We’ve all been there, someone’s eating with metal cutlery on ceramic crockery and you’re trying to not die of noise while getting through the meal.

All manner of methods to acclimatise yourself to sound won’t work, just like people will never get used to just existing while being tortured.

What you need, is hearing protection.

In this post I’m going to talk about different items I’ve used to protect my ears and do everything from work to have a nice conversation in a busy restaurant, and the dreaded ‘what to do if you’ve hurt your a ear a bit still need sound protection’.

3M Foam Earplugs

The classic earplugs, made by 3M (an industrial safety equipment company).

Pros

Cheap (it costs about Rs.15 for one, usually sold in bags of 10)
Very good noise isolation. These are my daily wear ones.
Can be washed to clean.
Can be used with any glasses.
Can be used with any length hair or hairstyle.

Cons

If put in well, you can’t hear other people unless they’re close to you or if they’re speaking a bit loudly.
Can put a bit of pressure on the ears, though not much once they’ve been used a while.
Eventually wear out and tear, or get dirty if left in a dusty place. You don’t want to put dirty earplugs deep in your ear.

Modification Required?

I cut off the threads that connect them. If you’re doing this, cut close to the earplug so you don’t have any dangly threads off them. Read the My Experience With Them section to learn about why.

How it affects your own voice

Makes your own voice a bit too loud for yourself. The effect isn’t that bad and I can ignore this 90% of the time but not all the time.

How to use

Hold the flat end between your thumb and the finger next to it. Pull, stretch and roll with your other hand’s thumb and finger. It should end up longer than it was before and rolled into a small width spiral shape.
This can easily be put into your ear and let the outside rest on a flap of your ear.
The advantage of this is that it blocks sound quite thoroughly and it doesn’t echo in your ear as much as the plus method.
Note that if the ear plug appears torn, not only will it not roll properly but the echo effect and ear discomfort will be many times higher.

With this method the earplugs made in 2022 by 3M will tear in about a day or two but it’s the only way to use them that doesn’t end up hurting you.

The (emergency) plus method

Warning: Using them this way greatly amplifies the pressure they put from inside your ear and the echo of your own voice when you speak. It is only recommended to do this if you need to be able to put them in one handed.

Hold one earplug in one hand and press along the length to flatten it. Then rotate it 90 degrees and press that side flat. You should have made a kind of + sign out of it.Now inserting it into your ear should be easy.Once it’s in your ear, keep your finger on the end for a bit until it settles. Usually no more than 10 seconds.
3M recommends twisting it to put it in your ear however they made a change in how these are manufactured not long ago which means that if you keep twisting them, they tear in about a week or so. They used to last much longer with the twisting method.
However, if you use the pressing flat method there are two advantages.
1. They basically don’t go bad. I’ve been using one of the fragile new pairs for months.
2. They can now be inserted one handed. It’s easy to press them flat, rotate, press again and insert with one hand. This is basically not possible if you’re trying to twist them.

My Experience With Them

These are really great at blocking at sound very well. They feature a Noise Reduction Ratio of 29dB. The highest reduction you can get cheaply. This is one less than the NRR of the high end 3m Pelotor Optimes.
They are also best at reducing the higher frequency noises that are especially painful.

They do block human voices out quite a lot so if you’re working with people and need to talk to them a lot, these may not be the best option. You can still hear people if they’re nearby or talking loudly.

I carry a pair around at all times in my pants pockets. You never know when you might want to put them on.

The slight pressure they put on your ear make them not great to wear all the time, but you can adjust this by pulling them out slightly after you’ve put them in. It’s possible to pull them nearly all the way out and they’ll still block the highest frequency sounds (like someone dropping a metal fork on marble) and be quite helpful.

I prefer to cut off the thread that holds the two earplugs together. Not only does this make it less conspicuous if you’re walking around outside but the thread will rub against most textures of clothing and produce an unpleasant sound that’s irritating by itself.

If you do this, you’ve got to be careful where you put them though because they can roll off by themselves quite easily if placed on a bed or chair. It’s safest to keep them in your pockets or in the plastic bag the pair comes individually wrapped in for longer storage.

You don’t want to let these get dusty, I’ve never had a problem with ear infections but I wouldn’t want to risk it. If they get dirty, or if they even touch a dusty surface or fall on the ground outside, I throw them away. They’re easily replaceable at ~15 INR each anyway and protecting your ears is important.

They make working possible. They’re making writing this article possible despite cars honking outside.

Where to buy

Flipkart or Amazon are good for these. Just make sure that the ones you get come with each pair individually wrapped in a branded 3M plastic bag. The foam earplugs that aren’t 3M (sometimes you get non 3M ones even if you ordered 3M plugs) are pretty terrible at blocking noise.

Search for:
3M Earplugs

More to come later, here are some headings!

Noise Cancelling Headphones

Over Ear

On Ear

Earmuffs

Concert Earplugs

Other Exotic Options

Custom Earplugs help military folks hear perfectly under ear muffs.