9 Best Earplugs (2023): For Concerts, Sleep, and Listening
-
Photograph: Vibes
Another Cheap Pair for Shows
Vibes High Fidelity EarplugsI like how slim and easy to fit the Vibes High Fidelity Earplugs are. The clear plastic mushrooms hide well in your ears, so the kids at the venue won't think you look like a loser for caring about your ears. (You're not!) They lower sounds by an average of 22 decibels and are designed to lower every frequency relatively evenly, so you don't lose all the high end when you put them in at a show. Three sizes of interchangeable ear tips mean they'll fit most ears.
-
Photograph: Happy Ears
Best Eco-Friendly Earplugs
Happy Ears RecycledJust buying a pair of reusable earplugs is greener than using disposable foam ones, but Happy Ears has taken things a step further. The Swedish company offers two different sets of eco-friendly earplugs: The Recycled are made from the brand’s own production waste, while the OP are made from plastics found floating in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans. Ironic considering they look like tiny, flattened jellyfish.
We’ve picked the Recycled ones because they come in black, so they’re less prone to discoloration. But whichever you go for, they’re aptly named. They're not quite as effective or as comfortable for sleeping as Flare’s Sleeep Pro, but the tiny Happy Ears are more than suitable for slumber and helped me nod off. Happy Ears claims they can reduce volume levels by up to 25 dB, and while I didn’t have a decibel reader on hand when somebody with a pneumatic drill started digging up the pavement outside, these earplugs certainly deadened the most ear-splitting tones. It made it slightly easier to concentrate while writing this guide. Did I mention they're tiny and come with an equally tiny case and arrive in recyclable/compostable paper packaging? They're available in small, medium, or large, but you'll have to buy a more expensive Discovery Pack, which includes all three if you're unsure.
-
Photograph: Bose
Tech Buds With Sleep Sounds
Bose SleepBuds 2If just blocking out the noise when you’re trying to sleep isn’t enough, or if you struggle to snooze even when there’s nothing but silence to keep you company, Bose’s SleepBuds 2 augment the whole nodding-off experience. A hybrid of earplugs and true wireless earphones (earphugs?), the SleepBuds passively block potentially disruptive sounds but also actively attempt to cover them up by playing from a library of over 50 noise-masking soundtracks, including rainfall on a tent, the quiet hum of an airplane engine, and various soothing musical soundscapes. The latter are Now That’s What I Call Ambient, but we never had trouble dozing off, whether it was to the sound of gently lapping waves, warm static, or the crackle of a campfire. You can’t use them to play audio from anything other than Bose’s Sleep app, so if there’s a particular podcast, radio show, or piece of whale music you like to fall asleep to, you'll need to use a different pair.
They’re larger than a set of earplugs but flatter than a normal pair of earbuds, so it’s unlikely you’ll forget you’ve got the SleepBuds in, but they’re just about comfortable enough to wear on your journey to the land of nod, with fins to hold them in place as with a pair of gym-friendly earphones. If only all workouts were as easy as going to bed. Check out our Best Sleep Gadgets and Apps guide for more.