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On this page: Overview
Key Takeaways
BBC journalists using UCL meters recorded a 109 dB peak between Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green in 2018, and the London Assembly reported that moving carriages routinely exceed 80 dBA and sometimes pass 100 dBA. Buses are gentler, averaging around 75 dBA inside.
Yes. A platform announcement at 90 dB reaches the ear at about 66 dB through Life+ passive SNR 24 dB earplugs, still louder than normal conversation. Announcements stay audible because they are loud, and voices get quieter too.
In on the platform before the train arrives, or at the top of the escalator on a deep line. Out at the ticket barrier, and always out before you cross a road or a level crossing.
Walking along a pavement is fine, but take them out before every road crossing. Heavy traffic measures around 88 dB and you want every cue an approaching car, cyclist or bus gives you.
Bus interiors average around 75 dBA, so the window for earplugs is shorter: busy stops and the loudest stretches of the route. Bus stops are spikier than the ride itself, with measured peaks above 100 dBA.
A soft, reusable silicone earplug that fits flush and clips to your keys. Life+ is passive SNR 24 dB, made of hypoallergenic natural silicone, lasts up to 100 uses and comes in an aluminium case on a keyring.
There is a moment on the Northern line, somewhere between Euston and Camden Town, when the rails screech and half the carriage puts its hands over its ears. Local reporters measured that stretch at 109.5 dB in 2019. Earplugs for commuting exist for exactly that moment, and for the quieter grind of platforms, buses and concourses that adds up across a week.
At Bollsen, we make reusable silicone earplugs (German-tested, independently certified 24 dB) trusted by 1,000,000+ people. This guide stays on the ground: train, Tube, bus, the station in between and the walk to it. It sits inside our wider guide to earplugs for noise sensitivity, which covers every other loud place in a day.
If everyday sound feels louder than it should on the Tube, the routine below matters as much as the earplug.
How loud is the London Underground, really?
The London Underground routinely puts commuters above 80 dBA in a moving carriage, with peaks measured between 105 and 109 dB on the loudest deep-line sections. That is above the 85 dB(A) upper exposure action value, the point at which UK employers must provide hearing protection.
In January 2018, BBC journalists with meters supplied by the UCL Ear Institute recorded a week of journeys across zones 1 and 2. The loudest, Liverpool Street to Bethnal Green on the Central line, peaked at 109 dB. The Victoria line was the loudest on average. One commuter told the BBC it was “a deafening noise” and that one or two journeys a day “all adds up”. That was why she wore ear protection.
Five years later the London Assembly’s Environment Committee wrote to TfL summarising independent research from 2006 to 2019. Passengers in moving carriages were “routinely and consistently subjected to sound pressure levels exceeding 80 dBA”, and at times to more than 100 dBA. The HSE’s Control of Noise at Work Regulations set that 85 dB(A) upper action value.
| Where on the commute | Measured level | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Loudest deep-Tube sections (Central line Liverpool Street to Bethnal Green; Northern line around Camden Town) | Peaks of 105–109 dB | BBC and UCL meter readings, 2018; local newspaper readings, 2019 |
| Inside a moving Tube carriage | Routinely above 80 dBA, at times over 100 dBA | London Assembly letter to TfL, 2023 |
| Underground platform as trains arrive and leave | Around 81–86 dBA on average, peaks of 102–106 dBA | Neitzel 2009; Gershon 2006 (comparable metro systems) |
| Inside a metro or commuter-rail carriage (comparable systems) | Around 71–79 dBA on average, peaks of 92–112 dBA | Neitzel 2009; Gershon 2006 |
| Inside a bus | Around 75–76 dBA on average, peaks of roughly 86–97 dBA | Neitzel 2009; Yao 2017 |
| Bus stop or station concourse | Around 76–80 dBA on average, peaks of 89–102 dBA | Neitzel 2009; Gershon 2006; Yao 2017 |
| Heavy traffic when crossing the road | 88 dB | RNID everyday sound chart, 2026 |
| Reference: workplace upper exposure action value | 85 dB(A) | HSE, Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 |
The New York and Toronto rows come from comparable metro systems, the peer-reviewed measurements that put platform, carriage and bus-stop figures side by side. The Neitzel 2009 survey of New York transit noise found every mode averaged above 70 dBA. Our Life+ passive SNR 24 dB reusable silicone earplugs (£29.95) take a 90 dB platform to around 66 dB at the ear, and a 95 dB carriage to around 71 dB. The reasoning behind that 24 dB figure is in our explainer on how many decibels everyday earplugs should block.
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Yes. A platform announcement at 90 dB reaches your ear at roughly 66 dB through Life+ earplugs rated SNR 24 dB (H 24, M 21, L 19). That is still louder than a normal conversation at 60 dB. Announcements, alarms and a guard’s call stay audible because they are loud.
Nothing is being filtered through. The plugs lower everything, and voices get quieter too, by about 21 dB in the mid range where speech sits. Someone asking whether the seat is free will need to lean in closer. You still hear the world, just quieter.
The drop is not the same at every pitch. It sits around 22 dB in the lows and mids and rises to 35 dB at 8 kHz, as our independent EN 352-2 lab results show. So the brake squeal fades a little more than the rumble does.
When should earplugs go in and come out on a commute?
A commuter earplug routine has three set points. In on the platform before the train arrives (or at the top of the escalator on a deep line), out at the ticket barrier, and out again before every road crossing. The rest of the journey is decided by how loud the next stretch is.
