How effective are wet cotton balls in reducing noise?

Question

Or should I go for some earplug/earmuffs?

Answer 1

this reduces the rapid vibrations of the air colume

Answer 2

First off, I feel your pain.  I had to use earplugs to sleep in my old apartment.  It sucks at first, but you get used to it.  Secondly, like the first answerer said, get foam earplugs.  They were made for this purpose.  Cotton balls just happen to fit in your ears, but they won't absorb much sound.  The earplugs expand in your ear canals to fill all the space.  They block out almost all sounds.  Bass frequencies still make it through, but there's nothing you can do about those aside from thumping on wall you share with your noisy neighbor.

Another alternative you may not have thought of (assuming this is for sleep) is to use a white noise machine.  This may seem counter-intuitive, but I can't sleep without mine anymore.  I have this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Marpac-SleepMate-E...

Answer 3

I would suggest earplugs. There are many different types of ear plugs. Some are wax based and others are foam based. I prefer the foam ones. I wouldn't like having the fine cotton threads building up in my ears.

You can try several different types below. If your going to try the foam, get the flared bullet shaped ones. I love the red and yellow ones pictured as the third set from the left at the top of the image that you can click on in the url below.

If you find yourself using them often and find a pair you really like, get them in bulk. I buy enough of them for the year from websites which sell them for construction workers.

If you are comfortable with a headset they last a really long time. I sometimes use a combination of both earplugs and a headset.