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⏱️ Estimated reading time: 11 min
On this page: Overview
Key Takeaways
An earplug seals the ear canal, so low-pitched sound from your jaw, carried through the bones of your head, cannot escape and sounds roughly 10 to 20 dB louder below about 500 Hz. This is the occlusion effect.
No. It shows the earplug is sealing, which it has to do to lower outside sound. How strong it feels depends mostly on how deep the seal sits.
Yes. In measurements, a deep earplug gives an occlusion effect about 15 dB lower than a shallow one. Seat it as far as its design allows, never further.
Keep the earplugs in while other people are eating, and take them out or ease them back while you take your own mouthfuls if your chewing starts to dominate.
Size decides how deep an earplug can seat. AI ear measurement uses two photos of your ears to pick it, so the effect gets smaller, though it never disappears.
It is the same occlusion effect. Your voice reaches your ears through the bones of your head as well as through the air, and a sealed canal traps the low-pitched part, so it sounds deeper and louder. A deeper seal at the right size makes it less boomy.
Not on its own. A plug too small for your canal tends to seal shallow or loosely, which can make chewing boom more. The right size, seated at the depth its design allows, is what lowers it.
If your own chewing dominates, yes, for your mouthfuls. Follow “out to eat, in to listen” and put them back in once you have finished while others are still eating.
Hearing your own chewing with earplugs in catches a lot of first-time wearers off guard. You put them in so a crunchy salad across the table sounds quieter, and suddenly your own jaw is the loudest thing in the room.
At Bollsen, we make reusable silicone earplugs trusted by 1,000,000+ people, and this is one of the questions we hear most. It is not a fault in the earplug. It is physics, and most of it comes down to how deep the earplug seals.
This guide sits under our wider page on earplugs for misophonia, for people who wear earplugs to make eating sounds at the table quieter, and it covers why it happens and what you can change.
Why can you hear your own chewing with earplugs in?
The cause is the occlusion effect: sealing the ear canal traps low-pitched sound from your jaw and teeth that travels through the bones of the skull, so instead of escaping through the open canal it builds up inside, and your own chewing sounds roughly 10 to 20 dB louder below about 500 Hz.
Chewing gets hit hardest because most of its energy sits between about 125 and 500 Hz, right where the effect is strongest. Your teeth are bone, so every bite sends vibration straight into your head. With the ear open, much of that sound leaks out. Seal it, and the walls of the outer canal keep vibrating into a small closed space with nowhere for the sound to go.
BBC Science Focus calls it a real, measurable amplification of up to 20 decibels. Lab work puts numbers on it. In a 2021 paper in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Carillo, Doutres and Sgard report measured values of about 35 dB at 125 Hz with a shallow earplug, falling to about 9 dB at 1 kHz, and note that what people actually perceive is usually 5 to 10 dB lower than the measured figure.
The same effect makes breathing, swallowing and footsteps louder, and some people hear their heartbeat on the pillow; night-time has its own guide on misophonia and sleep.
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Life+★ 4.7 · 3,700 reviewsLife+★ 4.7 · 3,700 reviewsMusic SoundPRO★ 4.8 · 514 reviewsWatersafe+★ 4.8 · 684 reviewsLife+★ 4.7 · 3,700 reviewsHow does seal depth change what you hear?
Insertion depth is the biggest lever: Carillo and colleagues found that a deeply inserted earplug produces an occlusion effect about 15 dB lower across the frequency range than a shallow one, because the bony inner part of the ear canal vibrates far less than the soft, cartilaginous outer part.
None of this means the earplug fits badly. Fitting guides describe a well-fitted plug as making your own voice sound deeper or slightly hollow, because a seal is what lowers outside sound. A shallow seal simply leaves more of the soft outer canal inside the closed space, where it acts a little like a speaker cone for your chewing. Some boom remains even with well-seated earplugs, so expect smaller, not gone.
Depth has limits, though. Seat an earplug as far as its design allows, never further, and take it out if anything hurts.
Does the shape of the earplug tip matter?
Shape matters because it decides how far a plug can comfortably go. A conical two-lamella tip narrows towards the front, so it can seat further into the canal than a shallow foam roll, which often ends up sealing near the entrance where the canal walls move most.
We built our Life+ conical two-lamella silicone earplug (SNR 24 dB, £29.95) around that shape, in hypoallergenic silicone with a patented profile (US D961,757) that sits flush, with no stem sticking out. Life+ is passive, rated SNR 24 dB (H 24, M 21, L 19), and its attenuation rises with frequency, so sounds get quieter, not silent; our guide to misophonia trigger sounds explains what that means pitch by pitch.
