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On this page: Overview
Key Takeaways
Six things: attenuation (around SNR 24 dB is a sensible middle), fit and occlusion, material (hypoallergenic silicone suits repeat wear), discretion (a flush fit with no stem), cost per use (about 30p over 100 uses for Life+ at £29.95) and when you take them out.
Not automatically. Foam at 30–35 dB seals deeper, which makes your own chewing and breathing louder inside your head. An SNR 24 earplug brings a 60 dB conversation down to roughly 36–40 dB: quieter, not silent.
It is the occlusion effect. A sealed ear canal raises your own bone-conducted sounds by roughly 10–20 dB below 500 Hz. A correctly sized earplug lowers the effect, but no earplug removes it completely.
No. Life+ is a passive earplug rated SNR 24 dB (H 24 / M 21 / L 19), and its attenuation rises with frequency. It lowers every sound; a voice stays audible because it is loud, not because anything passes it.
When the sound is a steady hum (noise-cancelling headphones suit that better), when you are at home (a white-noise source is easier), and when you would want earplugs for most of the day. In that case, speak to a GP or audiologist.
Around SNR 20–25 dB is a sensible range for short moments such as a meal. At SNR 24, a 45 dB chewing sound reaches the ear at roughly 21–23 dB, which is quieter, not silent, while conversation stays easy to follow.
Not a bad idea, but rarely the easiest choice. Foam reaches 30–35 dB, seals deep enough to make your own chewing louder, has to be rolled and left to expand each time, and goes in the bin after one use.
A flush-fitting earplug with no stem is hard to spot from the front and close to invisible under hair. Life+ sits low in the ear with only a small removal tab, so it is hard to spot across a meeting table.
Life+ lasts up to 100 uses if you wash it with water and mild soap and keep it in its case, which works out at about 30p per use at £29.95. Replace a pair once the lamellae lose their shape or the seal feels loose.
Take them out when the chosen moment ends, whether that is a meal, a journey or a focus block. NHS guidance cautions against wearing earplugs all the time, and you should stop straight away if they cause pain or itching.
Knowing how to choose earplugs for misophonia comes down to six checks, and none of them is “the highest number on the box”. The six are attenuation, fit and occlusion, material, discretion, cost per use and when to take them out. Each one has a number you can check.
The topic is more common than the word. In a UK representative sample, 18.4 % of adults met the threshold for significant misophonia on the S-Five questionnaire, while only 13.6 % had heard the term (Vitoratou et al., PLOS ONE 2023). Oxford Health’s specialist clinic describes reactions to eating, breathing and repetitive sounds that can happen even when the sound is very quiet. It is the sound, not the volume, which changes what a good earplug looks like.
Picture a teenager at the family dinner table wearing noise-cancelling earbuds with no music playing. A parent takes it as rude. That small scene holds most of the decision. You want something that lowers the room without shutting it out, and that nobody at the table reads as a snub.
At Bollsen, we make reusable earplugs trusted by 1,000,000+ people, German-tested and independently certified at 24 dB. Our overview of earplugs for misophonia covers the product side. Here we stick to the criteria, so you can judge any earplug, ours included, against the same six checks.
How much attenuation do earplugs for misophonia need?
For short, chosen moments around everyday sounds, a moderate rating of about SNR 20–25 dB is the practical middle: our Life+ is rated SNR 24 dB (H 24 / M 21 / L 19), which lowers a 45 dB chewing sound to roughly 21–23 dB and a 60 dB conversation to roughly 36–40 dB.
That is “quieter, not silent”. Life+ is a passive earplug, and its attenuation rises with frequency, so higher-pitched sounds are lowered the most. A voice across the table stays audible because it is loud, not because anything passes it through. Everyday trigger sounds typically sit at 40–65 dB at one metre, which is why a moderate rating already takes most of them down to a low level.
More dB is not the answer. Foam earplugs reach 30–35 dB, but a deeper seal makes your own chewing louder and can leave you cut off from conversation. The full maths on how many decibels earplugs for misophonia need gets its own explainer, and so does the sound-by-sound breakdown of common misophonia trigger sounds and what earplugs do with them, with octave-band figures.
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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 reviewsWhy does fit matter, and why do you hear your own chewing?
Fit matters because a sealed ear canal creates the occlusion effect: your own bone-conducted sounds, such as chewing, swallowing, breathing and your voice, get roughly 10–20 dB louder below 500 Hz. A correctly sized earplug that sits deeper and seals evenly makes the effect smaller, but no earplug makes it disappear.
That last part is not marketing caution. A bone-conduction model by Stenfelt and Reinfeldt (2007) found a noticeable occlusion effect at every insertion position they tested, deep insertion included. Be wary of any product that promises you won’t hear yourself eat. What you can aim for is the right size, inserted properly, worn for the moment that needs it.
