I really wish that I had an answer for you, but all I can do is commiserate and maybe throw out some other things that I've tried that may work for him. Poor guy. I've tried many of the same things and they didn't seem to help me all that much either, but who knows. In addition to what you also suggested, I bought lavender spray to spray on my pillows because it is supposed to have a calming effect. At least it made my bedroom smell nice. One thing that may help is a contoured sleep mask. Unlike other sleep masks, it's domed over the eyelids so that your eyelashes don't rub against the mask when you blink. It's also contoured around the nose so that light doesn't seep in that way. I read somewhere that if you can see your surroundings when the light is turned off, it's still too light in your room. This particular sleep mask also comes with ear plugs. This is the one I got on Amazon: