Earplugs for Travelling | Sleep Better on Flights & Trains with Life+

Partially – and here’s why that’s still worth knowing. A baby’s cry registers at 99–120 dB at close range. More importantly, the human brain is evolutionarily hardwired to respond to infant distress cries. It cannot habituate to them the way it does to constant mechanical noise. This is why the engine drone becomes background within 20 minutes and a crying baby at row 22 keeps you alert at row 7. That’s not sensitivity – it’s neurology.

What bollsen Life+ earplugs do: they reduce the overall noise floor significantly, including the sharp peaks of a cry, making it far less intrusive and – crucially – far less likely to jolt you out of the light sleep you’ve managed to get into. They won’t make a screaming toddler disappear. They will make the difference between lying awake for nine hours and actually getting some rest.

One TripAdvisor regular brought Formula One-grade industrial earplugs to a flight with three toddlers. Still heard them. The point isn’t elimination – it’s reduction to manageable. That’s what they do.

The cabin noise at cruise altitude on a modern wide-body aircraft averages 80–85 dB(A) – consistently across hundreds of measured flights. The recommended maximum for a sleeping environment is 55 dB. You’re trying to sleep in something 25–30 dB louder than it should be, for up to 14 hours.

During takeoff near the engine zone: 100–110 dB. The intercom, the trolley, a nearby passenger laughing, the lavatory cycling: all layer on top of the constant cabin hum that never stops.

At 85 dB sustained, NIOSH recommends a maximum of 8 hours of unprotected exposure before hearing damage becomes a risk. Your long-haul to Singapore is 12–13 hours. Most people aren’t thinking about that. They’re just wondering why they arrive feeling wrecked every time.

The practical approach used by experienced long-haul travellers: remove earplugs for takeoff and landing – the two phases where crew announcements matter most and where cabin noise is highest anyway. Once at cruise altitude, put them in for sleep. Remove them when the cabin starts descending.

At cruise, cabin crew announcements are broadcast at a volume specifically designed to cut through engine noise. A set of earplugs reducing the background by 25–30 dB doesn’t make announcements inaudible – it makes them the loudest thing in the cabin, which is exactly what they’re designed to be.

The EASA guidance notes that earplugs lower awareness of surroundings. That’s correct, and worth knowing. The sensible response is not to sleep through boarding – it’s to be a switched-on passenger during active phases and protect your hearing and sleep quality during cruise.

Because you can’t sleep in them. That’s the honest answer.

ANC headphones are exceptional at cancelling the low-frequency engine drone – that constant hum is exactly what active noise cancellation is designed for. But over-ear headphones press against your ears and head. After 30–60 minutes, the pressure becomes uncomfortable. You can’t turn your head to the side without the cup digging in. They don’t work with a neck pillow. The battery dies somewhere over the Atlantic. And if you’re in economy, the reclined seat in front of you means you can’t fully lean back without pushing them off-axis.

The frequent flyer consensus on FlyerTalk: “For sleep specifically – foam plugs and an eye mask. Simpler, lighter, and actually work when your head is against the headrest.”

Bollsen Life+ earplugs are medical-grade silicone, sized to your ear canal. No battery, no bulk, no pressure against the headrest, no problem for side sleepers. Use your ANC headphones for the film. Use bollsen for the six hours you’re trying to sleep.

The data on this is not encouraging.

A KAYAK and Airbus study found that jet lag and flight fatigue cost the UK 65 million days of holiday per year. 32% of British travellers have actively avoided long-haul destinations because of jet lag anxiety. 27% of working Brits have taken a sick day after a long-haul flight specifically to recover. For business travellers, jet-lagged employees perform at 61% of normal productivity – and 49% admit making a workplace mistake because of it.

Full circadian realignment after eastward long-haul (London to Asia) takes up to 10 days. Sleep deprivation during the flight compounds the jet lag, extending that recovery window further.

If you’re flying for a holiday, the first two days wasted in bed are days you paid for. If you’re flying for work, showing up to a boardroom fuzzy-headed and running at 61% is not acceptable preparation. Sleep on the plane isn’t a luxury. It’s the whole strategy.

Standard foam earplugs can make ear pressure equalisation harder – the tight seal works against the natural process of pressure adjustment through the Eustachian tube. This is why the “remove for landing” advice exists.

Bollsen Life+ earplugs use medical-grade silicone, not expanding foam. They don’t create the same rigid seal. The recommended approach is the same as for announcements: remove them when the descent begins and the cabin pressure starts changing. You’re not sleeping during that phase anyway – the lights come on, the crew move through, the seatbelt sign is on.

Put simply: use them during cruise for sleep, take them out for descent. That’s it.

Eurostar commissioned Sony to research exactly this question. Their findings: 39% of Eurostar travellers cited noise from other passengers as one of their biggest stress factors. They found 23% of passengers cannot switch off ahead of important meetings on the journey. Eurostar’s response was to literally hand out Sony noise-cancelling headphones as part of a “Sound Menu.”

UK intercity services – LNER, Avanti, GWR, CrossCountry – run open-plan standard class carriages at 125–200 mph with significant wheel and track noise. There’s no acoustic separation between you and the group booking behind you, the person on speakerphone, or the toddler in the priority seat.

For a two-hour London–Edinburgh train, the noise may just be annoying. For overnight services, or for the Eurostar leg before a Paris meeting at 9am, the quality of those hours matters. Bollsen Life+ packs flat into any bag and adds nothing to your luggage weight. They’re the cheapest upgrade to any journey that involves trying to rest.

Each bollsen Life+ set includes your earplugs in medical-grade silicone, sized to your exact ear canal via AR KI TECH, with a compact carry case that fits in a jacket pocket or wash bag and a Fit Guide. Free UK delivery. Returns and exchanges are free if the fit isn’t right – though with AR KI TECH sizing, our return rate sits at around 3%, so it rarely comes to that.