Earplugs That Actually Block Snoring and City Noise

10 Apr, 2025

Earplugs That Actually Block Snoring and City Noise

Tested in a real apartment with snoring neighbors and early garbage trucks—here’s what finally worked.

The Problem: Snoring + Traffic = No Sleep

I’ve lived in downtown San Diego for ten years. Thin walls, loud neighbors, and 5:15 a.m. garbage trucks were just part of life.

I tried everything — foam plugs, silicone plugs, sleep earbuds, white noise apps. Most either fell out, hurt my ears, or didn’t block enough.

There were nights I’d swap plugs at 2 a.m., frustrated and wide awake. I wasn’t looking for perfect silence — I just wanted enough quiet to stay asleep.

If this sounds familiar, you might also want to layer with white noise machines or combine with blackout curtains to reduce external stimuli.

What Actually Helped

No single solution did it all. But together, these three gave me real rest:

• Howard Leight Max Foam Earplugs
  Best raw noise blocker. Big, ugly, but shockingly effective when inserted properly.

• Loop Dream Silicone Earplugs
  Soft fit and side-sleeper friendly. Doesn’t mute the world completely, but takes the edge off city noise.

• Soundcore Sleep A10 Earbuds
  Lightweight sleep earbuds with built-in white noise. No flashing lights, no hard shell — and they stay in all night.

For side sleepers, I found these worked best when paired with a comfortable mask and a cool pillow.

Do Earplugs Really Work for Snoring and Thin Walls?

If you're expecting total silence, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to sleep through most of the noise — yes, they help.

Each works differently:

• Foam: Most blocking, least comfortable
• Silicone: Comfortable, moderate blocking
• Earbuds: Mask noise rather than block it — especially useful for irregular sounds

Tips That Actually Helped

• Angle matters. Foam plugs seal better when inserted up and in
• Layering works. I use white noise with plugs for smoother sound coverage
• Foam doesn’t last. Replace weekly. Keep extras by your bed

Biggest shift? Letting go of “perfect quiet.” Now I just aim for “quiet enough to sleep.”

Already Decided?

Here are the exact products I use:

• Howard Leight Max Foam Earplugs ⟶
• Loop Dream Earplugs ⟶
• Soundcore Sleep A10 Earbuds ⟶

Related Reads

• White Noise Machines for City Sleep
• Blackout Curtains That Actually Work
• Sleep Masks for Side Sleepers

Build Your Own Kit

You can find everything mentioned on the Earplugs page, or head to the Snore Guard Kit to see what actually worked together.

SoftSleepKit: Simple tools for blackout, silence, and calm.

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