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Imagine this: You’ve spent the past 14 hours on a plane, then the next 8 running around all day to avoid jet lag. When it finally becomes an appropriate time to wind down for bed, you’ve showered, applied your night creams and your retinol, and finally, after what has felt like the longest day of your life, made it between your sheets, when you hear this annoying sound. What could it be? Well, your travel partner — whether a significant other, sibling, best friend, parent, you name it — has beat you to bed, and they’re snoring. It’s loud. It’s disruptive. And now you have to spend the next six to eight hours listening to it.
Trust me, I know from personal experience. What I’ve described above, I’ve lived multiple times. It involves me waking my person (I won’t name their relation to me from fear of retaliation from other snore haters) and begging them to stay awake for five minutes to let me fall asleep first. They say, “Yes, of course,” before falling back asleep, snoring even louder than before. It’s not that I need absolute quiet, but sleeping next to a snorer is not something I can do.
Instead, I try all sorts of concoctions of headphones over earplugs, sound machines, and more. Thankfully, below I’ve found a few methods that work.
So, you’re sleeping next to a snorer?
➼ The best earplugs
➼ The best headphones
➼ The best pillows
➼ Anything else you might need
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The Best Earplugs
These earplugs are a godsend. They’re cheap enough that you won’t feel bad if you lose them. However, the odds of that happening are low since these contour to your ears and really stay put without being uncomfortable. I can attest they really block out snoring without making it completely soundproof, which is great if you like to have some spatial awareness.
If your ears are sensitive, these wax earplugs are moldable and easy to use. Once you remove the cotton outer, you warm up the wax in your hand and then mold it into your ear to sit above the ear canal. Reviewers say you can hardly feel them.
If you’re looking for a single pair of earplugs, Loop’s are comfortable, sleek, and completely reusable. The soft body and oval inner part allows for the most comfort while also greatly reducing noise.
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The Best Headphones
These are like a two-in-one for earplugs and headphones and are contoured to fit comfortably in your ear if you sleep on your side to either fall asleep to music or just block out the noise.
There’s a whole article in the Strategist about this headphone headband and I couldn’t be more obsessed. The speakers sit flat against your ears without slipping or sliding, and the headband lets you sleep on your side or stomach or wherever while staying comfortable.
My method is to place my AirPods Max over earplugs for complete silence. The only downside is that these are not ideal for side sleeping. However, if you can fall asleep on your back, these are insanely soundproof.
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The Best Pillows
While there are certain pillows that are supposed to help people who snore stop, there are also thick wedge pillows in which you can build a wall between you and the snorer to help filter out the noise. This is one of those thick pillows that’s perfect for that.
This thick pillow is made with a specific ergonomic, which according to the site, keeps the snorer from snoring. While I haven’t tried it, I’d gift this to my bedmates to help myself sleep better.
This other wedge pillow can be used as a headboard during the day and transformed into a pillow wall at night.
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And anything else that may make it stop
This is technically for the snorer, but it’s still worth trying to get them to wear for your peace of mind.
A white-noise sound machine can help provide distracting background noise if you don’t want to put anything in or around your ears to sleep.
Sneak this essential oil into your snorer’s diffuser so their snores reduce and the agreeable scent in your room increases.
