What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Wearing Earplugs to Sleep?

Wearing earplugs to bed can be very helpful for those who sleep lightly, or live where constant noise interrupts daily life. There’s a dispute over how safe it is to wear earplugs while you sleep each night. 

Advantages of wearing Earplugs

Sleeping with earplugs boosts the quality of a restful night, in addition to the amount of sleep that you get. Blaring sounds could wake you from a state of deep sleep. There are long lasting effects, even if you are only awoken for a few seconds. Your body needs time to go back to a state of deep sleep that is necessary to function for an entire day. 
 
If you have poor sleeping conditions over a long period of time, that increases your risk of:

• Depression
• Diabetes
• Diminished immune function
• Heart attacks
• High blood pressure
• Inflammation
• Obesity
• Strokes

Possible Disadvantages of using Earplugs

Generally, earplugs are safe to use. In some instances, if you use them on a daily basis, there can be some side effects.

After a while, earplugs can actually push ear wax further into your ear canal, which can result in earwax buildup. As a result, you may have brief loss of hearing and tinnitus. To clear out the wax, it is advised to use ear drops to soften it or have it removed by a hearing health professional.  

Ear infections can be caused by earplug usage. Usually, ear infections are caused by earwax buildup, but bacterial growth on your earplugs can also cause ear infections. Ear infections are generally painful. If it is not treated there are long-term complications, such as hearing loss.   

The Best Earplugs for Sleeping

There are generally two types of earplugs: vented and non-vented. 

Vented earplugs contain a small hole. This helps equalize the pressure felt in your ears. These earplugs are best used when flying and scuba diving, but not for sleeping. 
Non-vented earplugs work best when sleeping.

Here are some earplugs that are useful when sleeping:

• Wax - Wax earplugs can conveniently mold to the shape and size of your ear. They are waterproof, which makes them a great option to wear while sleeping and swimming.

• Foam - Foam earplugs are very inexpensive. They are soft, which makes them comfortable to sleep in. They will have to be replaced frequently, due to the amount of bacteria that gets collected in the porous material. 
• Silicone - Hard silicone earplugs are reusable, but they are not comfortable to sleep with in your ears, particularly if you lay on your side. There are soft, comfortable, silicone earplugs that are available, and function in a similar fashion as wax ear plugs. The main issue is that wearers have expressed that these plugs do not obstruct noise as well as other types of earplugs.  

If you suffer from any range of hearing loss, or tinnitus, please contact us a Pure Sound Hearing Aids for a free hearing test and consultation with one of our hearing instrument specialists. 

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