Holy crap
I've had trouble getting to sleep, or staying asleep the whole night, for years. I've fallen asleep without trouble on only a select few beds around the world, and I'm not entirely sure why. Tried milk before bed, gave up caffeine, late-night walks til I was exhausted, no food after 6pm, sex, an hour of reading in bed... nothing seemed to work. I tried Zopliclone, but that just stressed me out more and tasted like licking coke cans. I tried earplugs, buying these which worked for a while but they weren't exactly reusable... kept dropping them behind the bed and losing them, so I stopped using them about two years ago.
Fast-forward to yesterday, and ouchy ear pain. My mum has a virus and one of her ears hurts too. But I'm bored writing my dissertation and I'm fiddling. Ear wax, eww. Ears begin to really hurt, and I go deaf in that ear. Nip to the pharmacist. Cotton wool to soak up the juice... and it's a little blue. That's odd.
Today, itching and echoes. Almost rattling as I tilt my head to the side. What should come out, but a blue ball. Thumbnail-sized, no shit. Immediately, Alice in Chains seems louder.
I'm going to throw these away and threat myself to a pair of these. Henceforth, I am NOT taking any chances.