can be finicky to fit in your ear canal correctly in order to get the right seal. They also become itchy and uncomfortable over a long period of time.

In hopes of finding an alternative solution, I made a trip to a hardware store this evening. Purchased a set of construction "ear muffs". They resemble headphones but have no audio jack and are only used for noise reduction. I was surprised and elated to find that these things are quite inexpensive. $20-$30 for a basic set. They come in a variety of noise reduction levels. Mine are rated for 27 decibels. Wearing them at home now and finding they are much more comfortable than earplugs. They block out a lot of the upper register pitch but still allow some noise through. I can still hear my phone ringing, for example, which is good.

If you have noise sensitivity, what sort of things do you do to cope with it? Try to block out the noise entirely as I do, or do you use other noises (music, loud fans) to drown out everything else? I am curious,.

My sensitivity is to light. My eyes water constantly especially when I go out. Sunglasses are a must. Luckily, there's always a cloudy overcast in Seattle.

I have sensitive ears and use the memory foam plugs a lot. I have to use running alcohol in my ears after bath because the plugs are in most of the day when I'm at work, and the ear canal doesn't get any air which can make me prone to ear infections if I don't manage it.

I also have a pair of electronic over the ear sound suppressors (only one mic on the right side feeding mono sound to both ears). They have a volume which allows me to hear as little or much as I like, with sound deadening anything over 80 decibels, which can be two plates clinking together when doing dishes.

I wear those at home a lot, they are a little too high profile for at the store, I usually just use some noise cancelling headphones with my iPod there.

I try to get plenty of sleep and monitor my caffeine intake, those will affect me, as well as if I'm stressed.

I use the ear plugs that you can get at the local drug store. Then I wear my noise-canceling headphones over the ear plugs. The ear plugs and noise-cancelers don't work that well when you use them independently of each other, but when you use them together it eliminates almost everything. I can actually study in restaurants and cafes like any NT.

I use ear defenders (the "muffs" the OP describes") in my office at work. It cuts out a large amount of background noise made by my colleagues and allows me concentrate. I think they're brilliant. Mine are Edz Kidz because I have a tiny head so adult sized ones look ridiculous, and are rated for 26dB. When I want total isolation I either wear earplugs under them, or earbuds with music playing under them.

I don't use my ear defenders anywhere but work, but have considered purchasing a second set for home use.

I didn't want to start another thread about earplugs so I think I'm resurrecting one of the newest ones. Yesterday I was on the bus and someone behind me was chewing gum very loudly and it was causing me to either want to leave my seat or yell at this rude person, the noise was irritating and I couldn't really stand it so I put in my soft foam earplugs. It helped reduce my stress and I noticed an added benefit, that my tension of being on the bus altogether was reduced since the noise of people yelling and talking wasn't intruding into me, just vibrating on the surface. I was actually calm during the bus ride instead of anxious! I bought the earplugs to help during thunderstorms or loud movies at theaters or, well, anything loud and continuous. I haven't used them in a while, maybe I should have remembered how much they help in even little situations. I used to have ear muffs for fireworks and when the toilet would flush itself and make a loud noise that would make me jump every time. They broke and I haven't gotten anymore. I wouldn't want to wear those in public, anyway. I feel very self-conscious if I draw attention to myself.

I use the bell shaped foam earplugs for riding on the subway, and when vacuuming my floors. For about ten years I needed them in order to sleep at night, too, but was surprised at myself for successfully weaning myself off them for night-time, and still managing to sleep. It helps, though, that my neighbours where I live now are not as noisy late as in my old apartment.

I listen to podcasts/music to drown out noise. In bed, I have a real fan ans an application for an oscillating fan, so I am surrounded by that sound. I have difficulty with very loud noises and anything that beeps like alarms, microwaves or even phone rings (I turn my ringers off).

