Earplugs

Bayesian

1) Are there any dangers to sleeping with earplugs?
2) What are some good earplug brands that you recommend?

garroad_ran

Dunno about #1, but I have a pair of custom-molded musician's earplugs made by Etymotic Research, bought through Canada Hearing, and they work wonders.

Treeloot

1. I've been sleeping with earplugs every night for a few years and I haven't had any ear infections or problems with my ears since I started.

2. Just go with some cheap earplugs, if you don't like how they feel try a different brand. If you're just sleeping with them there's no reason to go with musician's earplugs, all brands will block about the same amount of noise.

Dunadan019

1) depends on the style of plugs and how prone you are to put your finger in your ear while you sleep.

2) anything that has this general shape. forget the squish foam ones.

adytum

Dunadan lies, squishy foam ones rock.

You can get a box of the cheap foam ones at CVS, they're like $20 for 200. I wear them to sleep, at night to clubs, to bars, to concerts, etc.

2868

The squish foam ones work great if you know how to put them in properly. You have to pinch them down between your thumb and forefinger mashing them up tiny, then reach around your head with your free hand and tug on the top of your ear, then you put the plug in and it swells to fit the contours of your ears.

The plastic ribbed kind are good too. But you'll never go wrong with custom made.

As for sleeping the squishy foam ones are the ones doctors recommend. You wouldn't want to use the kind Dunadan linked because those posts protrude, and you could roll over onto them driving the plug into your ear canal.

Arrath

Just for the love of god don't get the cheap ones that are solid plugs of hard yellow foam. God those suck.

If you do, keep in mind one end is slightly softer than the other, that end goes inside your ear.

adytum

http://www.amazon.com/Flents-Quiet-Please-Noise-Reducing/dp/B001J4HB1C

$11.50 on amazon for 50 pairs.

This is kind I've been using for years for all purposes.

Yeah, custom made ones are the best, but they run up into the hundreds of dollars.

EggyToast

I'm a big fan of Hearos. Foam ones in general are good because they don't block your ear; they just reduce the overall sound level. I've not slept with them in, but I've had Hearos in for 3-4 hours and they're very comfortable. They take a little while to get used to, and putting them in can be a trick if you've never done it before (you roll them between your fingers to make them small, then insert and let them expand to fill your ear).

etdragon

I sleep with them in every night because my husband snores and I haven't had any issues with infections or anything like that.

I also recommend the foam ones for sleeping. There's nothing hard in them that you have to worry about rolling onto if you move around while you sleep and once you get used to them you don't even notice them anymore.

npreecs

Another no-problem vote here, though I don't use them nearly so much. Do make sure you pay attention to how to insert them, though. A good trick, I've found, is if you are, for example, inserting the left one, use your right arm to reach behind your head and pull back your left ear, up and back. It straightens out the ear canal and makes it much easier to insert. Also, make sure you leave enough to get it out in the morning.