A pair lasts up to 100 uses, about 30p a use. Two packs cost £44.95, and UK delivery is free on orders over £35. Material plays a smaller part than shape and depth, and our guide on silicone vs foam earplugs for misophonia compares the two in full.
Why is the right size the main lever?
Earplug size sets the depth: a plug too small for your ear canal size sits forward and seals shallow or leaks, while a plug too large stops at the canal entrance and presses on the walls, and in both cases the seal ends up where your own chewing sounds loudest. Smaller is not automatically better. The right size is.
Our sleeping team explains how ear canal size affects earplug fit, including what a good seal should feel like.
Guessing is where most people go wrong. With Life+ with AI ear measurement from two photos, you send two pictures of your ears, our AI picks the size, and that is the size we ship. It is the same Life+ earplug with the same 24 dB rating, at £44.95 for one size-matched pair, and orders with the measurement have a return rate of about 3 %.
Should you take earplugs out while you eat?
Often, yes, just for a moment. Our rule of thumb is out to eat, in to listen: keep the earplugs in while other people are eating, and take them out, or ease them back slightly, while you take your own mouthfuls if your chewing starts to dominate.
“I can’t eat with earplugs in, the chewing is too loud” is a line we hear a lot. The routine answers it without giving up the quieter table. Many people wait until their own plate is finished, then put them in. Our guide on earplugs for chewing sounds at a shared table covers the meal itself.
An earplug makes sound quieter while it is in. It does not change how anyone reacts to a sound; the occlusion effect is purely about the seal.
What causes it, and what can you change?
Start at the top of the table and work down.
| Cause | What you notice | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Shallow seal | Boomy, hollow chewing and a loud own voice | Reseat it: gently pull the ear up and back, insert, and let the tip settle as far as the design allows |
| Earplug too small | Loose feel, chewing booms, outside sound leaks round the edge | Try the next size up, or size it with AI ear measurement from two photos |
| Earplug too large | Plug stops at the canal entrance, pressure, chewing still loud | Go down a size; never force a larger plug deeper |
| Shallow foam roll | Muffled boom, and the plug creeps out as your jaw moves | A conical two-lamella tip that seats further in |
| Chewing with earplugs in | Your own bites are the loudest sound at the table | Out to eat, in to listen |
| Wearing them all day | Everyday sound feels harder to sit with once they come out | Keep them for chosen moments, then take them out |
| Pain or itching | A sore or itchy ear canal | Stop, take them out, check size and cleaning; see your GP if it lasts |
When should you stop and take them out?
Take earplugs out straight away if you feel pain or itching, then check the size and cleaning before trying again (Life+ washes in water with mild soap). If soreness lasts, speak to your GP or a pharmacist.
Wear time matters too. The NHS page on hyperacusis (noise sensitivity) advises against wearing earplugs or ear muffs all the time, because this could make you more sensitive to noise, while short-term use may help in very noisy places. Our guide on when to wear earplugs and when to take them out sets out a simple routine.
If certain sounds are affecting your meals, work or relationships, talk to your GP, who can refer you to audiology or other services. Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has a clear misophonia information page that names eating sounds as one of the most common trigger groups.
Hearing your own chewing with earplugs in means there is a seal, not that something is wrong. The right size seated deeper makes the boom smaller, and “out to eat, in to listen” covers the rest. Still choosing a pair? Our guide on how to choose earplugs for misophonia compares the options, and every Bollsen order has a 40-day money-back guarantee.
His connection to hearing protection stems from personal experience with sound sensitivity during live events and work in noisy environments, an issue that made him more aware of the long-term risks of unmanaged noise exposure. Today, as both a communicator and a user of BOLLSEN products, he is passionate about raising awareness around the importance of proactive hearing care.
At BOLLSEN, he develops data-driven marketing campaigns, writes SEO-focused articles, and manages communication channels that connect customers with practical knowledge about hearing protection. His work ensures that BOLLSEN’s message—prioritizing health, performance, and sustainability reaches a global audience in an engaging and trustworthy way.
Passionate about writing since childhood, Timotej combines creativity with a strong analytical approach, continuously testing new ideas in digital marketing, performance advertising, and social media. He believes in learning through innovation and collaboration, balancing leadership with openness to new perspectives.
Beyond his professional role, Timotej is committed to a healthy lifestyle and finds inspiration in fitness, sports, and quality time with friends. His personal passion for well-being aligns with BOLLSEN’s core values, making his work not only a career but also a cause he deeply believes in.