Up until earlier this month, and the eviction of my downstairs neighbour, I was relying heavily on earplugs to get some much needed shut-eye. My neighbour was partying most nights, with music on full-blast, and at one point had a game of indoor football at 4am in the morning. Urgh!

After trying numerous methods to get him to shut the hell up - including lowering my ankles from bed and simultaneously bashing them vigorously against the floor like crazy - I decided to dip my toe (or ears I should say) into the earplug market.

I stumbled upon Boots Muffles Wax Earplugs in my local boots, and quickly snatched them up. This was going to be my salvation from noisy neighbour and I was eager to try them out. To be quite honest, I couldn't have cared less about the packaging. I just needed to sleep, and would have bought them even if they had come in the most hideously designed box going. As an aside, however, the packaging is pleasing on the eye, but if you are buying these during a period of sleep deprivation, you'll most likely only notice the line "Effectively reduces levels of unwanted noise" before you find yourself at the counter.

So, how did it go? Well... they were certainly effective. They did indeed reduce levels of unwanted noise. Two problems though: 1) I found it difficult to sleep with them in my ear, and 2) I got jaw ache of the kind that could have been caused by chewing on a piece of metal. A closer look at each disadvantage.

The earplugs are relatively hard, and have to be rolled into a squidgy ball of wax to fit into one's ears. Once lodged in your head, they harden. I don't know if I was doing it wrong - I don't think so, because I followed the skimpy instructions for insertion to the letter - but it felt as though someone was sticking two long nailed fingers into both ears. The minute the plugs go in the ear, there is a major reduction in noise. BLISS!!! The sensation of having them in there was too uncomfortable for me though. I persevered in the hope that it would get better, and eventually I did fall asleep. Not for long though. I'd wake up and fall asleep, wake up and fall asleep and so on until morning. On the first morning after I used these, I woke up with them squashed into my bedsheets. They'd fallen out of my ears during the night.

I also noticed considerable jaw pain after use. I'm not sure what caused this, but I have spoken to friends of mine who have told me that this is a common problem with all ear plugs. Perhaps having something in the ear shifts the jaw forward? All I know is that I felt as if i'd been gnawing on a piece of concrete all evening. Maybe it's just me though!!!

I later purchased a box of Boots foam earplugs. They are not as effective in reducing noise, but they do it enough so as to give me a good night's sleep. Thankfully my neighbour has since been evicted!

I've given these two out of five because they do reduce noise. However, they were not comfortable at all (for me!).