Question 1

Would these be suitable to wear for sleeping in a noisy college environment? Are they comfortable enough or is it kind of overkill?

Accepted Answer

That depends on how noisy the environment is and how badly you need noise-reduction. To the nay sayers: I've been sleeping with hearing protectors of various types, including EAR, 3M Peltor (98, 105, and soon these) for years > 35 years. The problem (not "issue", "PROBLEM")--regardless of sleeping on one's side or back--is that eventually the ear-muffs become uncomfortable. Depending on how tired on is, and how much localized discomfort one can ignore for how long, one can sleep with earmuffs on, sleeping either on either side or on one's back. However, sleeping on either side, using the muffs as a "pillow" will increase the pressure of the cushions on one's head and thus the discomfort and shorten the amount of time it takes for the localized discomfort to awaken one. One can take two small pillows place them together forming a partial triangle, and still support most of one's head with those pillows, instead of the ear-muffs. One can buy an U-shaped neck-supporter and do the same. One take a firm foam pillow and cut a hole in it the size of the ear-muffs. It all really depends . . .  . . . (like I said above). One can also--and I've done this for years--use foam earplugs under an ear-muff. One can--if one is very, very careful--use wax earplugs on top of foam earplugs; however, the risk of jamming the foam too far into the ear and causing damage or an infection is increased drastically. One can--I have been doing this for years--is to use all three: foam earplugs, carefully covered with wax earplugs, then a set of earmuffs on top. I also use a set of passive-noise-reducing in-ear earphones (commonly called "buds", regularly used with other equipment as IEMs, In Ear Monitors), along with earmuffs, when I want to play acoustic drums (very loud in a small, highly reverberant room) and sing along with recorded accompaniment. I also do this when I want to play (and sometimes sing) with bass guitar (using a mixer's headphone output rather than an amp), when I play (and often sing along with) my ukulele, etc. Sometimes I do this to get a better indication of how the actual electric or acoustic-electric instrument sounds non-acoustically (in preparation for recording, for pleasure, etc.). Mostly, I do it to keep my noise-level down, for my benefit and for my 87-year old landlord/mother's benefit. All these previous remedies utilize passive noise-reduction. However, one can also use ACTIVE noise-canceling earplugs or headphones (earplugs work best). For example, when I drum and want to sing along with pre-recorded tracks, I sometimes use a set of active noise-reducing ear "buds". Years ago--until I broke the cable which my increasingly sluggish fingers don't like fixing with a soldering iron--I used active noise-reducing headphones. They were very interesting as they don't reduce lower frequencies as well as they reduce higher frequencie (also a characteristic of  passive attenuators): I could hear car engines start up from the stop-sign about 15-18 meters from my bedroom, then, when the engine RMPs got high enough, the noise would be reduced by about 25 dB and the cars very instantly got much quieter. So much in fact, that I got used to having noisy cars (or trucks, or motorcycles) wake me up when going away from the stop sign, but, then fall back asleep almost instantly when the active headphones noise-reduction circuits took over. Finally, one can do the following by itself or in conjunction with the other methods, if circumstances allow. Play pink noise through speakers. Or, using a CD/MP3 player with surf noises playing. The relatively constant noise does add to the total noise, but, since it is relatively constant, it effectively reduces the peaks in the other noises making them less noticeable. Be advised, however, that this still increases your daily noise-exposure, meaning your ears will wear out faster, which is why I no longer use this technique. Also, when using foam plugs, one must be aware of whether they're made of PVC or latex foams as some of us--myself included--are allergic to latex and will suffer in one manner or another whenever we use the wrong type of foam.Finally, whenever one uses foam earplugs (wax plugs should never be inserted into the ear canal), one's ear will react to the foam as foreign-matter and produce more wax. This is also true for flanged earphones, flanged passive or active noise-reducing earplugs, essentially for anything you stick in you ear for more than a few seconds. Thus, you will have to clean your ears out more often. But, that's another "story".:D

Question 2

Will these block out the shrill screaming of little children playing beneath my 3rd floor window?

Accepted Answer

No, it will only dampen noise. The higher the pitch, the more difficult it is to block out all frequencies. But reducing the sound may be good enough for you. If you want full coverage, you will have to try ear plugs.

Question 3

How adjustable are these earmuffs? I have a fairly large head and usually need to make average headphones as big as they can get. Will these fit me?

Accepted Answer

The ear pieces are adjustable (you can make them higher or lower, but the plastic band that fits around the head is not adjustable.  I am a woman with a small head and these earmuffs are too tight for me. It feels like too much pressure on my head.  I don't understand how men with larger heads can find them comforable.  They are too tight for me to wear.

Question 4

Will these fit comfortably on a person with a very large (7-5/8) sized head?

Accepted Answer

They are awesome.  I am 6 foot tall 200 lbs and they should fit your head. I bought them to use indoors with lots of noise and they work and are super comfortable

3M PELTOR Ear Muff Hearing Protection, X5 Series, Noise Protection NRR 21 dB, Construction, Manufacturing, Automotive

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