Hearing problems: sensitivity and pain: 3 of 3

Protecting against painful and background noise - a personal review of earplugs and ear defenders

If you have sensitive hearing and find certain sounds painful, it makes sense to try to block some of the sound out. I have extreme sensitivity to sound and over the years I have tried all sorts of ways to keep down the level of the sound entering my ears. This page is a review of what I have tried.

My review is highly personal. So do remember that everyone's hearing is different and that what has and has not worked for me, may or may not work for you. My hope is simply that reading this page will help you to find some way of improving your own experience with pain, sound sensitivity and background noise.

To make the reading easier, I have removed the phrase 'in my view and/or experience'. Please take it as there in pretty-well every sentence.

1. Wax earplugs

If you ask for earplugs in a pharmacy the chances are that you will be offered one of two types, one being flesh-coloured wax. There are various makes, which offer slightly different sizes and sometimes a fluffy coating, but for all practical purposes the differences are insignificant.

Pros: Wax earplugs really can keep noise down if they are warmed in the hands to soften them before use to make them fit properly.

Cons: At room temperature in the UK wax earplugs are as hard as rocks. Consequently they do not mould readily to the ear. If you work them first with your fingers, they do soften, but by this time, the source of the noise may have gone. So they are no use for a quick fix, like an oncoming police siren, although good for continuous noise like aircraft noise when flying.

Cons: Even once softened and in the ear, the slightest jaw movement, like talking or eating, dislodges wax earplugs, and even a tiny crack lets sound in. This means that wax earplugs are absolutely no use at events like large dinner parties when everyone is talking, eating and crashing cutlery around - and you are supposed to be moving your own jaw by eating too.

Cons: The natural reaction when wax earplugs dislodge is to press them in again. This causes pressure to build up behind them which after a while becomes uncomfortable, even painful.

Note: Wax earplugs are disposable, so you need to carry a supply. Whether this is a Pro or a Con depends on your point of view.

2. Foam earplugs

Foam earplugs are the second of the two types of earplug that pharmacists tend to carry. They are often also available in airport shops. They come in either plain foam or in two-tone foam and are disposable.

Note: How good or bad foam ear plugs are depends on the type of foam. They can be useless or they can cut down noise significantly. In what follows, I am speaking of the latter - see below.

Note: For foam ear plugs to work well, they must be a good fit and the only way to ensure this is to squeeze them into a small 'rod' insert them while pulling the earllobe down slightly to straighten the canal, and then to wait - and wait - and wait for the foam to expand to fit the ear.

Cons: In view of the time delay for foam ear plugs to fit properly, they are no use for noise that happens on one quickly, like the siren of an approaching fire-engine or a child's scream.

Pros: Foam ear plugs are as comfortable as any to wear and stay effective while moving one's jaw. They are therefore ideal for group activities where eating is involved.

Pros: They come in multi-packs and are relatively cheap.

Note: The foam ear plugs from specialist suppliers on the internet come with decibel ratings. It is important to note though that decibel rating does not tell the whole story because pain often depends on the frequency of a sound as much as its volume. I have never yet found an ear plug which is listed with anything other than its decibel rating. Shop-bought ones do not even seem to do that.

My choice of foam earplug: I buy my foam earplugs on the internet from specialist suppliers and am very satisfied with their foam ear plugs with a 29 decibel rating. As I write this, though, and check on the internet, I see that some with an even higher decibel rating are available, but I haven't tried them.

3. Regular ear defenders

Note: People hear through the bones of their head as well as their ears. So the ideal ear protection protects the bones round the ears as well as the ear canals. This is the advantage of ear defenders.

Note: Not all ear defenders cut down sound equally well and some specialise in cutting down particular types of sound, such as the noise of machinery. The sort available in DIY stores are general purpose ones, but specialist ones bought over the internet are more likely to suit particular needs.

Pros: Ear defenders are comfortable to wear over reasonably long periods (although some can feel tight eventually).

Pros: At a moment's notice, ear defenders can be pulled to one side for listening to a conversation or equalising air pressure when flying.

Pros: Ear defenders last many years without needing to be replaced.

Cons: Ear defenders are bulky to carry around if you need to keep your protection with you at all times, as I do.

Cons: Ear defenders are hardly an attractive dress accessory and wearing them in environments which people with normal hearing do not regard as noisy, understandably attracts stares.

Also: The use of ear defenders sends a visual signal to other people that the person wearing them has a hearing problem. Whether this is a pro or a con depends on your point of view.

3. Folding ear defenders available on the internet

Pros: Folding ear defenders, available over the internet from specialist suppliers have all the advantages of regular ear defenders.

Pros: Folding ear defenders are small enough to be popped into a bag and carried around.

Cons: Folding ear defenders have all the disadvantages of regular ear defenders.

Cons: The spring band is tighter than that of regular ear defenders and this gives me a pain across my temples after a time.

In spite of the negatives, folding ear defenders are part of my standard armoury when flying and at children's pantomimes where the noise level seems to increase every year.

4. Flange earplugs available on the internet

A range of flange-type earplugs are advertised, some with a decibel attribute describing how much sound they cut out.

I have bought several different types of flange earplugs and have found that by far the most important thing is to get the size right. If the flange is too large it buckles in the ear which means that it not only lets in sound, but it also clicks annoyingly as one moves one's head.

For me, the small sized flange earplugs work pretty well.

Pros: Flange-type earplugs can be discreet. How much so depends on whether or not one removes the cord between them.

Pros: They do not click as one moves one's jaw (if the size is right) and are therefore ideal for large noisy dinner parties.

Pros: They are re-usable.

Pros: The certainly do cut down a reasonable amount of sound.

Note: Most flange-type earplugs come with a non-detachable cord, presumably so that the earplugs stay together and don't fall when taken out of the ears. This is a mixed blessing. The Cons are that:

• the earplugs can't be used unobtrusively
• the sound of the cord rubbing against clothes is carried along the cord to the ears and is very irritating indeed and
• because the earplugs are lightweight, they don't stay securely hanging over the shoulders when not in use (as do glasses on a chain). I have lost a couple of pairs this way.

A detachable cord would be ideal, as would a much smaller box than the one that the manufacturers seem to supply. This would help with carrying the earplugs around.

I would be very pleased to hear from manufacturers who are able to address the above concerns or would like to involve me in trials.

Flange type earplugs are part of my regular armoury for group gatherings. However, because sound travels through the bones of one's head as well as one's ears, they do not replace ear defenders for very noisy situations.

5. Shooter's putty available on the internet

From the publicity on the internet, shooter's putty seemed like the answer to many of my reservations with wax and foam earplugs because of its softness. So I bought some to try.

It is sold to be used over the opening of the ear canal with the warning that it must not be put inside the ear canal. I found it hopeless. It did not make a firm seal and consequently did not keep sound out at all. I threw mine away, which is why I don't have a photo to put here.

6. Forefingers

For sudden sounds like and an approaching fire engine or a child's scream, there seems to be no substitute for pushing fingers into ears, unless of course one wears ear protection all the time and doesn't mind hearing nothing.