If someone beside you snores, the practical goal is usually not to make the sound disappear completely. It is to reduce how much reaches your ears and make the remaining sound less noticeable. The most useful approaches are passive blocking with earplugs, masking with steady background sound, and sleep-audio products that combine isolation or electronic noise reduction with masking.
For many sleepers, the best result comes from combining two approaches rather than expecting one device to create silence. Start with the simplest comfortable option, then add another layer only if you need it.
The fastest ways to reduce snoring noise
Earplugs reduce some of the sound entering your ears. White noise or fan sound adds a steady acoustic background that can make changing snoring sounds less prominent. Sleep earbuds can add another option by combining physical isolation, electronic noise reduction and sleep audio.
If you want the simplest starting point, try comfortable earplugs first. If snoring still breaks through, add a moderately set masking sound near your side of the bed. If comfort, side-sleeping or changing nighttime noises make that combination awkward, purpose-built sleep earbuds may be worth considering.
Why snoring can be difficult to block completely
Snoring is not a perfectly steady tone. Its loudness, pitch and rhythm can change from one breath to the next. That matters because no single noise-control method works equally well across every sound and every frequency.
Passive barriers such as earplugs can reduce a broad range of sound reaching the ear, but the result depends heavily on fit. Masking works differently: it does not remove the snoring source, but gives your hearing a more constant background so individual snores can stand out less sharply.
That is why SPD treats blocking, masking and electronic noise reduction as different tools rather than interchangeable terms.
1. Block some of the sound with earplugs
Earplugs are usually the most direct place to start because they work at the ear instead of trying to change the whole bedroom. The biggest practical variables are fit, comfort and whether you can wear them for the full night.
For example, Loop Quiet 2 is a reusable silicone option currently specified by its manufacturer at up to 24 dB SNR of noise reduction. That rating is a standardized product rating, not a promise that every snore will become exactly 24 dB quieter in your bedroom. Real-world reduction depends on fit and your surroundings.
If you are choosing specifically for sleep, our Loop Quiet 2 vs Alpine SleepDeep comparison looks at two different reusable designs and the overnight comfort trade-offs.
A useful rule is simple: the earplug that seals properly and remains comfortable enough to keep in all night is more useful than a theoretically stronger plug you continually remove.
2. Mask the remaining snoring with steady background sound
Masking adds a steady sound to the room so the changing snoring pattern is less prominent by comparison. A fan, fan-based sound machine or suitable white-noise machine can all serve this role.
Our main white noise machines for sleep guide compares the broader options and is the best next stop if masking is the approach you want to explore.
Within that category, the SNOOZ smart white noise machine uses a real internal fan rather than a repeating speaker recording, while the Yogasleep Dohm Classic is another fan-based option. The important point is not the brand name: it is whether the sound is comfortable, sufficiently steady and positioned well enough to reduce the contrast between the bedroom background and the snoring.
Do not solve a placement problem simply by turning a sound machine louder and louder. Put it where it helps on the listener’s side of the room and use the lowest level that makes the unwanted sound less noticeable.
3. Sleep earbuds can combine isolation and masking
Purpose-built sleep earbuds can be useful when you want more control than a bedside sound machine gives you. Depending on the design, they may combine passive isolation, electronic noise reduction and audio played directly in the ear.
The Soundcore Sleep A30 is a good example of why the terminology matters. Soundcore describes the system as combining active noise cancellation, passive isolation and adaptive snore-masking technology. The company also explicitly states that snoring itself is masked by snore-masking audio, not by ANC alone.
That distinction is useful beyond one product. Active noise cancellation can reduce some environmental sound, particularly more predictable low-frequency noise, while masking audio can address a changing sound in a different way. They are complementary mechanisms, not the same mechanism with two names.
4. What about normal noise-cancelling headphones?
Ordinary noise-cancelling headphones can reduce some background noise, but they should not be treated as a guaranteed snoring eraser. Snoring changes in level and frequency, and conventional ANC is not equally effective against every part of that sound.
Our narrower guide, Can noise-cancelling headphones stop snoring?, deals specifically with that question. For the broader problem, think of ANC as one possible layer rather than the whole solution.
Over-ear headphones can also be awkward for sleep, particularly for side sleepers. If you need audio in bed, comfort and overnight fit deserve as much attention as the headline noise-cancelling specification.
5. Combine blocking and masking when one method is not enough
This is often the most practical SPD approach. Earplugs reduce some of the incoming sound, while a modest background sound makes what remains less prominent. Neither component has to do all the work.
For example, a comfortable pair of earplugs plus a fan or white-noise machine on your side of the bed may be more tolerable than either very aggressive ear protection or a very loud masker used alone.
The exact combination is personal. Some sleepers dislike anything in their ears. Others find room sound distracting but tolerate soft earplugs well. The useful test is not whether a setup produces laboratory silence; it is whether it reduces the interruptions that actually wake you.
6. Change the room setup before turning the masking sound louder
Distance and position matter. If you use a fan or sound machine, place it where the masking sound reaches you effectively instead of automatically putting it on the far side of the room.
If you and the person snoring are sleeping in different rooms, the problem changes. Closing gaps around a door, improving a weak door or addressing a thin shared partition can then matter because the sound is travelling through the building before it reaches you.
If you are lying beside the source, however, adding acoustic wall panels is unlikely to solve the main problem. Absorptive treatment can change reflections inside a room, but it does not create a silent bubble around one side of a bed.
What not to expect
No credible earplug, headphone or sound machine should be treated as a promise of complete silence. Fit varies, bedrooms vary and snoring itself varies throughout the night.
Likewise, masking does not stop the person from snoring. It changes what the listener hears. ANC reduces selected incoming sound; it does not make every changing nighttime sound vanish. Acoustic panels manage reflections; they are not a substitute for ear-level noise control when the source is in the same bed.
Keep masking volume sensible
More volume is not automatically better. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders notes that long or repeated exposure to sound at or above 85 dBA can cause hearing loss, with risk increasing as sound becomes louder or exposure lasts longer.
SPD’s practical rule is to use the lowest masking level that does the job. Improve positioning or combine moderate masking with passive blocking before simply increasing volume.
When this is more than a noise problem
This guide is about managing the sound heard by the other sleeper, not diagnosing why someone snores. However, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute lists breathing that starts and stops, frequent loud snoring and gasping for air among symptoms associated with sleep apnea.
If those signs are present, or there is significant daytime sleepiness or concern about breathing during sleep, the appropriate next step is to discuss the symptoms with a healthcare professional. Soundproofing Dude does not diagnose the snorer or recommend medical treatment.
Which approach should you try first?
If you want the simplest path, start with comfortable earplugs. If the remaining snoring still stands out, add a steady fan or white-noise source at a sensible level. If you prefer audio directly at the ear or want additional electronic noise reduction, consider sleep-oriented earbuds designed for overnight use.
For many people, the useful answer is not one magic product. It is a comfortable combination of blocking what you can and masking what remains.
Good luck and happy soundproofing!