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Comment by SoftTalker | Hacker News Reader

Weird, I use 3M earplugs when I'm in our data center and I think they are great. That's certainly not the level of noise as combat though. But they are much better than the squishy orange foam ones that the data center provides.

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These lawsuits are about this particular design, which was designed specifically for the military:

https://filecache.thecampaignroom.com/mr5cm_3mearplugfacts/1...

Not all 3M earplugs are created equal. These[1][2][3], for example, are steaming piles of hot garbage. I carry a pair of 3M compact 21 dB NRR earmuffs because they're superior to these earplugs that are way too common in our production environment. The skull screws and corded variant are particularly egregious because they have a plastic stem embedded in the foam that can make insertion really uncomfortable and potentially hazardous if you slip or get smacked on the ear.

[1] https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000153037/

[2] https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000181515/

[3] https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00037662/

>are steaming piles of hot garbage

Amazon shows all these plugs have mixed reviews with average rating. I use these 3M plugs and love them: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b00017636/

You should always find and match your desired band filter with a spec sheet: https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/885639O/3m-e-a-r-earplug...

The ones that have never let me down in the field are these[1]. Works well from the low drone of lab server racks to high squeals of running jet engines with double hearing protection.

[1] https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/v000153443/

What sort of noise levels are in a data centre, or is the duration of noise the issue?

datacenters are super loud (many many fans + giant HVAC, mostly) but you don't appreciate how loud they are because it's continuous and the frequencies are weird.

Ear protection is definitely recommended if you are in one for days-at-a-time.

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