Looking for recommendations for good ear protection during concerts. I want ear buds that don’t just muffle all the sound but limit higher unsafe frequencies while allowing you to still enjoy the music. I did a search and came up with a bunch of different kinds and varying reviews on amazon, I also asked my friend who is in the live audio business and he said I needed custom molded IEMs but that seemed a little over kill for me, even if it’s the best way.
This Site shows the common ones I’ve seen.
Thanks!
EDIT: thanks everyone for the reaponses, I will go through and look at each of the recommended solutioms works best for me.
Live audio guy here, and I can say that custom-moulded plugs truly are tremendously above anything you can get in a universal fit. I got mine done for about $100 USD and they are super comfortable. If you are able to save up for it, I cannot recommend enough that you get custom ear plugs.
I also own a pair of Etymotic ER20XS universal fit ear plugs and they really irritate my ears. It hurts to wear them for a long period of time, whilst the custom plugs I can wear for hours at a time. Your mileage may vary, depending on the size and shape of your ear canal, but for me, universal fit ear plugs are just really painful. Whenever I forget my customs, I just go with foam ear plugs because I just can’t stand the Etymotics.
None of that is to mention how much more balanced the sound is with custom ear plugs, I find that universal ones just don’t sound as good.
I’m back! I got a few pairs of universal plugs, Loop Switch 2, Westone TRU Music and Westone TRU Travel, and I also have a pair of Etymotic ER20XS I’ve had for a long while. The Loop can attenuate at various levels, including 20 dB, 23 dB, and 26 dB. The TRU Music attenuate at 10 dB and the TRU Travel attenuate at 7 dB. The Etymotic attenuate at 13 dB.
The Loop Switch 2 are pretty versatile, but also kinda strange. Unlike the other plugs, they are single-flange. This makes getting a good seal not as easy, and even when they do seal, they might not stay sealed as well. Single-flange does make them much more comfortable than other offerings, they wear exactly like standard in-ear monitors. They’re also much more “fashionable” depending on what you subjectively consider to be fashionable. When you wear the Loop, people know you’re wearing them because they announce their presence with a unique shape. The three switchable modes are great! The 23 dB “Experience” mode seems ideal for concerts, with the most balanced quality compared to the 20 dB “Engage” mode and the 26 dB “Quiet” mode. The Engage mode would be adequate for everyday use if you’re getting around a city and wanted enough spatial awareness whilst also making things more comfortably quiet. The Quiet mode dampens the upper end by a lot, and sound quality is terrible when using them. Quiet mode would be ideal for sleep or focus.
The Westone TRU plugs are triple-flange tips with slightly different acoustic filters. They are both pretty great, and they both come with two sizes of silicone plugs in the box, but only one pair of acoustic filters (you can remove the filter and put it in the size of your choice). Not as comfortable as the Loops, but I’m also more confident in their seal and they are also much more discreet. You could wear these plugs without people knowing you have ear plugs in. The 7 dB Travel are great as “everyday” plugs, with enough attenuation that you can hear everything around you well enough, but attenuated enough to make louder sounds more comfortable and take the edge off. I would not wear these at concerts though, unless you’re going to a small concert that won’t be very loud. The Travel plugs would be fantastic for use in a busy office though. As for the 10 dB Music plugs, they sound very natural and would be pretty good for use at concerts, but that’s assuming the concert isn’t going to be playing too loud for too long.
The Etymotic ER20XS… I hate these things. These are the ear plugs that made me think all universal ear plugs must suck. Before I had my custom-moulded plugs I had these, and even though I had these I would always opt for foam plugs. I won’t even try to talk about the sound quality, I cannot wear them long enough to enjoy music because I’m too distracted by the pain in my ears to enjoy a concert.
Here’s what I’ve learned: universal ear plugs can actually be pretty comfy! The ER20XS are just horribly stiff and my ears hate them.
That’s what my friend said also, but he also said that I have to make an appointment with an audiologist to get them properly fit and that seems like it would be really expensive. Ive seen custom molds that you do at home. Are those suitable?
And another thing that I forgot to mention is that I’m not a huge concert goer. I maybe see 1 per year.
Yeah if you’re not a regular then I’d just get some silicone ones with the little flappies (not sure how to explain it, they’re like “layered”). Nowhere as good as moulded ones but still do the job and let you hear the music while keeping the ears safe. I keep mines in the little box they came in hanging on my keychain.
the little flappies (not sure how to explain it, they’re like “layered”).
ribbed, for her pleasure 😆
That’s what I was thinking. I know custom molds are the best, but with how little I go it seems unnecessary. The eargasms that someone else mentioned look pretty good.
Depending on where you go to have it done, it likely can increase the price you pay to have them done. If you’re crafty enough with an at-home mould you could likely pull it off, but I know very little about those, do they come with an acoustic filter? Depending on how the DIY customs turn out, they might not sound as good as a universal fit. Edit: looking online, Decibullz DIY custom ear plugs look the most promising. Their “High Fidelity” model appears on Amazon and comes with three different acoustic filters, attenuating at 14, 17, and 19 dB from lowest to highest. If I was gonna try an at-home custom, these are the ones I would go for.
I was fortunate enough to have gotten my customs when I was part of a live production group in college where we had it in our budget to get executive board members custom-made ear plugs. We had an audiology center right on campus with a doctor that could take the mould and send it to the company that would make the plugs, at no extra cost to the student.
I’m actually looking into some universal plugs right now because I might have written off universal plugs entirely due to the Etymotic’s triple-flange shape being such deep insertion. This weekend I’m expecting a few pairs of universal fits to come in the mail, I’ll follow up with how they work out soon! :)
If you are in the EU,
These things are pretty awesome. They have the switch which allows you to change the DB drop depending on what you are using them for (or how loud the specifically concert is)
My girlfriend has some noise sensitivity and they help her a lot just to put them on the lowest dB drop setting or the middle in a busy environment.
Why EU only? These bad boys are on amazon.
I use eargasm ear plugs. They increase the clarity while decreasing the decibels. https://eargasm.com/products/eargasm-high-fidelity-earplugs?variant=44275577225517
I also use Eargasm earplugs. They work great. You can still hear the music and whoever you’re talking to next to you, but things are just quieter. I’ve even recommended them to my autistic friend who struggles with sound and they were an immediate convert.
Can’t go wrong.
I own Alpine MusicSafe Pro earplugs, but they filter high/mid frequency too much. Guitars are way too silent at concerts and the sound gets very bass heavy. Do Eargasm plugs have similar problems or are things really just quieter?
I was wearing Eargasms when I saw the Smashing Pumpkins and I didn’t notice any problem like that.
The high dB attenuation inserts are def worth the money.
A colleague of mine got tinnitus after a concert when he was a teen, and its been a life long torture. He is now 37 and the ringing never stops, ever.
It’s affecting his entire life. He has to wear noise protection when out in public, to prevent any loud noises, which makes him not hear what people are saying. Dating is hard, girls thinks he is not listening when he can’t hear them. People stop having conversations with him. It’s quite hard emotionally.
Be very careful to even risk this.
Go to a local music shop and look for musician’s earplugs with a rated dB reduction. At least -8dB, but a bigger reduction won’t make your experience worse, it’ll just make things even quieter.
I have some from a major guitar manufacturer that I’ve been using at the infrequent shows I go to for a decade. They were $10 then, and it looks like that’s still true. I clean after using, but I wasn’t really expecting to get this many shows out of them.
They don’t muffle sounds, it just sounds quieter. Without earplugs I need to stand on the other side of the room/field to be comfortable. I’ll still leave with ear pain and feeling exhausted. With earplugs I’m comfortable right in front of the speaker stack, and leave feeling exhilarated.
They’ve been a huge upgrade in my enjoyment of shows and I’m very grateful to my friend for dragging me to the shop and making me buy them.
That’s a good idea. For some reason I didn’t even think to go to guitar center. Thanks!
I use EARPEACE ear plugs when riding my motorcycles but also use them at concerts. They have ones for moto, music, sport, and sleep but I just use my moto ones for everything. Haven’t tried any of the other varieties to see how they compare in the real world.
I enjoy them because they cut down on the shitty frequencies that’ll damage your hearing but still allow you to hear things clearly. Also pretty nice that you get 3 ear plugs per order in case you lose one. It also comes with an aluminum carrying case for them so you can throw it in your pocket or bag and not have them get damaged or covered with pocket fuzz.
They’re pretty damned inexpensive too for what they are.
I’ve been using Ear Peace for years! These stay on my person at all times. I wish I discovered them before tinnitus but at least I can try to keep things from getting worse. Also on the autistic spectrum so they’re nice to have when overwhelmed by sound.
