How We Research
We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want a single device that blocks light and delivers sound at the same time, choose Generic Sleep Masque Headphones; if you need something that stays comfortable while you sleep on your side and quiets the room around you, choose Hears Sleep Earbuds &.
• Generic Sleep Masque Headphones — biggest strength: it's a two-in-one. A light-blocking eye cover and built-in speakers in one wireless, foldable headband, with a microphone for calls and up to 8 hours of playback.
• Generic Sleep Masque Headphones — biggest trade-off: it's a headband, not an in-ear seal. It's built for blocking light and playing audio, not for deep passive noise isolation, and it isn't shaped around side-sleeping into a pillow.
• Hears Sleep Earbuds & — biggest strength: a low-profile, flush in-ear design with hypoallergenic silicone and four ear tip sizes (XS, S, M, L), made specifically for side sleepers and people who can't stand pressure against the ear.
• Hears Sleep Earbuds & — biggest trade-off: there's no light blocking and no built-in audio playback here. It's passive noise blocking only, so any sound you want has to come from another device.
• Who each pick is for: Generic Sleep Masque Headphones for bright-room nappers, travelers, and remote workers who want one thing that covers eyes and plays sound. Hears Sleep Earbuds & for side sleepers, snoring-adjacent sleepers, and anyone who needs quiet more than they need music.
The Generic Sleep Masque Headphones is a fabric headband with speakers sewn in. The material is cotton, the color is gray, and it measures roughly 48 x 11 cm — about 18.9 x 4.33 inches — with an adjustable headband so it sits across the eyes and over the ears. The whole package is about 9.06 x 4.72 x 1.57 inches and 7.04 ounces, and it folds for travel. That's the pitch in one sentence: light out, sound in, one item in your bag.
What it does best is combine two jobs. The eye cover blocks light for daytime naps, hotel rooms with curtains that don't close properly, bright offices, and meditation. The built-in speakers play relaxing music or white noise without anything in your ear canal. The wireless connection means no cord to tangle when you roll over, and the built-in microphone lets you take a call without pulling the headband off — genuinely useful if you work remotely and want to answer quickly between tasks.
Who should buy it: anyone whose main problem is light plus a need for audio. Long-haul flyers, people who nap at their desk, meditators who want a soundtrack, and hotel guests who want to fall asleep to something. The foldable shape and the 8 hours of continuous use line up well with a flight or an overnight stay.
Who should skip it: if your problem is noise rather than light, this isn't the tool. There's no passive noise isolation spec here — the cotton cover is soft and breathable, which is exactly why it won't seal anything out. And if you sleep on your side with your ear pressed into the pillow, a headband with speakers over the ear is not the shape for that. Also skip it if you want something invisible; this is a visible headband, and it's a "1 Count" item, so there's no spare in the box.
Hears Sleep Earbuds & takes the opposite approach. Instead of covering your eyes and sitting on top of your ears, it goes inside them. The body is hypoallergenic silicone in Midnight Black, styled In-Ear, and it's built low-profile on purpose so the outer form sits flush and avoids the tragus area — the little cartilage bump that makes most earbuds hurt when you lie down. That's the whole design thesis, and it's aimed squarely at side sleepers, back sleepers, and stomach sleepers who want no pressure while lying down.
The second job is quiet. The noise control is passive noise cancellation, meaning the seal itself does the work — it reduces snoring, traffic, roommates, and general ambient sound rather than generating an anti-noise signal. There's no battery, no pairing, no charging. That also means it never dies at 3 a.m. For audiobooks, white noise, or meditation audio, you'd feed sound in from your own device, and the silicone tips will color that sound the way any sealed in-ear does.
The fit story is the practical part. You get four silicone ear tip sizes — XS, S, M, and L — which matters a lot because passive blocking only works when the seal is right. A loose tip blocks almost nothing; a good tip in the correct size does the heavy lifting. It weighs 3.5 ounces as shipped and comes as a single item.
Who should buy it: side sleepers who've given up on earbuds because they hurt. Light sleepers dealing with a snoring partner, street noise, or thin apartment walls. Anyone with sensitive ears who gets irritation or redness from firmer tips. Who should skip it: if you need the product itself to play music or take calls with no phone involved, this isn't that product. And if your real problem is a bright room, earbuds do nothing about light — you'd still need a separate eye mask.
• Best for blocking light → Generic Sleep Masque Headphones. It's the only one of the two that covers your eyes.
• Best for side sleepers → Hears Sleep Earbuds &. The flush, low-profile shape and no-pillow-pressure design exist specifically for lying on your side.
• Best for playing audio on its own → Generic Sleep Masque Headphones. Built-in speakers, wireless connection, and up to 8 hours of continuous use.
• Best for quieting a noisy room → Hears Sleep Earbuds &. Passive noise blocking attacks snoring and traffic; the headband does not.
• Best for calls → Generic Sleep Masque Headphones. The built-in microphone lets you talk without removing it.
• Best for sensitive ears → Hears Sleep Earbuds &. Hypoallergenic silicone plus four tip sizes to dial in the fit.
• Best for travel and packing → Generic Sleep Masque Headphones. It folds and packs flat, though it's the bulkier of the two.
• Best for zero maintenance → Hears Sleep Earbuds &. No battery, no charging, no pairing, nothing to run out.
In my opinion, the deciding question isn't which product is better — they solve different problems. If you sleep on your side and noise is what keeps you up, I'd buy Hears Sleep Earbuds &. The four tip sizes and the flush, silicone, pressure-free design address the exact reason most in-ear options fail overnight sleepers, and the passive blocking never needs a charge.
If you nap in bright rooms, travel often, and want one item that darkens your view and plays audio, I'd buy Generic Sleep Masque Headphones. It's the more versatile single purchase, just not the quieter one. If you can only pick one and you genuinely need both light and noise handled, start with the sleep masque and add separate earplugs — not the other way around.
Not really. It's a cotton headband with speakers worn over the ears and across the eyes, so lying directly on your ear puts pressure on the speaker. Side sleepers are better served by an in-ear design.
No. There's no wireless connection or battery listed — the noise control is passive, meaning the seal blocks sound. You'd play audio from your own device through them.
Try the four included sizes (XS, S, M, L) and pick the one that seals without pressure. A proper seal is what makes the passive noise blocking actually work, so it's worth the two minutes.
Both are sold on Amazon and prices shift, so check the current price on Amazon before deciding. My advice is to buy based on the problem you're solving — light plus audio, or side-sleeping comfort plus quiet — rather than on which costs less today.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
When you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon or its affiliates. This site is an independent third-party review and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Amazon or the product brands mentioned.