Ear Plugs for Musicians Gigs

Looking for Best Earplugs for Concerts? Musicians, read this!

Live music concerts are great. We all know that. What’s not that great, however, is the pain in the ears most of us experience once we leave the gig – do you remember the familiar sound of ‘ringing’ in your ears? Yes, it tends to ring for a few hours and then usually everything gets back to normal. But did you know that continous exposure to noise over 85 dB (and by continuous we mean eight hours or so) can result in the permament hearling loss? Eight hours seems a lot, but if you’ve been listening to Spotify on your way to concert, chances are that you’re pretty close to that limit.

The normal, every day conversation is around 65dB, which is absolutely safe for your hears. However, a loud hip-hop or rock concert can expose your ears to up to 120 dB which can be devastating to your ears. A three minute blast like this can result in some pretty serious consequences. How to avoid this and protect your hearing while you enjoy the live band playing your favourite songs? Use earplugs. If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re already aware of the threat and are looking for best earplugs for concerts. First, let’s see the comparison table:

Concert & Musician Earplugs – Comparison Table

Picture Model Noise Reduction Best for concerts? Our Rating Amazon Link
Earasers Musicians Plugs 19 dB yes 5.0 view product
V-MODA Faders VIP 12 dB yes 4.9 view product
Etymotic Research ER20XS 20 dB yes 4.3 view product
Hearos Earplugs High Fidelity 12 dB yes 4.5 view product
LiveMus!c HearSafe Ear Plugs 23 / 29 dB yes 5.0 view product
DUBS Acoustic Filters Advanced Tech 12 dB yes 4.8 view product
EarPeace HD High Fidelity 15 dB yes 4.9 view product
DownBeats Reusable High Fidelity 18 dB yes 4.6 view product
What Makes The Best Earplugs For Concerts?

It’s not easy to pick up the best earplugs for musicians and concerts. There are plenty of different earplug products available on the market and most of them address different issues. Some people need earplugs to sleep calm, some like to swim and look for water-blocking earplugs.

Best earplugs for concerts are much different from regular earplugs though. It does sound a bit counterintuitive when you go to listen the live music and plan to wear earplugs – after all, you want to hear the music well and clear, don’t you? What ear plugs should you choose then?

The best musician earplugs for concerts will be those which do not mute the sound completely. Unlike the foam ear plugs, best ear plugs for concerts will lower the noise by around 12 to 15 dB – which is much less than, for example, the sleep earplugs which can effectively block noise up to 32dB.

You need best ear plugs that can evenly lower the volume of the sound across all frequencies. This way, you will still enjoy every tune while keeping your ears safe and sound!

A Few Words About Ear plugs for Musicians

Personnel who work within the live music industry such as musicians, sound engineers, DJs, live sound mixers, video operators, cameramen etc. need to ensure they take precautions to protect their hearing. Due to the loud sound levels they can often be exposed to, ear protection is vital.

Musicians ear plugs are especially constructed to replicate the natural hearing range of the ear but with a lower decibel level. Music heard using musicians ear plugs have the same frequencies as the original, but delivered to the inner ear at a safe decibel level.

Musicians practice and perform in a wide spectrum of musical styles, thus musicians often require different amounts of protection depending on their situation. Thus there are many ear plugs available offering varying levels of attenuation. Some musicians even use one type of attenuator in one ear and a different type in the other, depending on the source, location and intensity of the sound.

Four Reasons Musicians Should Always Wear Earplugs

More and more, famous musicians are protecting their ears and spreading awareness about ear damage. Did you know that 60% of all inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have some sort of hearing loss? You’re probably saying to yourself: well they made it there without protecting their ears, so why should I?

So, why should you?

Ear protection is becoming common practice in the music world

Even Sting was an ambassador with the Hear the World Foundation and paired with New York Eye and Ear Infirmary to remind people the importance of ear protection. Musicians are focused on ear protection now more than ever as studies are showing the true damage caused by loud music. You’ll notice in concert Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber and Beyonce and other stars earpieces. This helps them hear what is going on backstage but also blocks outside noise, protects their ears, and even amplifies the sounds of the music.

