This may be a silly post but...dangers of long term use of earplgus? page

[Ally415]

are there any?
I've been using them for a couple years now I belief...
The past couple of weeks I've noticed my ears inside getting a little itchy. When I put on the earplgus the itchiness reappears. Should I be extremely diligently at using clean/new ones? Sometimes I forget. "Ewwww" i know i know.

Are there side effects to earplugs? Also, any natural side effects? like will my ear maybe adapt to a bigger ear hole or something? lol. I feel these plugs to stretch them up a bit.

[Neckhammer]

I worked in a corrugation factory for a summer while in college. The earplugs sucked. All I can say is any side effects of the plugs where better then the partial deafness I would have suffered without them.

Why are you using plugs? And the ones I used were not to be reused. They were a kind that you flatenned to put in and they expanded after that to fill your ear. If your just trying to get some peace and quiet then I might consider earphones instead....the old school ones that go around the ear.

[InSearchOfAbs]

I've been wearing earplugs every night for 19 years.

Sometimes I feel that itchy feeling and I have to take them out and
scratch a little, but then the earplugs are fine.

I only change out my earplugs when I feel they're not reducing the
noise like they used to.

My test, is to put my earplugs in, and then rub my hands together near my
ears.

If I hear it REALLY WELL, it's time to change the plugs - if I BARELY hear
anything, then they're fine.

At this point, me putting the earplugs in is a signal to my body that it's time to sleep.

I initially started wearing them long ago because I lived with my sister and she'd just had
a baby, so I didn't want to hear any baby shenanigans in the dead of night, so, therefore, the
earplugs.

I have noticed NO deleterious effects from them whatsoever, and my earholes have NOT gotten
any bigger.

I've tried many different kinds and have found that the "Hearos" brand is best and softest, but I also
have found that the purple Flents "Quiet Time" brand are really good too.

The NPR is 33 and I think Hearos are only 32.

I would have to say, that the only downside, is that I have super duper DUPER good hearing, and
I think that some of that can be attributed to the use of earplugs at night for so long, and giving my
ears a rest.

I remember one time, when I worked for my father, who, designs and manufacturers radio broadcast
equipment - he was testing out a unit, two floors DOWN from where I was, and this super annoying
noise was going on in my ears. I thought it was one of those pressure things going on but it would just
NOT STOP.

I ran down stairs and said "could you knock off the damn annoying high pitched noise already, PLEASE?!?!?"

And my father said "Jesus, honey, only dogs and dolphins should be able to hear that!"

HA!

Julie

[EagleRiverDee]

I've slept with earplugs for 16 years, with no issues. I use a very soft foam type called Max1, and they work great. So far as I know, there are no bad effects from long term usage. I sleep better with the earplugs in, and that alone has to have health benefits. I even find that I've so associated earplugs and sleep that I have trouble falling asleep without them, and trouble waking up if I don't take them out immediately upon hearing my alarm.

[Knifegill]

I remember one time, when I worked for my father, who, designs and manufacturers radio broadcast
equipment - he was testing out a unit, two floors DOWN from where I was, and this super annoying
noise was going on in my ears. I thought it was one of those pressure things going on but it would just
NOT STOP.

I ran down stairs and said "could you knock off the damn annoying high pitched noise already, PLEASE?!?!?"

And my father said "Jesus, honey, only dogs and dolphins should be able to hear that!"

I can hear those notes, too. It's said to be an aspie trait.

Try different brands of earplug to see if it's just the shape or material.

[Roary]

Every night for 15 years ... No issues except its hard for me to sleep without them now!

[cori93437]

The itchiness can be from sweat getting trapped inside by the ear plug causing some dryness.

Try dipping a q-tip in a bit of light oil ('sweet oil' is sold at many drug stores just for this, it's just olive oil) and rubbing that back inside the ear after cleaning it.
You don't want it dripping wet with oil in there, just a thin coat.

I've worn earplugs regularly in the past, gotten the itchiness... and this helped.

[alikibiki]

I had heard somewhere that using earphones and earplugs increases bacteria in the ear, as they can easily multiply. Don't know how true it is though, and whether or not it would cause any problems.

[duncaterro]

The earplugs sucked. All I can say is any side effects of the plugs where better then the partial deafness I would have suffered without them.

[Ally415]

holy crap...and I thought my two years of wearing them each night was getting excessive! 15 years? 19 years? I feel better now. I honestly have gotten too used to them. Like some of you guys, I can't seem to fall asleep without them now. I'm the kind of person that needs my sleeping environment to be black dark, and super quiet.

Julie, I'm like you! I have such good hearing, even with my earplugs I can hear a dog barking inside a house miles away. My sister can sleep with noise and rarely gets woken up. But I get woken up if someone is just breathing next to me. I need my bed to be extremely still too. It's a pain when I have friends sleep in my bed next to me. I'm never going to find a succesful relationship lol.

wow thanks everyone for the great recommendations.

EagleRiverDee, that is a good point. The earplugs do give me health benefits in that I can get some good sleep. I live with housemates for the college semesters and they are not the quietest people when others may be sleeping. I don't understand why people can't be mindful of others early in the morning. I'm like a feather when I have people sleeping over at my reg house lol.