any suggestion for headphone/earplugs during MCAT?

[fastfingers]

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Are there any suggestions for earplugs I can use during the MCAT? I tried many earplugs, but seems like the pressure of the earplugs against my ear allows me to hear my heartbeat. This makes it very hard for me to take the test. The test center I went to before has extremely loud keyboards, so it's just too distracting for me to take the test while others are typing their essay. Do other people have similar problems with earplugs, but found ones that help?

I tried using the headphones at the testing site also, but the space within the vacuum seem to create this wierd windy noise. It was also wayy too tight on my head. Can you even bring headphones to the MCAT test?

 

[Mithril]

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[fastfingers]

lol the heartbeat is pretty loud cause it goes right into my ear. if you can imagine, hearing ur heartbeat is pretty nerve wrecking. yes I could try to work with distraction, but typing noises especially the old keyboards are really really loud and since the room is dense, it's like 16 people typing essays around you with loud keyboards. trying to take the whole mcat like that is too distracting.

 

[ILikeDrugs]

You should get use to the heartbeat and other low bass sounds that occur when you have your ears plugged. Wear your ear plugs when you study, when you read, when you're on the internet. Become desensitized to it. Make it normal for you. Then, it won't be a distraction. Overtime, it will just become the normal "quiet" that you're use to.

 

[ha87]

I agree with Mithril. I took practice exams in our undergraduate computer lab with tons of noise... You learn how to tune it all out and focus on the test. This way you are preparing for the worst instead of training under the most ideal conditions. Part of the process is coming to grips with what the MCAT is / what it represents in terms of admissions. If you want this bad enough and you do practice tests in a louder environment, then you will learn not to care about what is going on around you... whether that is your heartbeat or someone having a conversation with a friend right next to you.

 

[GooseWing]

You're complaining about the loudness of your heart beat. Live with it.

I can definitely see how the pounding heartbeat in the ears might be annoying but this post put it into perspective. Just too funny.

 

[apumic]

Honestly, learn to deal w/ it. Of all distractions, a regular pulse (even a slighly fast one) should be one of the best distractions there is. If you cannot tune out even a little noise, good luck working in a busy hospital or even clinic setting.

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

OP, have you actually tried to work with these "heartbeat earplugs"? Or did you just put them in and then think, "oh, this won't work"?

Because I and many others know what you're talking about, but when you're focused on something like the mcat, the distractions just disappear. I personally used the construction-worker-grade headphones from the test site OVER those little in-ear foam plugs. I remember my own breathing being really loud, but that just means everything else is silent.

 

[StudyShy]

I use just regular foam earplugs. I can hear my beating heart every once in a while, but it isn't that bad.

 

[NickNaylor]

I bought ear plugs, but my test center had pretty fantastic headphones that blocked everything out. I don't like having crap jammed into my ears. You'll have to get used to the low bass sounds, however.