Best Earplugs to Prevent Hearing Loss for 2024

As someone who lives on a busy New York street, it can be hard to focus deeply in my apartment without the constant interruptions of sirens or beeping cars or the occasional shouting passerby. 

The Loop Quiet earplugs are an affordable option that muffle sound and allow for deep, uninterrupted work or sleep to take place. The Loop Quiet earplugs reduce sound by up to 27 decibels while working, sleeping, traveling or attending events. While they aren’t designated to serve super-noisy environments, the level of decibel protection surely provides a sound barrier that comes in handy in louder spaces, too. Alongside the Quiets, Loop also offers a colorful selection of affordable earplugs for concert-going, motorcycling, productivity, social gathering and parenting that screaming child of yours. 

The Loop Quiet earplugs were easy to install and fit snugly in my ears. I slept with the Quiets in and found it much easier to fall asleep when the sound of my loud AC unit was reduced by the plugs. While working in my busy office, the Quiets made surrounding conversation nearly difficult to understand, which allowed me to further focus on my work. It wasn’t until I had tried these on that I realized how distracted I was by moderately audible office conversations around me. 

For their price, style and sound-muffling qualities, these are a top pick for getting work done, sleeping and subduing everyday noise, but they could also be used in louder settings if need be.

Pros: 

• Secure fit while sleeping and working
• Sleek design 
• Variety of colors and styles
• Inexpensive 

Cons: 

• Not intended for extremely loud environments

This is one unfussy earplug. It was the easiest to use and insert into my ear, and it properly dampened the sounds of the busy New York streets where I was walking and muffled the blaring sounds of karaoke songs.

The Hi-Fidelity earplugs come with a carrying case and three different plug sizes. Of the four earplugs I tried, the Hi-Fidelity earplugs, which reduce sound by up to 15 decibels, reduce noise the least amount, but they are still an effective and affordable choice for attending loud events.

These earplugs, according to Vibes’ website, are primarily for listening to live music. Wearing these during karaoke, I thought that they reduced the harsh noise well without making everything difficult to hear or understand. Some earplugs, like the Minuendos, are so good at reducing noise it is hard to interpret the world around you, but the Hi-Fidelity Earplugs balance both ends of that spectrum. With their 15-decibel sound reduction, you could also use them in other moderately loud environments, like parties or restaurants.

The Hi-Fidelity earplugs function as an inexpensive option for the occasional attendee of live events. Plus, they are simple to use and insert. 

Pros:

• Easiest to insert and remove 
• Lightweight 
• Secure fit 
• Inexpensive

Cons:

• Less sound protection than other earplugs

You are going to have to put in some work to have the Decibullz Custom-Molded Earplugs work for you, but once they are fit to your ear, they reduce sound by up to 31 decibels, the highest level of sound reduction on this list. 

What made these difficult to install was their finicky nature as you are heating them in boiling hot water and then molding them to your ear shape. You have to remove earrings and piercings before putting the hot mold in your ear, because there is a risk the mold will stick to them. My mold wasn’t hot enough the first time I tried to fit it to my ear; the second time that I heated the product, I had to exercise caution in fitting the hot plastic to my ear.

After the mold is fitted to your ear, you are instructed to wait five minutes with it in. Putting a hot product that comes with multiple warnings near a sensitive part of your face can be distressing, especially considering there are other earplug options that will protect your hearing without the customizing fuss. 

The earplugs come with three sets of triple flange tips and one set of foam tips, a carrying pouch and thermoplastic custom molds, which you heat in boiling water and then mold to your ear for a tight fit. It can be a bit daunting to fit the product to your ear, but fortunately, if you don’t get it right the first time you can remold it. It can be uncomfortable to put something that has been sitting in boiling water into your ear, then press on it to shape it properly. I ran into some trouble with that. 

While some of the other earplugs I reviewed were designed for concerts or moderately loud events, these are designed for the next level of loud environments, like shooting guns or construction work. For $26 you are getting stellar sound protection and a tailored-to-you earplug. But that’s only if the product is properly molded to your ear. What I found when I was using these during karaoke was that they didn’t work any better than the other earplugs I tried, even though they promised higher sound protection. 

Pros: 

• Remoldable thermoplastic custom molds, in case you mess up molding to your ear the first time 
• High sound protection
• Variety of tips with triple flange and foam 
• Inexpensive

Cons: 

• Molding hot plastic to the shape of your ear can be uncomfortable 
• If not molded correctly you don’t get the benefits of enhanced sound protection