I am a frequent earplug user and Mack’s® SafeSound® Soft Foam Earplugs For Her
Who is Mack?
Mack’s brand is one of the more popular brands of earplugs and you will find them in most drugstores. They are manufactured by McKeon Companies – a family run business out of Michigan. McKeon’s manufactures many different earplug types including silicon and foam styles. Their business is almost exclusive to earplugs and a few other ear products.
What are they?
The SafeSound Earplugs for Her are soft foam (urethane foam) earplugs. If you are unfamiliar with earplugs these are the most common type you see in the drugstores. To use them you squish the foam with your finger, insert it into your ear canal and then the foam expands creating a seal in your ear canal. These earplugs are different than others because they are designed for women – or really anyone with smaller ear canals. I have tried other earplugs that are so large they make my ears ache after a few minutes.
This style of earplug is intended to be disposable. I will sleep with a pair for about a week before throwing them away. After a few uses they begin to lose their elasticity and are harder to squish in your ear and do not expand back to seal.
How well do they work?
I find these earplugs are perfect for isolating and keeping out the wrong noise while still letting in the important noises. This is important in motorcycle riding because it blocks out the wind noise, my own engine noise, etc. while still allowing me to hear a car horn, traffic around me or a person shouting. It is also useful at home because it blocks out the television, the appliances buzzing and people talking outside but I can still hear my alarm clock or someone in the room speaking directly at me.
These earplugs are rated for 30 decibels. The maximum rating for any type of earplug is 33 decibels. This is not really important if you are just looking to use these at home for sleep, they will block out plenty of noise at home. This is something you want to pay attention to if you are using them around heavy machinery or doing something that can damage your hearing. There are other earplugs on the market that will block more noise. However, the key to earplugs working appropriately is that they fit properly. If you have a pair that are too small they will be unable to seal out the noise. If they are too big they will hurt. I have used ones that are too big when motorcycling and because they did not fit all the way in my ear they would end up getting knocked out of my ear by my helmet. For my ears these earplugs are a perfect fit.
