Best Foam Earplugs for Concerts and Clubs
When going to concerts or clubbing you want to enjoy the music. And the music is more enjoyable if the sound quality is good. In addition, you might appreciate if not everyone sees that you are wearing hearing protection.
Fortunately, all foam earplugs can be hidden well and made almost fully invisible, only depending on the time you are willing to invest in preparation.
We will first focus on sound quality, second on protection strength, third on invisibility, and fourth on alternatives.
This article is about foam earplugs only, but we will briefly discuss alternatives in the fourth section.
Sound Quality
Wearing the wrong foam earplugs can result in a poor sound experience.
Choosing the right foam earplugs can result in a great experience.
The difference in sound quality between different foam earplugs is huge.
Roughly said, the flatter the decibel (dB) attenuation curve of an earplugs, the better the sound quality.
The following foam earplugs have a good sound quality:
The Bilsom 303 is our favorite foam earplugs for listening to music. It is available in two sizes 303S and 303L. The 303S is shown in the picture below.
The Laser Lite earplug is almost as good, but not quite as good. It is shown in the picture below.
Other foam earplugs almost all have significantly worse sound quality.
Protection Strength
Foam earplugs provide strong hearing protection.
The above mentioned Bilsom 303 and Laser Lite are both strong earplugs.
There are weaker earplugs available such as the Uvex Hi-Com, but they have worse sound quality.
If foam earplugs are too strong for you, then you might try reusable earplugs as discussed in the section on alternatives below.
Invisibility
Foam earplugs are the most discreet earplugs available if hidden well. A well hidden foam earplug cannot be seen by others. It works with any foam earplug.
The most important step is to insert foam earplugs appropriately. They should be ⅔ up to ¾ in the ear canal and not ½ or more in the out ear.
Additional steps include using flesh colored earplugs and painting them black. The above mentioned Bilsom 303 or Laser Lite earplugs can also be painted black, which makes them much less visible.
It is also possible to cut them shorter by up to ¼, which minimizes the part that is usually remains visible in the outer ear.
A full description of how to make foam earplugs invisible is available here.
Alternatives
This article is about foam earplugs. Foam earplugs have the advantage that they provide strong hearing protection, which is necessary for loud concerts and clubs.
Some people might desire only weaker hearing protection. Unfortunately, there are no weak foam earplugs. And the weakest foam earplug is still strong.
Reusable earplugs are an alternative with weaker protection. The ER20XS or the ACS Pacato are examples of such plugs. Pictures of them are shown below.
Another alternative are custom molded professional earplugs such as the ER15 and ER25. The sound quality of the ER25 is truly exceptional and surpasses all foam earplugs and reusable earplugs.
Read more about reusable and custom molded earplugs in our article on earplugs for listening to music.
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