The Best Earplugs for Protecting Your Hearing (2026) | WIRED
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The best earplugs are the pair you'll use, whether it's for sleeping, for catching live music, or both. Hearing damage from noise or age can't be undone, so it's important to take good care of your ears.
Earplugs aren't one-size-fits-all, though. If you're trying to muffle street noise or a snoring partner, you'll want something more occlusive than you would if you're trying to filter out intense highs and lows at a concert while still maintaining fidelity. We've tested earplugs for both scenarios (in both scenarios) and have plenty of recommendations below.
Our current top picks, the Loop Quiet 2 and Earpeace Pro, are both excellent passive pairs of earplugs with slightly different purposes. The Loop Quiet 2 are great for sleep, because they aim to entirely block out the outside world, while the Earpeace Pro are designed to evenly lower the sound of the world around you for when you're in loud environments but still want to hear.
Be sure to check out our other buying guides, like the Best Sleep Gadgets, Best Wireless Earbuds, Best Wireless Headphones, and Gifts for People Who Need a Good Night’s Sleep.
Updated March 2026: We reformatted this guide and checked for accuracy throughout. We've removed some older picks and added new earplugs from Mack's, Eargasm, and Loop.
Table of Contents
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- Best Earplugs for Sleep
- Best Earplugs for Concerts
- Best Cheap Earplugs for Shows
- Best-Looking Earplugs
- Best Adjustable Volume Earplugs
- Best Ear Tip Assortment
- Best Earplugs for Live Musicians
- Best Disposable Earplugs
- When Should You Wear Earplugs?
- How Does WIRED Test Earplugs?
The Best Earplugs
Best Earplugs for Sleep
Courtesy of Amazon
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Loop
Quiet 2 Ear Plugs
$25 Amazon
$25 Loop
There are no prizes for guessing where Loop earplugs got their name from—but the circular design is a long way from being purely aesthetic. This is a newer version of the earplugs we originally tested, which have a slightly smaller shape. We're in the process of testing them but still recommend them due to the minimal changes compared to the version we first tried.
The Loop Quiet 2 look almost identical to the Loop Experience earplugs, but there are two crucial differences: With no acoustic filter, they're capable of blocking out more noise—24 dB rather than 18—and they're made entirely from soft silicone, including the round protrusion that sits almost at right angles to the interchangeable tip. That means these silicone earplugs fit right inside the concha of your ear, entirely flush with your head, so when you lie on your side there is very little force applied to the earplug and also less chance of inadvertently knocking them loose. That makes the Loop Quiet 2 the most comfortable earplugs for sleeping.
The loop itself is made of silicone, but it's rigid enough that putting the earplugs in or taking them out is easy. They feel nice and snug when in situ without giving you that bunged-up feeling that comes with some pairs. You get four different-sized sets of ear tips (though actually changing the ear tips can be a pain), and the whole thing is washable in warm water. They even come in four colors, so you can match them to your bedsheets. —Parker Hall
Best Earplugs for Concerts
Courtesy of EarPeace
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NPR Music x Earpeace Pro
$43 $34 (21% off) Amazon
When I went to see my wife's favorite band, the opener was a doom-metal duo with full stacks of amplifiers. I grabbed some foam earplugs from the bar, but I’d have fared much better if I’d had the Earpeace Music Pros on my keychain.
These NPR-backed earplugs fit perfectly in my ears and come with a small aluminum carrying case. They’re super comfortable and can pull a solid 13 decibels from noisy signals—often the difference between some hearing damage and none—in a way that doesn’t suck all the high end out of the sound. Don’t just take my word for it. Legendary NPR music critic Bob Boilen says he has worn his at thousands of shows. —Parker Hall
Best Cheap Earplugs for Shows
Photograph: Louryn Strampe
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Eargasm
High Fidelity Earplugs
$44 $35 (20% off) Amazon
$48 Eargasm
These super-comfortable earplugs can reduce noise by up to 22 decibels, and they won't irritate your ears even if you wear them for 18 hours at a time. The silicone shell is easy to clean, and you'll get three sizes to ensure a proper in-ear fit, plus a handy metal keychain case where you can store them. I frequently wear them at some of the loudest bass music festivals in the world, and they do a good job at filtering out extreme highs and lows without muffling the sounds I paid to hear. My only complaint is that the silicone shells can get yellow over time, but