Agree with you on the tinnitus thing. I have it so bad from so many years of playing-in and going-to metal shows and riding bikes. Young and invincible, right? I try to do everything I can these days to keep it from getting any worse. I can’t even stand being in a silent room, it drives me nuts. Always have to have at least a fan or some music on.
So glad to hear they help you cope with an overwhelming amount of sound too. ❤️
For reference, I have used equipment to tune home theaters to flat frequency responses, and designed speaker crossovers. Spreadsheets are fun, and sound is math.
Like the other commenter recoed: Loops https://www.loopearplugs.com/.
The loop is tuned for specific frequencies, and it actually works. My partner also uses them on job sites, and the soft ones are great for sleeping. I typically use the ones for loud places that help you hear voices.
Regardless of where you live, you can buy them in your currency on Amazon if you can’t find a direct purchase: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=loop+earplugs&crid=2GUCLFWL47XJA&sprefix=loop%2Caps%2C164&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_2_4
I have loved by Loops for concerts. They keep all of the music but remove all of the screaming. I used them when I watched Taylor Swift which was all screams and loved it
While I was playing in a band, I was using some earplugs like these: Alpine MusicSafe Pro - Clear / Thomann.de. I was wearing them for every band practice and shows. It wasn’t the exact same ones though. I can say I still have a good hearing today, I can still hear the high pitch noise from some power supply and I don’t have any permanent ringing in my ears. So, they did a good enough job for me, standing next to a angry drummer and maxed-out guitar amplifier twice a week for 4 years :)
I worn these to a gig for the first time recently - excellent.
Yep. They also have a range of amateur plugs (sounds kinkier then meant), like the SeepDeep or Partyplugs. They are generally pretty great.
I second this, I’ve been using the Alpine MusicSafe plugs (older version than the ones mentioned above) for more than 10 years now. Comfy to wear even for a whole festival day.
Earasers for me. They have a selective band pass to let vocal frequencies through. Airplanes, concerts, monster truck shows you name it, I’ve used mine and can practically have a normal conversation.
+1 for earasers. They’re very efficient and comfortable , and I wear them for 12 hours a day for 4 days straight during Hellfest each year.
I just use regular disposable plugs. Except I reuse them and wash them until they fall apart. I’ve bought whatever was sold in the venue on several occasions because I forgot mine at home.
In my experience they lower the volume but don’t “muffle” anything. What muffles sound is being exposed to extremely loud music for a couple of hours.
I’d be curious if the expensive ones offer anything more than increased comfort. There is a lot of audiophile stuff out there that is bullshit.
What? They absolutely massacre the sound, lowers the volume and blocks out anything but the bass. They fit terribly too.
I have a pair of Alpine MusicSafe Pro which I got for $30 for a two day festival. They’re night and day compared to anything you can buy at the venue or at a pharmacy. They lower the volume without muffling anything, and allows you to pick how aggressively they should block the sound.
If I want to let more sound in, I tug on the plug a little.
Anything thats rated for a certain db reduction. I like disposable ones personally because they tend to be more comfortable (edit: or maybe I just refuse to try the insanely expensive shit, so I could be missing out). The 3M ones in the article you linked look great, just make sure you know how to roll them and insert them
I hated loop earplugs - they just did not work for me. These did and we’re significantly cheaper: https://a.co/d/02gC45R.
They were great at volume lowering while still letting the vocals/mids through, and critically they were comfortable for the entire concert.
I got an error with the link you sent
Oops, try this - the brand name is Mumba and the ASIN is B07GYXJZRY. Search for the ASIN on Amazon and it should pop up. They’re ear buds with a metal carrying case for currently $14.36 USD.
Found it, thanks!
I own a pair of Etymotic ER20XS ear plugs and I like them. I haven’t had the chance yet to try them out at a concert, but I have worn them on other occassions. I think they’re reasonably comfortable and the sound quality is still good while wearing them.
I’ve been using these for years for concerts, gym classes and always take spares to festivals to give to friends. They are designed for an even 20db cut when listening to music. They have the same fit as the cheaper ER20 but the xs have clearer top end.
I use them 3x a week and have a few pairs. They don’t last forever as the baffles get softer over time. At $40 they last me a year which is pretty good value.
Sure, you could spend money on nice shit but I wear basic-ass foam earplugs fairly often and they work super well.
You want shooting ear buds. They actually amplify quiet sounds, pass normal sounds through, and muffle sounds above the threshold. But they won’t really work as you want, because the entire concert is above the safe threshold. That means they’ll effectively just be ear plugs during the whole show, so you might as well just get ear plugs for 50¢.