Tinnitus

Tinnitus is a loud, high pitched, ringing or buzzing in the ears. It can be short term, like the ringing you get if you walk by a drill on the street without any protection. Or, in the cases of many musicians, it can be permanent. It is almost like one of Dante’s Circles of Hell—it is an incessant ringing in the ears that cannot be stopped. Tinnitus is not itself a condition, but it is usually a symptom of hearing loss or ear injury. Once tinnitus sets in, it is even more crucial to wear ear protection to avoid any further damage.

Loss of career or hobby

If you damage your ears, lose your hearing, or have a ringing in your ears, your ability to play music drastically decreases. If you lose your hearing, your career or hobby is gone. Taking care of your ears is much better than losing your passion.

Amplifies sound

A lot of music earplugs actually work to block out background noise and amplify the sound of the music being played. This is especially useful when playing in a loud venue, like a party or concert hall, as the background noise can be equally as damaging to the ears as the loud music itself. This creates a purity of sound that actually helps the musician better hear notes and pitches and thus perform better.

Best Earplugs for Musicians & Concert: Our Top Picks

Here are the best earplugs for musicians & for concert that we’ve found and evaluated. All of those have passed our reviewing criterias and have been also verified by hundreds of music fans (you can check Amazon reviews for each product). Here goes the list of recommended best concert ear plugs:

Etymotic Research ER20XS


(click to see larger photos on Amazon)
Etymotic ER20XS are small, low cost and discreet earplugs that not only look good, but most importantly they do very good job in protecting musicians’ ears while preserving sound quality. The response characteristics and the overall performance is at a high level.

These earplugs don’t muffle the music, they make the sound feeling less noisy. ETY earplugs come with a smart pull tab that allows for easy removal. They’re corded and because of their size (they are small), they are comfortable to wear under any kind of headgear.

Available in two different sizes: standard fits most, while the large size has been developed for larger ear canals.

V-MODA Faders VIP Tuned Metal


(click for more info on Amazon)
V-Moda’s Faders earplugs are definitely one of the best earplugs for concerts. Used by thousands music fans and musicians worldwide, the earplugs earned their reputation for lowering the sound volume without compromising its quality.

What these babies do is that the lower the sound exactly by 12 dB which in most cases is enough to ensure you continue to hear crystal clear music but won’t be exposed to a dangerous volumes that can lead to the hearing damage.

Faders VIP come with BLISS hybrid silicone fittings available in 4 different sizes so you won’t have troubles picking up the right size. They also come with a case for safe storage and instant access.

DUBS Acoustic Filters Advanced Tech


(click for details – Amazon link)
Not only Dubs Acoustic earplugs look great and sleek, but they’re also effective. These reusable best earplugs for musicians utilize dynamic attenuation to reduce the sound volume while effectively preserving sound fidelity.

This product has been designed to alter mid-range frequencies where the risk of damage – because of the sensitivity – is highest. Interestingly, the product is comprised with 17 individual premium materials such as the stainless steel, ABS, polymer foam and of course the silicone.

Dubs Acoustic comes in standard size fitting most adults. Portable case is included for easy storage.

LiveMus!c HearSafe Ear Plugs

Article Source.


(click to see more photos on Amazon)
Those stylish earplugs provide excellent protection against the noise and will make you feel great once you leave the concert or club after the show. LiveMus!c earplugs retain music and conversation volume through attenuation filters which come in two types: the white filter has a noise reduction ratio (NRR) of 29 dB whereas the green filter provides protection of 23 dB – which is just perfect for the music concert or a jamming session with friends.

The highest quality of LiveMus!c earplugs is backed by the unique, lifetime guarantee. Needless to say, these amazing earplugs come with sleek aluminium storage case. Are these the best concerts earplugs? Many our readers says so – and we can understand why.

