Let's talk earplugs

[gringoperdido]

My favorite foam ones are "hearo-s" which work much better than cheap foam ones. Flange type work ok during the day, but they stick out a bit- so the side of your head can't be against pillow or hammock fabric. Of the ones I've tried the best for noise reduction by far are custom moldable ones (Radians on amazon), but can be tricky to get them molded right.

[TreeDangle]

I've some custom fit hard resin earplugs that are great (for work). Cheap foam ones are good, but I picked up a bad ear infection from prolonged use - I was using them to try to get to sleep in a hotel room in Laos that had a very noisy russian made air conditioner

[Robin A]

+ 1..................Foamies

[Hobopelican]

I love the tube shaped yellow foam ones. I think the brand is 3M E-A-R. Where I used to work, we had the version with a blue cord welded to each. Makes them easier to find. Just roll them super narrow and I'd put it in pretty far. Incredible attenuation. If any residual noise gets through, a little nose breathing covers it up! I always take them for human noise in group camps. Nature noises don't bother me.

[mondaraguila]

The custom noise-canceling earplugs, fitted with the ear, give safety from all kind of loud noise. I think earplugs must help to protect our hearing. I use an earplug for two years and get it from https://www.bigearinc.com.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeMNnjPBsjU

[OlTrailDog]

I'm a shameless AM radio talk show junkie. Most of the tiny backpackable radios only accommodate ear buds. So ear buds/radio accomplishes two purposes, hush the distractions and keeping abreast of the calamitous events going on in the outside world. If anything needs attending to, my border collies will let me know.

[mehyatink]

The "Sleep Pretty Tonight" earplugs by Hearos are the only foam plugs I've found so far that fits both my ears and do a good job of blocking out noise. I wear while out in my backyard as well for the neighbor with the hellcat who like to idle in the middle of the night. After learning how to properly insert them I found out one of my ear canals is smaller than the other which lead me to purchase these women specific earplugs. When inserted properly you really shouldn't be able to see them or at least not much of them.

[MikekiM]

When I use them, I go for the cheap foam plugs. Role the tip between my fingers to make it smaller, insert them and let them expand to fill my ears. I can sleep all night with them.. even sleep right on the side of my face, on my ear, with no discomfort. Harbor Freight sells them in a box of maybe 50 pairs in plastic bags.. might be $7 or something like that. I keep two extra pairs in my repair kit. I don't do group hangs often, but they have saved the day (night) when I've found myself next to THAT hanger who snores all night..

[OneClick]

Those cheap ones are good. I got a bag of 100 on amazon for under $10 to use for around the house. I take a set backpacking, but never use them since I hate hearing my blood pump in my head, and lose all sense of being out in the woods which is the whole point anyway.

On a side note, I wear them while running the lawn mower, leaf blower, edger, trimmer, power washer, sander, etc. Many of those things are not very loud, but it doesn't mean it's not totally wrecking your hearing. Especially raspy two cycle engines that wreak havoc on your ears. And when I rode motorcycles I liked the relative "quiet" a helmet provided by cutting down that wind, but I'm sure the constant resonating sound of the engine/exhaust didn't do any good. Do your homework up front so you're not yelling "WHAT!?" every other sentence 30 years later. I'm not an audiologist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[rweb82]

Under normal circumstances, I would not wear ear plugs while camping- I like to hear the sounds of nature. Plus, if a critter is perusing around my camp, I want to hear it- so I can shoo it off if necessary.

That said, the local spot I frequent has multiple barges that come down the river at night, and they are quite loud. In that situation, I could see myself using ear plugs.