What is better than getting a good night’s sleep? For me, it’s nothing! Sleeping through the night is like winning the lottery, and that’s not anything to do with having a baby; menopause and a busy lifestyle means an overworked brain which is hard to switch off and clear my head, and the vicious circle continues with insomnia night after night. After countless, fruitless attempts at using classic squishy foam earplugs, I was introduced to the Loop brand of plugs.

Created with a range of sizes to slot inside the ear, you can pick from a plain, or somewhat funky print on the exterior loop to keep them in place. I tried them on a recent flight, when I knew I needed to hit the ground running and needed to get as much downtime in the air as possible. Normally I’d catch up on films or work on flights, but on my way to Boston I was determined to get some zzzs, so I inserted a pair of ‘Quiet’ plugs.

While I was still awake, they made sounds as though my head was underwater – they masked the take off announcement which became a fuzzy blurb (don’t tell Virgin!) and I had to remove them to hear clearly what the steward said as he came round with the drinks trolley – but didn’t eliminate everything. So if you’re just after a bit of peace, that is already a bonus. However, I wanted to sleep too, and after a bit of pillow adjusting I managed to get comfortable and passed out for a good three hours!

With science behind them, the brand has also created a ‘Switch’ pair which enables you to choose what level of noise reduction you want, without having to change ear plugs. Simply to use, you can switch between Quiet (25 dB reduction), Experience (21 dB reduction), and Engage (17 dB reduction). They are comfy, but I’m not sure I’d want to wear them all day! However, there is a handy storage case and they come with washable silicone tips, so if you like to drown out the background noise, these are a good investment.

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