I think I just picked scar tissue out of my ear canal...

I wear earplugs when I go to sleep thanks to my upstairs neighbors' love of daytime reality television and their several loud yappy dogs.  Also the fact that between 9 AM and 5 PM, most people are naturally awake and making noise.  I've been using these cheapo ones from Walgreens which do a good job of keeping out the noise but just fucking HURT.  I guess they really do hurt; I was cleaning out my ear and pulled out a nice little scab encrusted with earwax.  I dabbed at my ear with a piece of tissue paper and pulled up some tiny red spots.  Gross.  So I'm cutting and scarring up my ears every time I go to sleep.  Yet another nasty side effect of working the graveyard.  If anyone has recommendations for some better earplugs that don't tear up your ear, please let me know.  I'd like to replace these crappy ones post-haste and do my poor ears a favor.