Busted…

[Mush]

Yesterday I was sitting around chatting with a few friends after church when one of their daughters said “eew, what’s that in your ear?”

For a while now I’ve worn musicians ear plugs to block out sudden, sharp and loud sounds as I find them to be physically disturbing. These are sounds that apparently don’t bother some other people at all.

They help to dramatically lessen the effects of loud noises and also as a side benefit help me to hear myself speaking so I can regulate my voice better.

Sitting amongst a group of friends that all know about my ASD made the conversation an easy one to have, explaining why I wear them.

Everyone said “Yeah, that makes sense.” With one joking it would help him during arguments with his wife. Yes, her voice is quite shrill under normal circumstances. I imagine you’d want to put a tent peg through your ears when she yelled.

Anybody else use earplugs to cope with daily life? I also wear foam earplugs to bed each night as irregular sounds can startle me awake if I’m not in deep sleep.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

No, I do not. the only sounds I find hard are things like a noisy restaurant where noise is bouncing from all hard surfaces. Too much, and I just turn off my hearing aids.

 

[Suzette]

I would love to muffle certain sounds. But I have some hearing loss due to ear infections so ear plugs would not be helpful.

Also, I do not like being unaware of my surroundings. If I am in a public place I feel like my hearing helps keep me safe.

 

[Fino]

But you can still hear people you're talking to just fine? Is it difficult at all? And with people who speak softly? Or from far away?

 

[Matthias]

I have the same questions. If musicians ear plugs can block out uncomfortable noises while still allowing you to have a normal conversation, I'd definitely want to buy some.

 

[Richelle-H]

I wear hearing aids that are less than a year old. They come with what I refer to as selective deafness. They have three directional mikes each and I can sculpt the sound directions and levels. I can step the amplification up or down as needed as well as focus the sound entering my ears so that it only comes from a specific direction. Best hearing aids I have had and I have been wearing them since my late 50s.

So yeah, what I wear in my ears both helps me hear and not hear in equal measures. Especially effective in very noisy environments, such as pubs or restaurants, where I can block out most if not all the reflected sounds and still carry on conversation with someone sitting across from me. Technology does have its truly beneficial applications.

 

[Rasputin]

I have thought about wearing earplugs, but I don’t think they would work for me. In addition to hypersensitivity to sounds, I have tinnitus which causes a constant high pitched sound. I do use a white noise sound machine at home which helps me sleep at night.

I think earplugs would make the tinnitus sounds more noticeable.

 

[Mush]

Musicians ear plugs let softer sounds through, but cut out harsh, loud sounds.

With them in I can hear me rubbing my fingers together, and I can also clap loudly right next to my ear and it is softened by around 24db.

 

[Progster]

Yes, I wear soft foam earplugs to sleep at night, and also in noisy places like busy streets, public transport and sometimes supermarkets. It's always a good idea to have them with me just in case.

 

[SusanLR]

I stuffed cotton in my ears as a kid.
Now the only sounds that truly bother me is a group of people all talking at once like in a restaurant.
I have tinnitus also, so white noise or soft meditation music helps me to sleep.
Plugs would make the ringing worse.

 

[SDRSpark]

Sometimes. I carry a pair on my keyring at all times, but I only use them if I'm having a bad day, or am near some really loud noises (such as a car show) or at work.

 

[SDRSpark]

Now the only sounds that truly bother me is a group of people all talking at once like in a restaurant.

To me these sort of sounds just become completely incomprehensible. A group of people talking all at once sounds garbled so I can't have conversations at all (and depending on the acoustic properties of a room, sometimes it's OK and sometimes it's really bad). I've had situations where I've been expected to conduct business in a crowded environment...problem is I really can't take peoples' contact details or orders when all I hear is "wahwahwahwahwah" whenever they speak.

 

[Streetwise]

The best ones are silicone and you mix two colours together then you place in your ear I couldn't hear anything but don't push them in too hard or you could burst your ear drum

 

[Magna]

Yes I wear earplugs in public and over the head hearing protectors inside my house when needed. The world is far too loud for me and I will not go out completely vulnerable to unexpected loud noises when I don't have to. I'm not familiar with "musician's earplugs", but I found that silicone high fidelity earplugs worked like has been described for "musician's earplugs".

I do not wear earplugs at night because even though I'm a very light sleeper, I feel that I absolutely need to hear anything that goes "bump" in the night. I need to go full on violent if necessary to defend my family and myself and wouldn't be able to hear such things with earplugs.