I wake up with every noise. I’ve been like this as long as I can remember and no matter how long I’m down I wake up with that ‘did I even sleep’ feeling. I know the obvious answer is to just plug my ears, but even with that I’ll still jolt awake if a car honks at 4am. This got worse and more urgent because I recently moved to a major city. There are sounds outside my window all the time.
Turns out a simple box fan on low works like a cheap white noise machine, the steady whoosh masks the honks and I finally stopped jerking awake, plus the extra breeze makes me feel like im camping inside my own tent.I
I finally got around to hanging those thick blackout curtains and slamming a cheap door sweep, and now the street sounds are all dulled out
I’ve been using cheap foam earplugs every night and they actually keep me from jolting awake even when a siren blares outside.I know they make my ears feel a bit stuffy after a few hours but it’s worth it.