are earplugs necessary?

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are earplugs necessary?

by abcdefg » Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:13 pm
I've never used them before but have just bought some to practice using at home incase I want to use it during the exam. However they're extremely uncomfortable so i'm just wondering if most people actually use these during the test or do ppl just go without it? thanks.
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by aim-wsc » Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:39 pm
I dont think so.
I personally dont use earplugs.

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by abcdefg » Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:25 pm
do the testing centers allow ear muffs?

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by dmateer25 » Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:01 am
The testing center provided me with ear plugs. I didn't use them until someone decided to cut the grass outside. Unless you have a situation like I did, you probably won't need ear plugs.

I am not sure about the ear muffs.

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by gospy » Thu Jul 16, 2009 1:38 am
I'd guess it's just a preference thing. For example, I can't sleep without ear plugs and I wear them frequently when studying, so I would bet that when I do take the test, I will wear them.

Noise is distracting to me. I try to do just about as much math in my head as possible, so as to minimize the work I have to write down, so I need to be able to focus. And, I know that sounds crazy lol.

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by VP_Jim » Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:08 am
I think the earplugs are more annoying than is having a little background noise - for me, it's very distracting to have something stuck in my ears for 4 hours. I like white noise, but I've certainly had students who thought otherwise.
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by myohmy » Thu Jul 16, 2009 6:16 am
I preferred the noise canceling headphones they offered to the ear plugs -- plus they kept my ears warm!

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by abcdefg » Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:26 am
do any of the testing centers provide noise canceling earphones?

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by myohmy » Thu Jul 16, 2009 7:32 am
I took the test twice at two different centers, and both test centers did (both were in the US, I don't know about internationally).