Soundcore Sleep A30 Special by Anker, Sleep Earbuds

Why it's worth it

The A30 Special is a 3-gram bud that sits flush in your ear, so side sleeping doesn't hurt. It listens for your partner's snoring and plays masking audio when it hears it, which is the single most useful trick in this category.

Weight is what makes this work. At 3 grams per bud, there's very little mass pressing into your ear canal when your head sinks into a pillow. Wirecutter's long-term wear research found that housings taller than 12mm from the canal entrance cause measurable pressure and discomfort after two or three hours of side sleeping. The A30's 3D-shaped body sits flush instead of standing proud, and owners who can't tolerate normal earbuds for more than 20 minutes report wearing these all night.

The snore masking is the reason to pick this over a plain earplug. It listens for snoring in real time and plays masking audio when it detects it, rather than running white noise at a fixed level all night. If you share a bed with someone whose snoring comes and goes, that's the difference between a covered sound and a wall of hiss. Owners with a snoring partner describe moving back into the same bedroom after months apart.

From our review of 7 noise-cancelling sleep earbuds, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +Weight is what makes this work
• +The snore masking is the reason to pick this over a plain earplug
• +Battery lands at 8 to 10 hours per charge, with roughly five nights of use before the case needs power
• +The sound library goes beyond generic white noise

What to know

• –The app is the weak point
• –Getting the fit right takes a few nights
• –There's also a naming problem