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Comment by octo888 | Hacker News Reader

3M 1100 work great for me. You can get a box of 200 pairs

Unfortunately they changed a bit the past few years to be slightly less comfortable but I still find them the best overall

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Foam are significantly less comfortable for side sleeping and block less noise than Silicone (Mack's) which still come in large sets for well under $1/pair.

Ear plugs are highly personal I find. People need to find what works for them. I can't stand wax or silicone earplugs for example. I sleep on my side

I don't know about the 1100 but I have another model (ear classic), just simple foam earplugs, of the same manufacturer. Having gone through many different foam, silicon etc plugs from the pharmacy and grocery shop, the 3M are undeniably the best I've ever had. No pain from the foam expanding bigger than the ear canal (although it's initially bigger), no itching from sweat etc, no pressure on the eardrum when side-sleeping (that tinnitus feeling from some foam earplugs). They are literally perfect, and the noise blocking is the best I've experienced. I don't know what it is but perhaps they have some foam patented that only they use (probably poisonous or something in true evil company fashion though)

The only reason I tried them is that I found myself in a situation where my standard silicone earplugs were gone and where somebody gave me a box of hundreds of earplugs they didn't manage to sell at a concert. I was bracing myself for a terrible night of ear pain, but was pleasantly surprised of how superior they were to anything I had tried, still using earplugs from the very same box as my night-to-night noise relief

I use EAR Classics too. I sleep on a dense pillow, so when there's some noise outside/near the apartment I lay down on the side and put in the earplug into the "top" ear so that the other/bottom ear is then blocked by the pillow. If I change my position during sleep, the noise is usually gone by then (also I tend to be bothered less by noise if I'm already asleep). This is because for some reason I generally sleep better when my ears aren't covered.

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