Comments on: In praise of earplugs

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 11:29:28 +0000

Matthew says,” I don’t hear my pulse or heart when wearing headphones or earplugs. Perhaps I’m not listening hard enough!”

Matthew, are you warm? Or maybe that coffin in the cellar is a dead giveaway?!

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:42:52 +0000

My wife sets up a large fan, gently blowing over our bed during the hotter summer nights.

At first the constant humming and creaking as it changed direction drove me bananas. Like Gwen I also needed to keep an ear out for the morning radio alarm, so earplugs were not an option.

A solution came to me one night. Maybe it was a dream, or wishful thinking, but once I imagined that the droning fan was the noise of Zeppelin motors drifting me out across the dark Atlantic, sleep quickly followed!

By: Gwen

Gwen — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 05:26:57 +0000

I’d love to block out the neighbors at night, but then how would I hear the alarm clock in the morning?

By: Owen Lystrup

Owen Lystrup — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 03:13:35 +0000

I’m not a big fan of over-ear headphones, so I use the E2Cs by Shure. They blog out noise like earplugs, leaving only the music. Nice sound and better price.

By: Schizohedron

Schizohedron — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:41:39 +0000

Upstairs neighbors who never installed rugs and who clomped around at all hours in flipflops first drew me to foam earplugs. Now, three weeks after they moved out, I still find myself enjoying the dead silence they provide. I’m also thinking of wearing them to the gym to block out the lousy in-house pop and the inane prattle of folks lolling about the gear.

By: TOMAS

TOMAS — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:39:35 +0000

I grew up in a small town and grew accustomed to peace and quiet (most nights felt as if I was in a library due to the lack of noise). When I moved to the city, I missed the peace and quiet so much that I would use earplugs to help me sleep and still do so until this day. I also own a set of Bose Noise canceling headphones, but usually reserve them for airplane and iPod use. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it, but a great way to generate a pleasant writing environment is by using a Buddha Machine. I’ve owned for for a few months and it’s great!

By: Matthew Stibbe

Matthew Stibbe — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 19:38:33 +0000

I don’t hear my pulse or heart when wearing headphones or earplugs. Perhaps I’m not listening hard enough!

By: Zach Everson

Zach Everson — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 15:48:59 +0000

I just use my original iPod earphones. They don’t block all of the sound, but they filter out enough to help me concentrate.

By: Jude

Jude — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 12:02:47 +0000

Don’t you find it distracting, though, when you wear earplugs or headphones, to hear the noise inside your head–blood pumping through your veins, a constant hum, and in the background, your heart?

By: Matthew Stibbe

Matthew Stibbe — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 11:07:55 +0000

Yeah, I listen to the Wu-Tang Clan for the same effect. Wall of noise is like the exact opposite of silence and has a similar effect!