The sharpest spikes are on the platform, as trains arrive and brake, so the plugs go in while you are still walking along it. On a deep line, put them in at the top of the escalator, because the descent is already loud. If they are still in your pocket when the train pulls in, you have missed the loudest ten seconds.
The concourse of a big interchange is its own kind of loud, with announcements, roller suitcases and a crowd all arriving at once. If it is the whole station that wears you down, not only the trains, our guide to earplugs for sensory overload looks at how light, crowds and sound stack up and where earplugs fit.
Out at the ticket barrier, every time. The NHS hyperacusis page advises against wearing earplugs or ear muffs all the time, because this could make you more sensitive to noise. The street after the barrier is a different volume from the platform before it. The commuter answer to is it bad to wear earplugs all day is short. The plugs are for the loud bits, and the barrier marks where the loud bit ends.
Our explainer on what changes when you wear earplugs every day covers the longer-term habits. For the commute, the barrier rule is enough.
Is it safe to walk to the station with earplugs in?
Walking to the station with earplugs in is fine on the pavement. They come out before every road crossing and at any level crossing. Heavy traffic measures around 88 dB on RNID’s everyday sound chart, and you want every cue an approaching car, bike or bus gives you.
Rail safety campaigns have warned for years about people in headphones missing an approaching train at a crossing. Earplugs lower sound in the same way. The rule costs five seconds. Pause at the kerb, plugs out, cross, plugs back in once the next loud stretch starts.
Your own footsteps sound louder with the plugs in, which can feel odd on a quiet street. That is the occlusion effect, and our explainer on hearing your own chewing with earplugs covers why it fades with wear.
Are earplugs worth wearing on the bus as well as the train?
On the bus the window for earplugs is shorter. Bus interiors average around 75–76 dBA, with peaks of roughly 86–97 dBA. Bus stops are spikier than the ride itself, with peaks above 100 dBA as buses pull in and pull away.
In practice that means plugs in at a busy stop on a main road and for the loudest stretch of the route, such as the rear seats of a double-decker over the engine. The Toronto study found impulse peaks above 115 dBA on most bus-stop readings, so the stop deserves them more than the seat does.
A late shift and the night bus home add tiredness to the noise. For the bedroom side of things, our guide to noise sensitivity and sleep covers night-time sound.
Will anyone notice earplugs in a packed carriage?
Barely. Life+ sits flush inside the ear canal with no stem, so under the outline of the ear it is close to invisible. The usual complaint that foam plugs look unappealing for daily wear does not apply to a discreet flush fit.
The other worry is feeling cut off. The commuter the BBC spoke to on the Central line did not describe silence. One or two journeys a day “all adds up”, she said, which is why she wears ear protection, and she still knew what was going on around her. That matches the physics above, 24 dB off rather than silence.
Noise-cancelling headphones are strongest on steady low-frequency drone such as engine hum, while a passive plug lowers the whole range, screech included, with nothing to charge. Our three-way comparison of earplugs vs noise cancelling headphones vs ear defenders goes through the trade-offs.
How do you keep earplugs clean on the move?
Keep earplugs clean on the move by clipping the aluminium case to your keys, so the plugs go from ear to case and never into a pocket or bag. Wash them at home with water and mild soap and let them dry fully before they go back in the case.
Pockets collect lint, and lint on a silicone plug is what you will feel in your ear canal at 8 am. The keyring case solves that. A rinse under the tap in the evening takes a minute, and our guide on how to clean reusable silicone earplugs covers drying, storage and when a pair is done. And put the plugs in before you grab the pole, not after.
Which earplugs suit a daily commute?
A daily commute suits a soft, reusable silicone earplug that fits flush, blocks a moderate amount of sound rather than everything, goes in and out several times a journey without soreness, and lives on your keys.
Our Life+ earplugs are made of hypoallergenic natural silicone with a conical two-lamella shape and no stem, rated passive SNR 24 dB, and each pair lasts up to 100 uses. That works out at around 30p a commute from a single £29.95 pack, or £44.95 for two pairs, and the aluminium case on a keyring is in the box.
Not sure of your size? Life+ also comes with AI ear measurement from two photos (£44.95). Daily commuters can take the Life+ 10x Pack at £109, about 11p per use. Free UK delivery starts at £35, so the two-pair pack and the 10x Pack qualify and a single £29.95 pack does not. Every order carries a 40-day money-back guarantee.
For the full criteria, with foam disposables, ring-style earplugs and ear defenders compared by category, see our guide to what to look for in everyday earplugs.
When is it worth seeing a GP about sound on the commute?
Bollsen earplugs are hearing protection and comfort products, not medical devices, and they change how much sound reaches the ear, not how the ear works. See a GP if everyday sounds feel painfully loud, changed suddenly, or come with pain or discharge; the NHS guidance on hyperacusis sets out what to expect and when a referral follows.
Three things sit outside this guide. Flights add cabin pressure to the noise, and our guide to earplugs for flying covers take-off and landing. Travelling with children has its own guide, earplugs for kids on aeroplanes, and when specific sounds on the train are the problem, such as chewing or sniffing, our misophonia guide to public transport takes over.
Where should you start?
Start with one journey this week. Plugs in as you reach the platform, out at the barrier, out at every kerb, and notice how you feel when you arrive compared with the day before.
The Tube will not get quieter, but the dose you take home can. Our wider guide to everyday comfort when sound feels too loud fits the commute into the rest of the day, and our explainer on why everyday sound can feel louder than it should gives the background. Life+ comes with a 40-day money-back guarantee, so the routine costs nothing to try.
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.