Are disposable or reusable earplugs better for me?

It all depends on your preferences are. If you want to have one pair of earplugs that you have to clean for hygiene reasons then reusable earplugs are the best choice for you. However, if you are a bit clumsy and tend to lose things or you don’t like the fuss of having to constantly clean your earplugs then disposable is the right choice for you.  A great time and money saver when it comes to disposable earplugs is to bulk buy them. This way you will be not have to be constantly buying them to protect your ears at all times.

What is the difference between disposable and reusable?

Apart from stating the obvious, but I’m going to anyway; disposable earplugs are designed to be thrown away after a single use and reusable earplugs are designed to be use time and time again, the main difference is the material they are manufactured in. Disposable earplugs are generally manufactured using foam, whereas reusable earplugs are normally made from silicone. Most reusable earplugs use a non-allergenic soft medical grade silicone, with a majority of them being waterproof, suitable for swimming and water sports.

Do I need custom fit earplugs or mouldable or pre-mouldable?

Custom fit earplugs are designed to fit every shape of ear and generate an extraordinary level of protection. There are the more expensive type of earplug, but tend to last longer than traditional earplugs making them cost effective. Mouldable earplugs are designed to mould to the shape of your ear whereas pre-mould earplugs are already moulded to a certain shape and size, which can be ideally suitable for children. These earplugs tend to last around 4 years.

What should I be looking for in earplugs?

What you look for in an earplug depends on what uses you going to get out of it. What do you need the earplugs for? Is it for a gig/concert or for swimming? However the main factor you should look for in earplugs is the NRR (noise reduction rating).  Depending on the level of noise you want to block or reduce, depends on the NRR level you need.

The subjects in the study both ate healthy, low calorie diets to promote weight loss. Both groups (sleep deprived and well-rested) lost weight during the study, but the sleep deprived group lost mostly lean body mass with only 26% of their weight loss being fat. The well-rested group experienced a fat loss of 57%!

In another study, a control group that received 10 hours of sleep per night and ate a normal diet didn’t gain any weight while the sleep restricted group gained weight while eating the same diet.

The bottom line is that adequate sleep is beneficial to your weight loss efforts. Adequate sleep is really quite important to any area of health, so it’s important you do what you can to ensure a good night’s rest.

If you are distracted by noise at night (snoring partner, yapping dogs), you have a several sleeping earplug options. Foam earplugs are the most comfortable and you can purchase them in different sizes for smaller ear canals. Women tend to have smaller ear canals and obviously, children do as well. Reusable sleeping earplugs also work quite well, and they can be used for other purposes around the home (studying, mowing the lawn etc.).

Maybe noise isn’t the issue. Some people can’t stand the silence of night. If you need soothing music or sound to lull you to sleep, your solution may be a sound pillow. This is my favourite new product because I happen to be a big music fan (surely you’ve learned this by now!). My husband, on the other hand, does not like to listen to music while falling asleep, so the sound pillow was the perfect solution. He doesn’t hear a thing!

Your difficulty falling asleep may have nothing to do with noise, lack thereof or otherwise. Perhaps it’s light! I love my black satin shut-eye shade. It’s really comfortable, and I even seem to wake up with less crinkles, creases and puffiness around my eyes. You know what they say. As we get older, those little sleep lines stay on our faces longer throughout the day and eventually, become permanent!

If you still have trouble sleeping, you might consider changing your evening routine. I find that watching too much television before I go to bed keeps my mind working overtime. Instead, I started reading for a bit and taking a warm bath in lavender water (add a few drops of lavender oil to your bath). Afterwards, I climb into bed and sail off to sleep listening to my favourite artist of the day on my sound pillow!

Sweet Dreams!

Meghan

According to the NASD (National Ag Safety Database, United States), farmers have more hearing loss than other occupations. If you think about it, farmers are independent and therefore not governed by the usual safety laws that protect employees in an industrial setting by forcing compliance. So, even though many of the noises on a farm are at decibel levels high enough to cause hearing damage in a short time, the farmer may or may not protect his or her hearing or that of the hired help.

Hearing protection is one of the most inexpensive safety measures that exist. A simple Moldex Purafit 250 Pair Station is inexpensive, will supply hearing protection for 250 pig feedings and can be easily mounted outside the feeding facility for convenience. Another way to go for hearing protection on the farm would be reusable earplugs.

