It’s an increasingly noisy world. Whether it’s our partner snoring, a flatmate playing music, workmen outside, planes overhead or what have you, noise is hard to escape. Short of jetting off to your private island, living in a bunker or buying a balloon with an ensuite bedroom, your best bet is to invest in a decent pair of earplugs. These won’t stop the noise, but they can certainly reduce it. Here’s our pick of the best, including the best ear plugs for use while swimming (to prevent infections) and to use on aeroplanes if you suffer from ear pain during take-off and landing.
How to buy the right earplugs for you
When choosing earplugs, it helps to have a bit of knowledge – but once you’ve grasped a few basic principles, it’s pretty straightforward to identify the right model for you. First let’s deal with the easy stuff.
What size earplugs do I need?
Some earplugs come with a range of differently sized earpieces – usually three – while some are unitised due to their design. Few people report problems with either type after a bit of trial and error.
How do I keep them clean?
Some earplugs are made of foam or rubber and can be washed with a drop of washing up liquid. Silicone plugs tend to be disposable, though some have more a slightly more complex construction with washable earpieces. Again, it’s pretty easy to keep them clean and many come in multipacks so you can simply move on to a new pair when you decide to dispose of used plugs.
How do I choose the right type of earplugs?
Some people want earplugs to avoid ear infections while swimming, or to reduce ear pain on aeroplanes. If that’s you then you can skip straight ahead to our reviews.
However, if noise is your primary concern, it’s worth knowing a little bit about the science involved. Simply put, earplugs attenuate (reduce) the noise entering your ear, effectively lowering its decibel level. As a rough guide, most speech is around 60dB, a rock gig might be around 110dB and a fighter plane taking off is 150dB. Damage is thought to occur when your ear is exposed to around 130dB for prolonged periods.
To know how much noise reduction a pair of earplugs will provide, look for the “SNR”. This simply means Single Number Rating, and it refers to how many decibels your earplugs will reduce the noise by. So ear plugs with an SNR of 20 will turn an in-your-face 110db rock band into a much more bearable 90db rock band.
In practice, earplugs tend to affect some frequencies more than others, so their ratings are often broken down into High, Medium and Low (H, M and L) frequencies. You might, for example, see a rating expressed as “H=30, M=24, L=22”. This helps you find the right earplugs for your particular scenario: of course, you can use any earplugs for any purpose, if you’re looking to get some sleep next to your snoring partner, earplugs that filter out low noises will be more effective than ones that mostly impact high frequencies.
READ NEXT: The best noise-cancelling headphones to buy
The best earplugs to buy
1. 3M E-A-R Classic Earplugs: The best earplugs for everyday use
Price:£4.30 for 20 pairs
You’ll find these earplugs backstage at many festivals, bought in bulk and kept in pouches cable-tied to the scaffolding poles forming the stage. There’s a reason for that: they’re super-cheap, they’re disposable, they’ll fit almost any ear, and they’re particularly good at attenuating higher frequencies, which is where the loudest and most damaging noise tends to occur in live music. On the downside, they only come with a cardboard case, so they can easily get lost, or fall out in a pocket and end up covered in muck and fluff.
Key specs – Attenuation: SNR=28dB, H=30dB, M=24dB, L=22dB; Construction: Foam; Sizes: One; Storage: Cardboard case
2. Howard Leight Bilsom Clarity 656 Earplugs: The best earplugs for dulling workplace noise
Price:£4.99 for 1 pair
These earplugs have a slightly lower general attenuation (SNR) than some alternatives, but that’s intentional. Construction workers, for example, need to be able to communicate and hear alarms, while protecting themselves from damaging long-term exposure. Sound technicians also favour them, as they do what’s required and come with a handy cord that goes around your neck.
Key specs – Attenuation: SNR: 22dB, L=17dB, M=19dB, H=24dB; Construction: Silicon/plastic; Sizes: Large and small; Storage: Case supplied
3. Isolate earplugs: Best for gig-goers
Price:£25 for 1 pair
Isolate’s Titanium earplugs offer a very high level of attenuation, especially at the higher end of the spectrum. They’re aimed at the regular gig-goer, as live concerts are where you’re most likely to be exposed to extremely loud noises – and there are no legal protections, such as would apply if, for example, you were working on a building site. These ear plugs will let you catch the sweat flying off the guitarist’s hair without the hearing damage that would result from standing right in front of the speaker. Note though that they’re not recommended for sleeping, as the metal ends could push the plugs into your ear, and they’re certainly not for construction work, as they’re simply too effective – you wouldn’t be able to hear someone shouting a warning to you. For those with daintier ears, Isolate’s MiNi earplugs are similar but smaller.
ISOLATE® Earplugs - Revolutionary Aerospace Aluminium Ear Protectors / Ear Plugs / Ear Protection
Key specs – Attenuation: SNR 36dB, L=31dB, M=33dB, H=35dB; Construction: Titanium with foam earpieces; Sizes: Three different sizes of earpiece; Storage: Drawstring pouch
4. BioEars: Best for swimming and general use
Price:£4.59 for three pairs
These soft, mouldable earplugs provide 20dB of attenuation and come in a small plastic box for storage. You can use them for general-purpose noise reduction, but they’re particularly good for swimmers seeking to avoid ear infections. Not only do they provide an airtight seal over your eardrum, which prevents bacteria or fungi from getting in, they also have added aloe vera, which should kill off any nasties in the water around your ear. Many users find they need to wear a swimming cap to keep them in, but that’s true for all plugs used when swimming – and for those who suffer from regular infections, it’s a price worth paying.
Key specs – Attenuation: SNR 22db L=17db M=19db H=26db; Construction: Silicon; Sizes: Unisize; Storage: Plastic case
5. Earplanes: Best for flights
Price:£4.79 for 1 pair
These earplugs are designed for air travellers, and aim to relieve the pain caused by changes in air pressure during takeoff and landing – although you can also use them as everyday earplugs, as they reduce noise by 20dB. Each plug has two elements: a ribbed silicone plug, which forms an airtight seal in your ear, and a ceramic pressure regulator slotted inside it. This allows a gentle equalisation of pressure on either side, avoiding the painful stretching of the eardrum as air pressure forces it one way or the other. Without it, you could potentially end up with a large imbalance in pressure between your ears and the outside world, resulting in a painful “pop” when you removed the plugs.
Key specs – Attenuation: SNR 20db L/M/H frequencies: not available; Construction: Silicon/ceramic; Sizes: One; Storage: Plastic case