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Comment by oneeyedpigeon | Hacker News Reader

You shouldn't be using earplugs, though - I take it you're talking about something you actually put inside your ear. If you ask your doctor, they'll tell you never to put anything in your ear that's smaller than your elbow (I think it's an in-joke in the medical profession ;-)

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> If you ask your doctor, they'll tell you never to put anything in your ear that's smaller than your elbow

I'm pretty sure doctors in general are not opposed to the use of earplugs. Doctors don't want you putting things like Q-Tips into your ears, because it's really easy to irritate the ear canal or worse accidentally puncture your ear drum. Ear plugs don't carry much risk (no chance of hitting the ear drum unless you're shoving them in with a stick, and should be gentle enough on the ear canal), and they are a very good idea if you're going to be exposed to loud noises. Good ear plugs can block as much noise as good earmuffs.

Doctors themselves (or their technicians) will put earplugs into your ears if they need to block noise, e.g., for an MRI or a hearing test.

That being said, the cheap cylindrical ones will get stuck in your ear canal if pushed too far.

Actually, earplugs can be very effective when paired with headphones, I would think... I used them while flying in the military (under a flight helmet) to cut out excess noise while still enabling me to hear essential radio chatter.

Reusable (and washable) quality earplugs, those that are a bit cone shaped so that they don't get stuck in your ear. The kind you use at a shooting range.

I would warn not to use them all the time. Let those ears breath. I only use them when I need to focus very hard or when it's very noisy.

There are a lot of things about working in an office that are unhealthy, but you have to do what you have to do.

Isn't one of those over the ear muffs a lot better?

http://www.amazon.com/Protection-Professional-Folding-Padded...

Judging by how it seems to be the most used in industrial applications.

Those are also a very good alternative to what I do.

I use earplugs with over the ears headphones.

You could instead use over the ears noise protection with little in-ear headphones inside.

The only reason I don't do that is that my headphones are worth $1000+ and I wouldn't want to trade them for earbuds. Otherwise, your idea could very well be superior to mine!

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