I've never encountered your problem, never seen layer names so long. Lucky.
Consider posting such things as wishes.
A tip for your specific issue: Use the quick layers palette. (Window menu | Floating Palettes | Show Quick Layers). It enables you to select element(s) and hide, lock, or unlock their layer(s), among other things.
I keep it in the middle of the screen. It's not very big. One annoyance is that it is off by default and reverts to off when you quit AC. You have to turn it back on every time. Assign it a keyboard shortcut.
HTH,