These sleepbuds saved my marriage
Fine, that's dramatic, but my honest Ozlo Sleepbuds review will prove YES, THEY ARE WORTH IT
Lately, my husband has been snoring. This is new—he’s never snored before, which is why I married him. We think it’s a combo of a new medication and an incredibly horrible year for allergies here in Utah. Also, it’s not consistent, which almost makes it worse. He’ll go days without snoring, then one night, he’s a gentle chainsaw. It feels just random enough to be tortuous.
Also, Henry (our dog) has been snoring lately too. Which is equally enraging, but there is even less he can do about it. (They don’t make nasal strips for dogs.) I can’t tell you how many times I’ve scream-whispered, “HENRY!” across the room in the middle of the night to get him to change positions.
In summary: Sometimes there are nights when nobody snores. Sometimes there are nights when they’re both snoring. And sometimes they seem to take turns and I sneak downstairs in a silent rage at 1 AM and try to go back to sleep in the guest room.
Please don’t say, “But have you tried…?” WE’VE TRIED IT ALL.
The “all” we have tried
Initially I thought, “Can we stop the snoring?” We raised the head of our bed a few degrees, which helped, but not entirely. We bought Henry a new, cozier bed—same. Brandon tried many brands and forms of nasal strips. He stopped eating before bed. I added a humidifier to our bedroomy. None of those eliminated the snoring.
Then, I turned my focus to blocking out the noise. I tried masking it with sounds through my Hatch sleep machine or my phone. White noise, no matter how loud, didn’t cover it up. Neither did pink, brown, or nature noises. I turned our bedroom into a Natural Calm Forest, and what I got was snoring and birds. (And the urge to pee from all that rushing water.)
I’ve also tried every kind of earplug. None of the Loop earplugs (I own many pairs) were robust enough to block out snoring. The fancy sleep earplugs I bought from Sweden—same. My wireless headphones proved nowhere near comfortable enough for sleeping.
Then, I was served an ad for Ozlo Sleepbuds.
Do Ozlo Sleepbuds work?
Ozlo Sleepbuds are different. The design is inherently noise-masking. They’re tiny, and the materials are soft and flexible. They lay super-flat so you don’t feel them, even as a side-sleeper. But the kicker is that they come pre-loaded with white, pink, and brown noises (and other soothing sounds), and play those sounds directly into your ear canal.
I will say, they felt like a splurge at $349. That’s less expensive than divorce, though, and certainly less detrimental to our marriage than me resentfully sleeping in the guest room for the rest of our lives. I had nothing to lose, so I bought them at the end of June.
Ozlo Sleepbuds gave me the best night’s sleep of my life.
They are incredibly comfortable. I don’t feel them in my ears, even on my side. They beam a gentle pink noise (which I program through the app) directly into my ears all night long. And YES, Ozlo Sleepbuds WORK.
I haven’t heard a single snore, from anyone—and trust me, they are still snoring, because I hear them as I read in bed. I no longer hear my husband getting in and out of bed and going to the bathroom. I hear NUH-THING except the most soothing gentle noise all night long.
ALSO, on July 4th (and the 3rd, and the 5th), I HEARD NO FIREWORKS. Do you realize how loud fireworks are, especially when it’s your neighbors setting them off? I heard them as I was reading before sleep, and anticipated another year of waking up several times a night as some a-hole continued to set them off well past the 11 PM curfew.
I DID NOT WAKE UP ONCE.
Imagine the scenarios you could use these for. A big-city hotel room, where street noises or construction would otherwise keep you awake. A group campsite, where people are talking and walking by your tent all night long. Your in-laws’ house, where they watch Law & Order at an ungodly volume until midnight.
This is the best $349 I have ever spent. I want to marry these earbuds. (Since I am already married, I guess I want a throuple?) I have told my husband, “I will save these in a fire,” and I mean it. I asked the brand to send me a back-up pair as part of this partnership because my greatest fear is losing one and therefore spending the rest of my life alone.
Ozlo Sleepbuds are one of the rare products that does exactly what it says it’ll do, effortlessly. After three months of nightly use, I cannot recommend them strongly enough. And because I now consider myself an expert, here’s an FAQ.
Ozlo Sleepbuds FAQ
How do they work? You can choose from a selection of neuroscience-backed relaxing sounds pre-loaded in the buds themselves. Or, via bluetooth, you can stream whatever you choose from Spotify, Audible, or other music/podcast sources. I do the former, and have turned off all bluetooth streaming capabilities. This helps the battery last longer and minimizes EMF. I also find the built-in sounds so peaceful and soothing, I can’t imagine listening to anything else.
