Sleeping through noise

Snoring beside you, ringing inside you, traffic outside you — noise is the most common reason people can't fall or stay asleep. There are only two real strategies: subtract sound (earplugs) or cover it with sound you choose (masking). These guides cover both honestly, including when each one fails.

The Nocte mask handles the masking half: private audio at your volume, in a mask you can side-sleep on. See the mask.

Not sure this is your problem? Take the 4-question quiz.

Cheap sleep headphones: what $20 actually buys you
The Musicozy/Perytong tier assessed fairly, including when the budget headband is the right call.
Nocte vs Manta, Ozlo and Soundcore
Four tiers of sleep audio side by side, including when the honest answer is to buy someone else's.
A Manta Sound alternative at $65 instead of $159
What the SOUND's price actually buys, what it doesn't, and when Manta is still the right call.
Do you need the Hatch Restore subscription?
The $170-plus-$50-a-year math, what Hatch genuinely does well, and the no-subscription way to sleep with sound.
An Ozlo Sleepbuds alternative at a quarter of the price
What $279 sleep earbuds do that a $65 audio mask can't, and vice versa — itemized honestly.
How to sleep with tinnitus: a nightly routine
The masking volume rule, the delivery problem, the 3am plan, and what to stop doing.
Tinnitus at night: why a quiet room makes it louder
It isn't louder. Your room is quieter. The contrast effect, and why silence is the amplifier.
What color noise is best for tinnitus?
Brown vs. white vs. pink noise vs. rain: how to choose, how loud to set it, and a one-week test.
Sleeping with earplugs: is it safe, and does it work?
Safe for most people, with three caveats. And the case where subtracting sound is exactly wrong.
Loop Quiet vs a sleep mask
One subtracts sound, the other adds it. Which fits depends on whether your room is too loud or too quiet.
White noise machine vs sleep mask
One fills the room, the other fills only your ears. The difference matters most if you share a bed.
Sleep sounds: which ones work
Rain, ocean, brown noise or a fan — and why the loop, the volume and the ad break matter more than the sound.
Can earplugs cause tinnitus?
No, they don't. Why the ringing gets louder with them in, the two indirect routes that are real, and what to use instead.
Do earplugs block snoring?
Partly. The decibel math of subtracting sound, when plugs alone are enough, and why covering the rest often works better.
How to sleep with snoring
The full playbook for the exhausted partner: tonight's toolkit, the snorer's levers, separate rooms without stigma, and the red flags that mean a doctor.
Is it OK to play sound all night?
Volume is what matters, not duration. The dependence question answered, and timer vs. all-night.