Thinking about ear defenders -- what are they like?

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I've never tried ear defenders but I'm thinking I need them -- can anyone who uses them tell me more about how much sound they block/filter? Can you still hear human voices or footsteps? Do they block the roar of traffic? Rushing traffic noise is the thing I want to hear less of. But I want to still be able to hear if someone is approaching me on a lonelier street. I will be using them outside, out and about. The area I live in is constant fast-moving traffic noise everywhere you go and it's wearing me down.

I've never owned or tried ear defenders but I feel like my misophonia is actually becoming worse and more sensitive lately. It may be due to increasing general stress I'm under; I think everything in me gets more easily triggered when under heightened stress.

I now almost cannot tolerate the sound of motor vehicles. I live in a very urban area and anywhere I go I am surrounded by heavy fast-moving traffic and the enormous and constant sound that comes from that.

But I don't want to be completely unable to hear my environment, for personal safety reasons (it's good to stay alert when walking along by yourself).

Can anyone tell me what you can and cannot hear when wearing ear defenders?

if you become frequently overloaded by sound then yes, ear defenders or noise cancelling headphones are the way to go. they just make the sound quieter and less "raw" and piercing. you can still hear everything just a lot less now.

WARNING: NEVER EVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WEAR EAR DEFENDERS 24/7.
AUTISM DOES NOT become MORE SEVERE as time goes on, HOWEVER SENSORY SENSORY SENSITIVITY CAN WORSEN IF YOU ARE CONSTANTLY SHELTERING YOURSELF. what happens is over time you can DESENSITIZE yourself to sensory input but you can also sensitize yourself! i learned this the hard way, ive been going out a lot less recently and now its harder to deal with things like super markets again because i dont really go out anymore. now i have to develop callouses all over again.

so yes, if you find your having a hard time with all the noise, get some headphones. but dont wear them all the time.

I've got custom made ear plugs that filter about 20db. However, I don't like how they feel in my ears so I only use them to stay calm when there is really a lot of loud sounds. I've looked into over-ear headphones with active noice cancellation. They are supposed to be especially effective against low noices. The good ones are really expensive though.

Thanks all of you for your great input!

Particularly ZombieBride's warning about creating even worse sensitivity; I can totally see how that could easily happen with too much use.

I'm thinking if I get some, maybe keep them just for the days when my stress level from other things have made me particularly intolerant of the road noise, and on days when I'm calmer in general I can go without.

It always seems like the increased misophonia happens when other life-factors have already made me on edge, and if things have been all right generally I don't suffer so much from the misophonia -- it's like it's still present but it's not driving me quite as crazy as on some bad days.

Thanks for giving me your insights on this stuff.

I have two sets, one I bought at Home Depot for $24 and one I got on Amazon for the same price but the second one is better and tighter. Sometimes I wear them 24/7. I find that I can hear voices pretty well with them on unless I am really tired. I also find that they filter out many sounds but sometimes that can actually make my problem worse. I am EXTREMELY sensitive to low frequency sounds and bass like boom boom on stereos. I cannot tolerate that at all. Sometimes the ear defenders will block out sounds in such a way that it magnifies tge low frequency sounds and bass. So it can be worse for me. And there are times when I find them very painful to wear. I will also wear them when I am sleeping even though Itend to be a sire sleeper.

My sensitivity can vary day by day or even throughout the day so I use them a lot. I keeo a pair on my bed and one in my backpack. I definitely prefer having access to them than not and they are sometimes very helful. There are times I use them with soft foam earplugs together even the soft foamearplugs can be very painful for me as well.

Thanks skibum, that's good info.

I must confess I've been looking at a very, very cheap pair on Amazon, even though I know that cheaper in this case might mean they don't do the job properly. The pair I've looked at has over 200 reviews and a 4.5 star rating, so that seems promising.

The description says their protection levels are: H=34 M=28 L=19

They have glowing reviews, but the price is single-digit! £5 and change.

Here are the ear defenders I'm thinking of getting:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000QHF98K/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2B37M8G9EX8SF&coliid=I3J8MSG06XXDNZ&psc=1

I'm also considering just using my foam earplugs that I already use some nights to sleep with.

Wow. That is an incredible price. Thank you for posting the link. You probably can't go wrong getting them for that price. I think you should. Even if they help you a little bit the price makes them worth it. And maybe they really are great. If you get them, please let us know what you think of them.

I know, right!! That price is crazy-low!

It makes you have to wonder why it's so low! All the good ones I've seen recommended are at least in the double digits, and I'm cautious at spending that much for something that I don't yet know will help or even be comfortable, at least without trying them in person.

But looking at the reviews, people seem to say these are good. I might just go ahead; I'm being careful with money at the moment but then again, this is not much to spend, so maybe.

If I get them I will definitely post an update on them!

I definitely understand being tight on money.My guess is perhaps that is a store on Amazon that has a lot of overstock and simply wants to get rid of them. And even if they are not the best quality, they might help some. I look forward to your review if you decide to get them.

I always use blu-tack its been a lifesaver for me, ive used it for years and blocks all ambient noise meaning I can sleep. Its a non-porous putty-like stuff, thats what makes it so effective. All the ear defenders ive used have been a porous foam that never did much for sounds like the alarm clock ticking, TV in a different room etc.

I chuck the stuff I use in my ears away every 3-4 days, it starts to lose its integrity, bits fall off.

Wow, Blu-tack! That would be quite an extreme noise-blocker, I would think! I used to sleep with foam earplugs and then a kind of waxy ear putty product that I think was meant for swimmers. That waxy putty was a bit like Blu-tack in as much as it was a completely dense thing you could mold to shape. I put the waxy putty in over the foam plugs, and it pretty much blocked out all noise if you got them both in the right positions.

I don't think I would want to completely block all sound when out and about in the world though -- I would still want to hear some vehicular noise and voice sounds so that I still have an idea of what's around me. I want to take the edge off and reduce the "roar" though.

I will try Blu-tack for sleeping though!

I made some ear defenders out of my old noise-isolating headphones. They don't do much but they filter the very silent sounds (wind and traffic outside), the computer fan is hearable but sounds half as loud, keyboard sounds are much softer(it seems to flatten down high pitched sounds), hammer hitting a nail sound doesn't make me shake and whats most important importantly - when I have them on it's much easier for me to focus on human voices in loud areas - with silent noises filtered the voices are clearer. They also get some other noises to the front, such as someone closing the door downstairs which normally would not be distracting (it would be noise, noise, noise, a bit louder noise, noise, noise, noise - but it is silence, silence, silence, sudden noise, silence, silence, silence).
I can still hear motorbike sounds - but they are not painfully loud.

It was a while since I had to wear them - they take too much space to carry around. I keep some small foam earplugs in my bag though - if the noise is painful (a concert, disco etc) and I know I can't leave the area I will put them in. They do pretty much the same thing - but they are too strong for me to participate in talks. They make voices silent and very flat.

What is blu tack? I would like to try that