Last Updated: 01/30/2017
10 Comments
Click here to post a comment
Mike Jenkins
May 8, 2016 at 4:06 pm
My church rocks with loud music and I want to lower the volume but still have fidelity. My ears constantly ring from being around loud equipment for decades. I still work around noisy equipment 8-12 hours daily, but I must hear others when they speak to me. Currently I use “plant site OSHA approved” basic hearing protection. Which brand has the best comfort for 8-12 hours of continual usage, allows for the ability to hear other speak, lowers overall volume, and provide fidelity?
REPLY
Earplugs Guide
May 8, 2016 at 8:23 pm
Hi Mike, thanks for your comment. You may want to consider Earasers – check out our table within the article above (t’s the first product listed). Earasers should do a fine job, they’re actualy one of the best rated earplugs for reducing noise levels without sacrificing fidelity.
REPLY
Mario Reis
September 10, 2016 at 11:45 pm
Beautiful very interesting post !
REPLY

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Ear Plugs for Sleeping

Best Earplugs for Sleeping: Our Verdict
11 Min Read
If you found our website, chances are you are looking for best earplugs for sleeping – earplugs that are not only effective in reducing noise but even more importantly, quality earplugs that are comfortable to use and will not make your ear hurt when you wake up the next day.

Recognizing that many people research the internet trying to find out what are the best ear plugs for sleeping, Earplugs Guide team decided to thoroughly test many different products available on the market and come up with a short list of very best earplugs for sleeping. In addition, we wanted to provide readers with a comprehensive guide on the sleeping ear plugs, discuss the noise reduction ratings, and more.

But first, without any further ado, let’s introduce the winners of our little competition for the best sleep ear plugs.

Best Earplugs For Sleeping – Our Top Picks!

We spent long hours wearing different kind of earplugs to determine which are the best earplugs for sleeping and based on three main criterias we shortlisted the following products, which all are both comfortable to wear and effective in reducing noise. Here we go:
Picture Model Material Noise Reduction (NRR) Why to choose Our Rating Amazon Link
Moldex 6800 Pura-Fit Foam Excellent (NRR 33) Very soft foam, longer lenght, great noise reduction, comfortable when sleeping 5.0 more details
Duraplug Liberty Duraplug Foam Excellent (NRR 32) Extremaly soft, made from slow-recovery foam, with tapered shape 4.9 more details
Ohropax Wax Wax Very good (NRR 27) Extremaly comfortable, wax forms to ear's canal shape, great for side-sleepers with small ears 4.9 more details
Hearos Xtreme Protection Foam Excellent (NRR 33) Very soft foam, quite large, comfortable for long-term use and extremaly effective 4.8 more details
Flents Quiet Please Foam Very good (NRR 29) Superb value, shorter earplug design, soft memory foam 4.5 more details
Hearos Ultimate Softness Series Foam Excellent (NRR 32) Extremaly comfy but a bit thiner and shorter than Xtreme Protection. Perfect for people with smaller ear canals. 4.7 more details
Now, once we announced our top picks, we would like you to know what – according to us – actually makes the best earplugs for sleep and what to pay attention to when chosing. Let’s take a look.

How to Choose The Right Sleeping Ear Plugs?

People buy earplugs for different purposes. Some buy it to sleep well, some others need earplugs when swimming or riding motorcycles and some others need earplugs every day at work to protect their hearing.

There are many differences between different types of earplugs but we will focus specifically on just three most important criterias you should consider when you attempt to buy best earplugs for sleeping:

Material

Earplugs are generally made from foam, silicone, wax, polymer. What’s the best one for sleeping earplugs? We recommend that you consider buying either foam or wax earplugs. The former, as the name suggests, are made from a soft memory polyurethane foam that once applied properly, will expand in the ear canal to plug it completely. The latter are made from a soft wax compound which is typically covered with cotton.

Ohropax Wax Earplugs for SleepingIf you’re looking for sleeping earplugs that are made from a soft wax, try Ohropax plugs.
When inserted, wax will melt a little to create a airtight seal in your hear to prevent you from hearing all noise you don’t want to hear when you sleep.

