ear plugs/sound reducers

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moto_za

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Hi,

I am not sure what kind I should buy? any suggestions or specific ones you recommend? I am really senstitve to noise like most if you.. And I am thinking if taking the ear plugs with me to test day (I have heard if the ppl there are nice they wont care if u use them?) thanks for any help on earplugs

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Get foam ear plugs used for shooting with a 33 DB rating. I find that they work really well if you wet your ear canal a bit before putting them in. This allows you to put it in easier and it gets in deeper which reduces a lot more noise.

Don't overspend; foam ear plugs work fine.
 
Well, you can't bring your own to the MCAT, so I wouldn't get used to owning your own.

Just try to get used to surrounding noise.
 
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Don't worry about it!! The room that you take the exam in is silent. There is really no noise at all. Plus they provide everyone with sound reducing headphones which pretty much completely eliminate any noise. And yes, they won't let you take anything into the test room.
 
They will give you earplugs and also those big ones that you put over your ear. I talked to one of the PTA (prometric testing administrators) at 100 California in SF where I'll be taking my MCAT and he was extremely helpful in answering any questions that I had. The place is extremely silent, perhaps a little bit too quiet for my liking.
 
My Thomson Prometric center provided giant ear-muff type sound reducers, although they were incredibly uncomfortable. Ear plugs from the outside were not allowed into the room (hell NOTHING from the outside was allowed into the room). The testing room was 8 people sitting at computers in a soundproof room, it was EXTREMELY quiet. Unless you are REALLY bothered by the sound of other people thinking, then you will be fine on test day.
 
My test center, wouldn't allow anyone to bring ear plugs into the room either. The sound reducing earphones were okay, you could still hear other people typing but after a while I was really focused when reading the passages and answering questions that the typing didn't bother me anymore.
 
I have some custom $100 silicon earplugs from my audiologist. It is custom molded to my ear canal so it is very comfortable. If you are looking for a way to reduce noise when studying at the library, this works for me and worth it in the long run because they will last throughout med school. Don't get the musicians earplugs, they are more expensive and attenuate sound evenly, you want the highest attenuation possible.

These are not as good at blocking sound as the NRR33 earplugs, but a lot more comfortable. Look up your local audiologist ask tell him exactly what you want, he can probably take care of it. Again, these are good to block out general talking and noises, not loud noises.
 
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