The key to a good night’s sleep

Silicon ear plugs are effective, comfortable solution to camp snorers

There are two things that wake me up and keep me up: a barking dog and a snorer.

So I’ve been known to scream at dogs in the middle of the night (hey, if the neighbor wants to sleep, he can stop his stupid dog from yapping).

And — despite the fact that I’ve been accused (falsely, I’m sure) of being, shall we say, a loud sleeper — I’ve wanted to suffocate many a buddy at the camp.

So for years I’ve used foam earplugs to block out the offending noises. Those little orange plugs are great solutions in all but one respect.

When you wake up, your ear holes feel like someone has been driving a nails two sizes too big into them.

The foam is dense, and after you roll it tight to jam it into your ear canal, it swells and just wears you out.

Cutting off half of the foam helps, but it still takes a while for your ears to stop bothering you.

So when I was at Bourgeois Fishing Charters’ lodge in Lafitte for a recent media event, I was ready to try anything — especially since most of the guys assigned the my bunk room were notorious snorers.

As I was cutting down my trusty foam ear plugs, Sam Barbera was bragging about his choice: The silicon earplugs most-commonly used to keep water out of swimmers’ ears.

“It molds to your ear, so it’s comfortable,” Barbera said. “You never know it’s there.”

I had never thought about those plugs, so I asked if he had a couple of spares. He willingly handed over two wads of silicon.

They were so much more comfortable than the foam models: I just pushed each piece of moldable silicon so a little was in the ear canal (apparently you’re not supposed to push it into the canal too deeply) and molded the rest of the silicon to fit my ample ear dish.

I slept like a baby, and woke up fresh and ready to go catch some fish — without the discomfort to which I’d become accustomed.

Former Louisiana Sportsman editor Todd Masson, on the other hand, was found sleeping on a couch.

Apparently he didn’t avail himself of Barbera’s generosity.

*Editor’s Note: The plugs I have since bought and used at a couple of camps are sold at Walmart under the Mack’s brand name. They cost less than $4 for 10 sets, and they even come in a handy hard-plastic carrying case. Just look in the pharmacy section.