Ear Covers

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I have very sensitive hearing. Below are photos of the ear covers I use and what they look like when I'm wearing them. I wear these both in private and in public; the impression I get is that strangers assume they are hearing aids



My ear canals are small, and since I'm not looking to block out ALL sound anyway, I break each ear cover into quarters. This turns each original pair into 4 small pairs, which means that a "six pack" (which I get for under $4) is really a 24 pack for me.

Because you're not exposing yourself to noise your hearing actually becomes more sensitive. I've done sound therapy, which is basically a hearing aid that plays white noise at varying levels. It trains your ears to be less sensitive.

Thanks for the information.
I have yet to experience any kind of "white noise" that doesn't give me a meltdown or put me on the edge of one, though, so I'd be very very hesitant to try that.

I used to use music to block out noise, but I found that too isolating and other people told me it was rude. With these in, I can actually still hear people well enough to hold conversations, and I don't get as distracted by background sounds.

My ears are very sensitive.

I got 25/27 on this HSP test:

http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt113401.html

I'd like to try those ear covers. What brand are they?

Are those water earplugs or something different? I have the water kind (which look identical) for when I go swimming, but I never thought to use them in other situations even though they do block sound. They are much less noticeable than the kind I use when I'm going somewhere loud, so thanks for the tip!

These are Mack's brand. I've also seen them in orange and there's "flesh" colored variety as well (you know... flesh if you're a person who happens to have flesh that color... lol!). I've seen other brands with other colors, but I've only tried Mack's and prefer the white ones.

Last edited by AmethystRose on 11 Aug 2014, 4:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I use a similar kind of ear plug when sleeping a it does not irritate my ear canal at night.

The packaging claims they're intended for sleep, but they *are* waterproof. I use traditional earplugs for sleeping, though, because these ones fall out in bed.

Last edited by AmethystRose on 11 Aug 2014, 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Fun fact: In childhood and adolescence, I couldn't wear earplugs because they made me feel like I couldn't breathe.

No, I was not putting them up my nose!! !

They made it so that the sound of my own breath was so loud that it drove me to distraction and stopped me from taking proper, deep breaths. I couldn't stand the sound of other people breathing (I found it gross and annoying), and hearing my own breathing at such a high volume really, really, really bothered me.

You start with the white noise just above your threshold of hearing and gradually increase the volume as your ears become accustomed to it.

Oh man... that sounds so annoying XD

Thank you, though. I didn't know that kind of therapy existed. Maybe it would help me even if it is annoying.

I admit, it did drive me nuts at first, but you get used to it. You get to choose your white noise too - mine was a waterfall which wasn't too bad. Think I visited the toilet more regularly with that one! There was rain, ocean waves and a heap of others I can't remember.

nice

If what you've got in your ear there is only a quarter of one, I dunno how anyone would get a whole one inside their ear! Those are huge (or maybe I've just got small ears!)

Yup, that's a 1/4 sized one! When I first tried this style of ear cover, I followed the directions on the packaging, which clearly state multiple times that you shouldn't break them into smaller pieces (this is because they're not supposed to be able to fit inside the ear canal; they're just supposed to be big enough to form a seal over the ear canal).

This is what a full-sized one looks like in my ear.

A full-sized cover is uncomfortable to me and falls out, but I'm pretty sure it would look more reasonable on my boyfriend's ear, so size appropriately! He's not around currently, so I can't test this...

Edit: BTW, a 1/2 sized ear cover fits me OK, but they fall out when I talk or smile, so I find them more annoying than useful at that size.