I wonder what other types of farming noises can cause hearing damage? A tractor carrying a heavy load is around 90 decibels. A petrol fueled grass cutter is 96 decibels. Doing some repairs or clearing some pasture? A circular saw and chainsaw both have noise levels of 100 decibels.

I had a hard time finding information on noise levels of farm critters other than pigs, but I imagine a barn full of dairy cows mooing during milking would be noisy, as would the milking equipment. What about neighing nags, braying donkeys and bleating sheep? (This is starting to sound like one of my son’s animal books!)

I found that llamas scream from time to time and “orgle” while they mate. Ostriches boom, which is an eery sound, but not necessarily damaging, so I suppose the ostrich farmers are safe.

I did find a story about some annoying chickens that were bothering the neighbourhood and a tragic story about 800 chickens who met their end via firecrackers. The noise literally scared them to death! Lawsuit pending.

As for the neighbours with the crowing roosters and cackling hens, I would suggest some sleeping earplugs. I’m sorry to report, however, that I don’t know of any hearing protection for the chickens themselves.

Cheers for now!

Meghan

Are you planning to attend? If you are, you still have time to order your earplugs, and with decibel levels reaching 120 dB, you probably ought to make that preparation priority! Remember that hearing damage can occur almost immediately at 120 dB! And with 80 or more bikers screeching past for miles and miles of road, there is a high possibility of incurring hearing damage or tinnitus (painful ringing in the ears).

If you happen to be a participant, you probably already have your ProGuard Custom Motorcycle Earplugs. Spectators can find great hearing protection and comfort in many different motorcycling earplugs.

Moldex Spark Plugs earplug pocket pack is a great alternative to more expensive earplugs. They are convenient and I happen to keep a pack in my purse for those unexpected noisy occasions. They are very comfortable foam earplugs that you compress, easily insert, and the material expands to fit the contour of your ear canal.

There are also reusable earplugs that have flanges and are attenuating earplugs that filter harmful noise while still allowing you to hear conversations.

Remember that if you have to shout in order to be heard, the noise around you is damaging to your ears. Professional motorcyclists and racecar drivers have been protecting their hearing with earplugs for many years, and it’s time that the spectators did the same!

If you plan to bring your child with you, remember to protect their ears too! Children’s ears are very sensitive to noise. My kids are old enough for children’s earplugs, but young toddlers might prefer earmuffs.

You still have time to order your motorcycling earplugs because The Earplug Shop offers next day delivery.

Your Ear Canal Type

If you have smaller than average ear canals, finding earplugs that fit comfortably can be difficult. What’s more is that if they do not fit properly, they won’t be able to seal properly and then, they won’t work as well (if at all as in the swimming pool!).

Custom earplugs can solve this problem because they are made using an impression of your ear. This is also great for oddly shaped ear canals. You can, however, purchase women’s earplugs and children’s earplugs that are reusable or disposable. These are designed specially for smaller ear canals and are an affordable solution for tough to fit ears.

ProGuard earplugs are simple to obtain. They have a no-fuss system that sends you a kit to take locally and for an impression of your ear (tickles a bit, but doesn’t hurt!). You then send the impressions to ProGuard via the kit instructions and your custom earplugs are delivered to your door in a short amount of time (14 days).

Your Time Spent

Just like anything else in life, if you spend a great deal of time at a particular activity, then you should use the best tools/equipment that pertains to the activity, simply because of wear and tear as well as convenience.

If you are an avid motorcyclist, then purchasing custom motorcycle earplugs makes perfect sense because you’ll be using them daily. Professional musicians should most definitely purchase high quality musician’s earplugs to ensure hearing protection and improve the quality of the music.

Perhaps you’re just an occasional club or concert attendee. There are wide ranges of earplugs that are less costly than custom earplugs such as reusable earplugs that will still protect your ears while allowing quality music into your ears.

There are plenty of disposable earplugs that can be purchased for special events such as pool parties or backyard fireworks.

If you listen to an iPod or other portable music device on a regular basis, you should definitely consider purchasing high-end earphones to protect your ears. Listening to your portable music device at a high volume level for just 15 minutes a day can produce permanent hearing damage! High-end earphones can protect your ears and improve the sound to studio quality.

No Matter What, Choose One!

Whether you have the money to invest in custom earplugs or your needs are such that reusable or disposable earplugs will do, make sure you choose one or the other! Permanent, irreversible hearing loss can occur in a very short time of exposure to noises above 85 decibels.

We worry about our health in so many areas and make many health-related purchases. Protecting your ears and those of your family is important as well!

Cheers!

Meghan