Daughter sleeps easy after mother turns her back on earplugs

To ensure that she gets a good night's rest, 27-year-old Chen Xi, who works for a consultancy in Shanghai, turned to special earplugs that not only cut out extraneous noise but can play soothing sounds - including that of a waterfall - enabling the wearer to fall asleep quickly.

She started using the earplugs after spending more than 1,000 yuan ($142) to buy them for her mother, a 54-year-old high school teacher in Jiangxi province, who has long been troubled by insomnia. However, she found that her mother was not using them.

"I was surprised that this marvelous device didn't work for my mom at all. She had no intention of learning how to use it, and simply thought that a glass of wine before going to bed would work better," Chen said.