There are couple of quality wax earplugs available out there, like the well rated Flents Ear Stopples but the ones we absolutely love are these wax earplugs by Ohropax.

Why are we so enthusiastic? We love how soft they are and how they form to the ear’s canal while not getting too much oily and warm like the other products we’ve tested. Plus, they do great job in reducing decibels to the point you will never need to worry about hearing your bulldog snoring again.

Comfort

Best earplugs for sleeping have to to provide a maximum comfort for your ears, not matter when you sleep on a side or not. Only the comfortable earplugs that you forget you’re wearing will provide you with a quality sleep you need.

Both foam and wax earplugs can be incredibly comfortable but not all products are made from a super soft material and only such guarantees proper comfort. Fortunately, we know what those products are so if you need a quick tip then we think that Ohropax Wax (wax) and  Hearos Xtreme Protection are amongst the most comfortable ear plugs for sleeping you can get.

Size

Moldex Earplugs for SleepingWe found Moldex Pura-Fit plugs slightly bigger than most others, but still comfy to use.
Size matters when it comes to choosing the best sleeping ear plugs. Earplugs come in different sizes and it’s important to choose the right one. If your ears are small and you choose earplugs that are large, they may stick out and make sleeping on a side less comfortable. That’s not what you want. If you have larger eye canals, we recommend you to consider buying Hearos Xtreme Protection or Moldex 6800 Pura-Fit, both of which are excellent large earplugs.

They are made from a super soft foam that expands nicely inside the ear but doesn’t develop too much pressure on the ear canal. Also, due to their longer lenght, they will be easy to take out when you wake up in the morning. Finally, both products have noise reduction rating level of 33 which is the highest hearing protection rating available for certified earplugs.

Need smaller size earplugs? There are products which have been made specifically for people who have smaler size ear canals. One of such is Hearos Ultimate Softness which are slimmer and a bit shorter than other Hearos models.

Alternatively you can also opt for Flents Quiet Please or use these marvelous wax earplugs. Because they’re made of wax, the mold to the ear and fit smaller eye canals perfectly (ideal for side-sleepers) but even then, you can always tear one earplug apart and make two smaller ones. Just a friendly tip.

Understanding the NRR and What It Means For Your Ears

NRR stands for the Noise Reduction Rating, and it is the measurement of effectiveness of hearing protection products. The rating comes from the device’s ability to decrease the decibel level (dB)—the measure of intensity of loudness of sound—from the surrounding environment.

Why should you care about the NRR?

Understanding NRRAny prolonged exposure over 80 dB or any exposure at all of 100 dB or more can cause permanent hearing loss. Thus, it is important to protect your ears—and to protect them correctly. If you are using any sort of ear protection product, you want to ensure that it is getting the job done. The NRR can help obtain a realistic estimate of how successful your device is at dimming exposure to outside noise.

How does the NRR change the level of exposure?

If you are exposed to 100 dB and you have earplugs with a 20 dB rating, that does not mean you are now exposed to 80 dB. Instead, you can typically divide the rating in half and then subtract from the external environment. Thus, the device would remove 10 dB worth of noise (20 dB NRR divided in half) and you would now be exposed to 90 dB.

This is not a completely accurate method, though, as the noise reduction is also dependent upon the type of ear protection. For example, earmuffs with a 20 NRR rating could reduce outside noise by 15 dB, while earplugs with the same rating might only diminish the environmental exposure by 10 dB.

What is the ideal level of NRR?

In general, there is no ideal level. It is not a standard but a measurement. The highest possible rating for earplugs is 33, and the highest for earmuffs is 31. Utilizing both earplugs and earmuffs, though, can offer a higher protection level, although wearing both for sleeping is likely be uncomfortable.

In case of sleeping earplugs, most people want to wear highest-NRR earplugs. This is the reason why in this article we decided to review those plugs, which are not only comfy to use for a longer period of time, but most importantly are very effective in reducing unwanted sounds.