What else can they do? Ozlo Sleepbuds also offer a built-in gentle alarm so you won’t disturb your partner (oh, the irony). They also biometrically sense when you’ve fallen asleep, and can be set to automatically transition from your audiobook or podcast to built-in sleep sounds.
How do they fit? They’re designed to sit inside the ear canal, and have a silicone “wing” that hooks in behind your ear ridge. They do stay put all night. They also come with four different sizes of ear tips to ensure a comfortable fit.
How do you feel about sleeping with bluetooth/EMF next to your brain? I literally do not care given the benefits. However, using the pre-loaded sounds mitigates this issue. Bluetooth is necessary to pair the sleepbuds with your device, but that uses BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy). This form lowers your EMF exposure compared to other devices like a phone or laptop. Once paired, Bluetooth is only used if you want to stream audio—which I do not. Also, once you put the sleepbuds in your ears, the software cuts all communication from the buds to the case after 10 minutes, so there is no connectivity to anything as you sleep.
Can you damage your hearing leaving them in overnight? Ozlo Sleepbuds were thoughtfully designed for comfort and safety. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) guidelines say listening up to 82 dBA (decibels) is safe for up to 16 hours of audio play. The sleepbuds’ masking audio tops out at 75 dBA. My personal settings are at 66% of the sleepbuds’ top volume (around 50 dBA). This low level effectively masks outside noise but is well within “safe” guidelines.
Will they block out too much noise? This is entirely based on your settings. At my current volume, I don’t wake up when my husband or dogs snore, but if one of them barks (the dog, not the husband) I do hear that. Same with my kid creeping into the room because I TOLD YOU IT WAS TOO SCARY TO WATCH, or our home alarm going off because my dad forgot and let the dog out. If you need to retain more sensitive hearing, set your buds to a lower volume.
What’s the battery life? If bluetooth is off, I’m seeing 10+ hours per charge—more than enough for a full night’s sleep. If bluetooth is on, your battery will drain faster (but I’m not sure by how much). A few times, I’ve forgotten to charge the case. While I read, I can get the sleepbuds to around 55% in an hour, which sees me through most of the night. A full charge takes about 3 hours.
What’s the maintenance? In a word, minimal. The case is its own charger, and can fully charge my buds 3-4 times. (It uses a USB-C charger.) Each night before bed, I connect the buds using the app. It has never once failed, and takes about 15 seconds. Once the buds are connected, I can leave them in the case while I do my skincare, dental care, and read. When I’m ready to sleep, I pull them out and boom, they’re already playing my pink noise. Occasionally I clean the ear tips and connectors, to ensure comfort and effective charging.
What’s the catch? In my experience, none. The app says “sleep stats” are currently being beta-tested, but I don’t care about those because I have WHOOP. The buds can be a little finicky in the charging case; if they’re not perfectly aligned they won’t charge. (After replacing them in the case each morning, I spend 5 seconds making sure they’re actually charging.) I haven’t had a single issue with my buds, the case, or the app.
First comes love, then comes marriage…
I first posted a glowing review of Ozlo Sleepbuds in my July 10th newsletter, Kiss Marry Kill. (I called them, “The most Marry thing I’ve ever Married.”) At that point, I had zero affiliation with the company. I bought the buds with my own money, followed the user guide like any other customer, and wrote about them because (have I made this clear?) I love them so much.
Then a few weeks ago, a long-time friend reached out: “I’ve moved on from XX company to Ozlo. They’re a pretty new brand who launched cutting-edge sleepbuds in 2024. I’d love to send you a pair, if you’re interested.” My reply contained an overabundance of exclamation points, because this felt like a dream come true.
So yes, NOW this article is sponsored by Ozlo Sleepbuds, which is thrilling because I love nothing more than a brand I’m already using coming to me. And starting today, Monday October 6th, Ozlo Sleepbuds are on sale for $50 off. (I do have a discount code, but this sale is bigger.)
Shop the Ozlo sale if you’re ready for the best sleep of your life. (It’s easy to shop, because they only make one product—that’s how confident they are.) And tell your couple’s therapist I’M SORRY for the decreased billings now that your snoring spouse is no longer making you want to plan your own disappearance.
XO, MU