QT 15 Boise noise cancelling headphones work pretty well but they're really expensive. I have them and they do work pretty well. They don't block out high pithed noises well but they'll block the noise of people talking, chewing ect. or watching the TV around you. I also use the foam ear plugs sometimes. I'm thinking of buying musician's ear plugs from Canada Hearing Centre. They're moulded to your ears and don't distort noise but block it out better than the foam plugs , at least they're supposed to.

I need to start doing this.... but this requires going out to get them. And that can be intimidating.

I am also extremely sensitive to sounds. I use noise reduction ear-plugs and noise cancelling headphones. When I want to block everything out I use both at the same time. The headphones are more comfortable, but are also noticeable, so I only wear them around my dorm/house. I wear the ear-plugs out in public and at class (with permission from my professors). I also have a white noise maker for nighttime so I can block out some of the noises of dorm life.

For my light sensitivity wear sunglasses outside and in buildings with fluorescent lights. I also bring a weighted lap pad with me to work and classes. For my smell sensitivity I have two sachets (one is lavender the other is mint) that contain my homegrown herbs and essential oils. I use these to help block out heavy perfume, cologne, and some cleaning supplies. I also have a handkerchief dipped in essential oil for a more discreet coping mechanism.

Probably my noise sensitivity problem is not as bad as some people's, but when I want to concentrate on something, people talking, music etc distract and annoy me very badly. I have argued with my colleagues about the radio a few times in the past.

I'm also distressed by traffic noise - the rumbling engine noise, swishing noise, friction noise of tyres on asphalt etc from running cars, buses, trucks etc. I absolutely loathe them.

I mostly use earplugs, either foam or silicone. The foam ones, when they are properly in, can reduce the noise significantly. They also seem to flex in the ears and facial movement doesn't affect the sealing. Their downside is that they could hurt the deeper part of my ear canals and the pain itself could become quite unbearable. The silicone ones can also be very effective if pushed deep into the ear canals. After cleaning the ear canals they are very good because they stick to the inside walls of ear canals, but after a while when the ear canals get oily, the stickiness lessens and they don't seal well. Also your facial movement can affect the sealing because silicone ones are not flexible like the foam ones. So you sometimes have to re-push them to eliminate any gap. The good thing about silicone ones is that they don't hurt like the foam ones.

I recently bought a pair of noise-canceling headphones. They are not really that effective. I can still hear the car noise and get the salty taste on the tongue. I was a bit disappointed. It was $359. I haven't tried the combination of the noise-canceling headphones and earplugs. I'm looking forward to trying that.

I'm not really that sensitive to noise but I almost always have some form of noise reduction earphones in my ear so I can listen to music on my iPhone.

I use foam earplugs at night and earmuffs during the day, but I'm usually too embarrassed to wear them in public. If I use earplugs too much my ears hurt, so I restrict them to night, which is when I need them most - even very quiet sounds like someone walking past my bedroom are enough to keep me awake.
I tried on some noise-cancelling headphones in a shop but they made by nauseous and dizzy. I read that this is to do with the inaudible sound waves used to cancel out external sounds. Have any other aspies experienced this?

I don't wear earplugs and things like that at work or when I'm out anywhere else, but I do at home. My home is my most comfortable environment (like it is for most people, that's why it is called ''home''), so ironically I become more easily distracted by normal noises than I would when I'm out.

I usually only put my earplugs in when I'm in the most relaxing situations. I usually have them in when:-

-I'm eating my dinner in my room in front of my computer because there are people coming in from work and are yapping and shuffling about outside my door for a bit before they get their dinner and finally settle down

-I'm on the computer and can hear my cat miawing at nothing. The sound of her miawing is really distracting and stops me from being able to read or write

-I'm in the bath or on the toilet in the evening, to block out the irritating sound of TVs murmuring from the next room and kids yelling outside

-I get disturbed at 6 o'clock in the morning when I can hear my cat miawing loudly because she's hungry, and someone in the house gets up early for work and I hate listening to people getting up.