Go Buy Some Ear Plugs

This topic has nothing really to do with personal finance.


If you don't own some ear plugs then I'd recommend you pick some up next time you have the chance.

You can get a 20 pack of Howard Leight disposable ear plugs on Amazon for little over $3.   Those are disposable versions which would be good to have on hand for the rare use. You'll probably find a box in your local store for similar prices.   I think I've seen them for sale in both the first aid section and the home improvement section.   If you need ear plugs for more extended uses like in the workplace then you may want to invest in some higher quality reusable ones.

A good pair of earplugs like this will get rid of a LOT of noise.  Ear plugs have a NRR spec. which is the Noise Reduction Rating.  So an NRR of 33 would cut the noise level by 33 decibels.   30 decibels is the difference between a vacuum cleaner and a quiet room.

I really wish I'd considered buying ear plugs a long time ago.    There have been several times in my life which I recall where I really could have used ear plugs but simply hadn't thought to buy them ...

• Sleepless nights being tortured by the "plip"  ... "plip" ... "plip" ... "plip" ... ... ....  "plip"... "plip" ...  sound of the dripping rain spout right outside of my bedroom after a rainy/snowy night.  
• That one night in that one hotel that hosted a wedding party that lasted till around midnight or 1AM the night before I had to catch an early morning over seas flight.   I distinctly remember trying to shove rolled up tissues into my ears and ear plugs would have done the trick perfectly.
• Half of the airplane rides I've been on in my life.
• Very loud sporting events, especially in door arenas.

There are lots of other good uses for ear plugs.    You should wear ear plugs to protect your ears from extended exposure to loud noises.  If you work in a  job with a lot of noise then you are probably already familiar with using earplugs at work to avoid noise induced hearing loss.   But most of us have some exposure to loud noises while doing things like mowing our lawns or using a leaf blower or anything along those lines.

Oh, and in case you are objecting because you've heard “You shouldn’t put anything smaller than your elbow in your ear”   You should rest assured that ear plugs are safely designed and will not damage your ears.

Well anyway thats my pitch for buying some ear plugs.   I'd wished someone had told me about something as simple as buhing ear plugs years ago so I could have slept well those nights when the down spout went "plip" ... "plip" ... "plip" ... "plip-plip" ... ... "plip" and drove me insane at 2AM.


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