Review: Loops

I thought this would be a good time to talk about something that has been helping me out a lot more than I expected. It is one of those things that I didn’t think was going to do much, but I decided to give it a try once my therapist recommended it to me, mainly because I am looking for anything that gives me relief from my issues. When she said it might help me reduce the frequency of my panic attacks, I was all for it.

Panic Attacks

First, let’s go over why I need earplugs at all. Since whatever started happening to me, I have been very sensitive to any external stimulus. I think I have always been a little extra sensitive, but since all this pain stuff started, I get into a state where I can’t filter out anything anymore. Things like textures, smells, and the big one—sounds, can overwhelm me. The part that still confuses me is why I go into these super sensitive modes, and an even more important question is why they send me into a panic attack. It usually happens when I am outside of the house and in an area with lots of people. One of the main places that it seems to happen is when I am out shopping, and there are lots of people around. I suddenly can’t filter out the noise or focus on any single sound. It feels like everything is just merging together into a solid noise, and it feels like it has weight. I suddenly can’t talk, think, or walk. It is a horrible feeling, and I also feel so dumb afterward. I feel like my body/mind are just betraying me and that I should be able to control it, but it normally comes on so fast that I don’t get time to react before it hits.

The ironic thing is that I used to have to help my wife a lot with panic attacks that would hit her in public too. She hasn’t had them for a while, but I used to have to help her focus on small details like picking out colors in the room until it passed. You would think that all that practice would help both of us deal with it when it hits me, but so far, it seems much harder to get me out of it. I think I am just impatient with myself, and I should give myself time to get better at managing my symptoms. I just feel so embarrassed to be standing in a grocery store crying uncontrollably and feeling like I can’t breathe. The best I can do is limp my way outside and go back to the car in hopes that it passes. Or that is how it was until I started using Loops!

Better than Earbuds

Enough about the problem; I think it is time to talk about a solution or at least a mitigation. The idea is that I need to block out some of the extra stimulus and keep it at a level that doesn’t overwhelm me. I tried headphones, but they either blocked out too much noise or added too much to the extra noise themselves. I really couldn’t find a good way to use them. Then my therapist said I needed to check out an earbud that isn’t like most earbuds. The big reason why they are different is because they only reduce some frequencies and not all of them. While normal earplugs block out everything and leave you unable to hear people talking to you or sounds nearby, these simply reduce the level. It is like if you could turn the volume down on the world around you.

It only took me one time of wearing them while shopping to know they would be a game-changer. Since then, I have been carrying them with me whenever I know I will be in an area with extra noise. This means that I wear them at restaurants, stores, and when we go out to the movies. I got the version of Loops that is for engaging, which means they don’t block out voices as much, but it works out perfectly for muting general background noise, and I can still hear and talk to my wife. And if you ever think that they should turn down the volume at the movies, then you will love these.

I wouldn’t have thought something so simple would help so much, but they have been so helpful. Since I got them, the only panic attacks I have had are when I don’t have them with me. With them in, I get a huge buffer to notice that I am starting to feel overwhelmed, and I can easily leave the area. It’s a big difference from the horrible state that the panic attacks can put me into. Both my wife and I have been enjoying them so much that we are talking about getting the fancier version which has a dial so you can adjust the volume on life. They are a bit pricey, but there are definitely times when we wish we could make them stronger. We did get the “mutes” with ours, but they don’t have a good spot in the nice little carrying case for us to store them, so they end up staying at home most of the time.

Alright, I think that about covers it. This post isn’t sponsored, and I don’t even have affiliate links set up yet. So for now, just head over to Loops Earplugs and check them out.