One of the most annoying things in the world is having to sleep next to or near someone who snores.
It can be maddening and cause severe loss of sleep, so many people want to know, how can you block out snoring noise?
Did you know that studies show around 90 million people in the US snore?
That is nearly one in four of Americans so it’s a big health problem. Before we delve into finding out ways to block the sound of someone snoring, we need to understand what exactly snoring is and what causes it.
What Is Snoring?
Snoring is a noise that occurs when the soft tissues in a person’s upper airway, along with their nose and throat, vibrate during sleep. This can mean that the person’s airway is somehow constricted or obstructed, which causes difficulty breathing and that makes them snore.
Some people that snore could even have a dangerous condition called sleep apnea where they actually stop breathing for a few seconds at night while sleeping. Snoring is also sometimes connected with obesity, having allergies and nasal congestion, hypothyroidism, having large tonsils or adenoids, or having some sort of facial abnormality.
People are not snoring on purpose, and if your partner or friend snores, it is probably a good idea for them to talk to their doctor or get a sleep study to see if they have sleep apnea.
How Can Noise Harm Your Sleep?
Some people may think you shouldn’t worry about the noise from snoring and how it impacts a person’s sleep, but research shows that there is a link that can be seen between night noises and heart disease.
Noise in our environment like traffic sounds or airplanes taking off, as well as other outdoor noises can actually harm our health. Traffic has been measured at around 70 decibels, and an airplane taking off registers 100 decibels.
Studies have shown that as low as 30 decibels can be harmful, and snoring comes in at between 60 and 80 decibels.
Some people are more sensitive to the sound of snoring or other nighttime interruptions and kids are the most susceptible.
Noise tends to wake people up during the second stage of our sleep cycle, which is prior to getting into REM sleep, so if we never are able to get into REM sleep, this is dangerous to our health.
Therefore, being kept awake due to snoring noise is no laughing matter!
So, for all you people out there who have to listen to the snorers, here are some ways to block out snoring noise:
Using Noise-canceling Headphones or Ear Plugs
One of the first things people can try to block out snoring noise is to use noise cancelling headphones or some type of ear plugs. Noise-canceling headphones like the ones some people bring to wear on plane rides are good at blocking out sounds. They work by blocking sound waves from getting to your ears via a special kind of cushion that fits around the ears.
A less costly choice that does something similar are using ear plugs. Instead of covering the entire ear, ear plugs go inside the ears and come in several different types. The con is that they can put a lot of pressure onto the inside of your ears and occasionally they also can fall out of the ears. When choosing ear plugs, you should do the following:
Check the Noise Reduction Rating
Ear plugs come with a noise reduction rating or NRR.
The highest NRR there is will block out 33 decibels.
Snoring unfortunately can be between 60 and 80 decibels, but wearing ear plugs can still help to at least block out some of the noise caused by snoring.
Check out the comfort level
The most comfortable kind of ear plugs are made of foam.
Foam is also said to block out noise better than either silicone or wax type ear plugs.
Put them in correctly
Make sure if you choose to try ear plugs to block out the noise from snoring, that you wear the ear plugs you pick properly. For instance, if you use the foam kinds, be sure to squeeze them very small, then insert into the ears as deep as you can, but still making it easy to get them back out, and then the foam should expand to fill in the shape of the ears.
White Noise Machine
Another idea to stop snoring noise is to use a white noise machine.
This works on the principle that you can block one kind of noise by using a different kind of noise. There are special white noise machines that do this.
White noise is a type of sound that is consistent but doesn’t have a rhythm.
Some people use a fan to sleep with for this purpose, which may be a cheaper option than buying an actual white noise machine.
In fact, there are actual special white noise fans for this very purpose.
These kinds of fans make a special whirring sound that is specially designed to block out outside noises, including snoring.
Other types of white noise are like the sound of rain falling, which is considered peaceful by many people.
Likewise nature sounds can be helpful to block out snoring sound too.
Another sound effect said to sometimes help in blocking storing sounds is to play soft and relaxing music, but that isn’t always effective if the snoring is really loud.
Another great option in the vein of white noise is to download an app for your phone that mimics white noise, animals sounds or other types of white noise noises that can work to block out the sound of your partner’s snoring.
Get a bigger bed
It may not seem like getting a bigger bed will help block out the sound of snoring, but if you don’t have to lay right next to your bed partner’s mouth, then maybe the snoring will at least seem lower.
Many people have found if they are able to sleep with their partner’s face pointed in the opposite direction and there is room in case they roll over, then it helps at least to some degree, especially if they combine this with wearing headphones or ear plugs.
If nothing else, it could save your relationship since at least you won’t be heading to the couch or guest room to sleep!
Go to bed before your partner
Another idea that may not get rid of the snoring, but may help you is to go to bed a half hour or so prior to the snoring person. If you are able to get to sleep before they come to bed, perhaps you will stay asleep even through the snoring sound.
Hypnosis therapy
If all else fails, some people have managed to get relief from hearing the sound of snoring via a form of hypnosis therapy. This therapy works by training the brain to ignore the snoring sounds. It causes your body to become so used to the sound of snoring that it automatically blocks it out.
The bottom line is that snoring is a serious condition that could be a sign of serious health issues. If you sleep near or with someone who snores, they should get a checkup to see what is causing them to snore. But until then, try out some of the above ideas on how to stop the noise from snoring.