However, you don’t necessarily always want the highest level of protection. You can utilize the noise reduction rating to fit your individual needs. If you want outside noise completely obliterated while sleeping, you would use an earplug with a higher NRR than if you wanted an earplug to wear while napping that lets you still hear the kids getting into trouble.

To sum up, you should determine what your protection needs are and find a product that fits in comfort, style, and Noise Reduction Rating. While the NRR does not rate the quality of products, it does determine the how a product will fit your exposure to the loud world around you.

Advantages And Disadvantages of Wearing Nighttime Earplugs

Women Sleeping With An EarplugThere is a lot of debate over whether nighttime earplug use is helpful or harmful. Below we will look at the advantages, the disadvantages, and solutions for sleeping with earplugs.

Key Advantage

The reason for wearing earplugs at night is simple and crucially important: it helps you sleep. Sleep is how your body resets itself, stays healthy, and keeps you going throughout the day. You do not have to be a light sleeper for noise to bother your sleep patterns—external noise can also upset your internal clock and your dream cycle. Thus, if you live in a loud area or with someone who snores, noise can drastically impact your quality of life and health. Therefore, the best and only true solution to this is to use earplugs for snoring.

Disadvantages

While wearing earplugs at night can increase overall health and wellbeing, there are some side effects that can come from incorrect usage. Nevertheless, there are easy solutions to ensure safe treatment of earplugs and get a good night’s rest.

Ear Infections

Earplugs introduce and trap bacteria from your hands and environment into the ear, which can cause infections.
Solution: Wash your earplugs after each use, wash your hands before handling your earplugs, and try not to reuse disposable earplugs.

Impacted Ear Wax

The ear cleans itself out, especially at night. An earplug “plugs” up the wax, which can cause buildup, blockages, or impactions.
Solution: Clean earwax out every week in a safe way using a water-hydrogen peroxide mixture or an over the counter ear cleaner. (Never use Q-tips or this will make any impactions worse.). Read this article for more details.

Ear Damage

If you sleep on your side, the earplug can go too deep into your ear canal and damage or rupture the eardrum.
Solution: Buy large earplugs (like the aforementioned Moldex Pura-soft) to prevent movement of the earplug. In the long term, it may also be wise to invest into custom molded earplugs.

Impaired Hearing:

The job of earplugs at night is to reduce the noise around you—but sometimes you need to be able to hear. Earplugs could block out the sound of an alarm, a child calling, or someone breaking into your house.
Solution: While this is a risk you take with wearing earplugs at night, if you live with another person, you can switch on and off who uses the earplugs so one person is always able to hear any emergencies. You can also find a product with a lower Noise Reduction Rating if you would like to block out only some of the outside noise.

Although there are four potential problems with wearing earplugs at night, the advantage of wearing them trumps them all: your body needs sleep. Simply choosing the right product for your needs and properly cleaning and handling products will help mitigate these potential concerns. If you take care of your ears and your rest, you’ll take care of your whole body.

Earplug To Sleep In – The Bottom Line

Nightime Ear PlugsSleeping – everybody does that.  Everyone of us will be sleeping roughly 24 years on average during our lifetime and it is without any doubt that those of us who sleep well and long enough enjoy better health, live happier lives and are more productive.

Sometimes though, it’s difficult to fall asleep and sleep like a rock through the night. Not because we don’t feel tired but because something, or someone keeps disturbing us.

Loud party in the apartment next to yours? TV playing in the other room? Noise coming from the street outside? Partner snoring like a banshee? We all experienced that many times. The solution is very simple: use a pair of  earplugs.

For best results, use earplugs together with sleep mask (see what’s the best sleep mask right here). You may also consider using a white noise machine while you sleep. Just a tip.

It’s amazing to see people forget that a pair of simple, comfortable earplugs can save their night and let them sleep like babies. We hope that after reading this article, you know a bit more on how to choose the best product and you will make a good purchase decision. Sleep well!