Size is the lever you can control. Life+ ships in a standard size, or in a version where AI ear measurement from two photos picks the right size for each ear before it ships (about 3 % of orders come back). It is the same earplug with the same attenuation, just in the right size. For the full physics, read why you hear your own chewing with earplugs in, and our general guide to finding the best fit for earplugs covers ear canal size and insertion.
Which material suits short, repeated wear?
For an earplug that goes in and out several times a week, hypoallergenic silicone is the easiest material to live with: it holds its shape, washes with water and mild soap, and our Life+ is made from BPA-, PVC- and latex-free silicone in a conical two-lamella design.
Foam is soft and cheap, but it is built for one use, has to be rolled and left to expand each time, and seals deep enough to give the strongest occlusion. Wax and silicone putty mould over the canal opening. They are comfortable for some people, though fiddly to reshape halfway through a meal, and they can pick up hair. Custom-moulded plugs are cast from an impression of your ear, last for years and cost the most.
If you are torn between the two most common options, our comparison of silicone vs foam earplugs for misophonia sets them side by side on seal, feel and cost. Whichever you choose, stop wearing earplugs and get your ears checked if they cause pain or itching.
Will anyone notice your earplugs at a meeting or the dinner table?
Usually not, if the earplug sits flush in the ear with no protruding stem: our Life+ has an ultra-low-profile design with only a small removal tab, so from the front it is close to invisible, and under hair it is hard to spot at all.
This matters more here than for most earplug uses. Over-ear headphones or earbuds at a shared table can read as “I’m not listening”, as the dinner-table story above shows. A flush earplug sends no signal like that, and because a conversation still reaches you at around 36–40 dB, you can keep taking part. Brightly coloured foam and stemmed lamella plugs are easier to see from across the room.
Plenty of people decide to mention it anyway. Saying it once is often easier than hiding it. A short, matter-of-fact line (“some sounds bother me more than most, so I wear these for meals”) tends to land better than a long explanation.
How long do reusable earplugs last, and what do they cost per use?
A good reusable silicone earplug lasts up to 100 uses with regular washing, which puts Life+ (passive SNR 24 dB reusable silicone earplug, £29.95) at about 30p per use, compared with pennies for a single foam pair you throw away after one wear.
The reusable silicone category usually costs £15–30, and custom-moulded earplugs typically run £100–200. Life+ is £29.95 for one pack and £44.95 for two, and Life+ with AI ear measurement is £44.95. UK delivery is free on orders over £35, so the two-pack clears the threshold and a single pack does not. Every pair comes with an aluminium keyring case and our 40-day money-back guarantee.
Those 100 uses depend on care. Wash the earplugs after use, let them dry, and keep them in the case rather than loose in a pocket. Our step-by-step guide on how to clean reusable earplugs covers soap, drying and when a pair needs replacing.
When should you take earplugs out?
Take them out as soon as the chosen moment ends, whether that is a shared meal, an exam, a train journey or a 45–90-minute focus block. Earplugs work best as a tool for short, chosen moments, not as something you wear all day.
The NHS guidance on noise sensitivity is clear on this: do not wear earplugs or muffs all the time, because continuous wear could make you more sensitive to noise, while short-term use may help. Stop if they cause pain or itching. If you find yourself reaching for them for most of the day, that is a sign to talk to a GP.
Keep the routine simple. In for the meal, out for the washing-up. Our companion piece, when to wear earplugs and when to take them out, goes through more everyday situations. Night use is a different question with different trade-offs, and our guide to misophonia and sleep covers it separately.
How do foam, silicone, wax and custom-moulded earplugs compare?
Across the six checks, reusable silicone gives the most balanced result for short, chosen moments: moderate attenuation of about 22–25 dB, a smaller occlusion effect than deep foam, a discreet fit and a low cost per use. The table below compares device categories, not brands.
| Check | Disposable foam | Reusable silicone (e.g. Life+) | Wax / putty | Custom-moulded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical attenuation | 30–35 dB | 22–25 dB (Life+ SNR 24, H 24 / M 21 / L 19) | About 20–27 dB | Depends on the build; check the stated SNR |
| Fit and occlusion | Deepest seal, strongest own-chewing effect | Present; correct size lowers it | Seals the canal opening; noticeable | Present; consistent seal every time |
| Material | Polyurethane or PVC foam | Hypoallergenic silicone; BPA-, PVC-, latex-free | Wax or silicone putty | Acrylic or silicone cast from an impression |
| Discretion | Often brightly coloured | Flush, no stem (Life+); stemmed designs show more | Covers the canal opening, visible close up | Fills the outer ear, visible |
| Reuse and cost | One use, pennies a pair | Up to 100 uses, £15–30 (Life+ £29.95, about 30p per use) | A few wears per piece, low cost | Years, about £100–200 |
| In and out for short moments | Roll, insert, wait to expand | Push and twist, seconds | Reshape each time | Quick, once moulded |
Custom-moulded earplugs make sense if you already know your routine and want a fixed fit for years. Our explainer on custom-moulded earplugs covers the impression process and costs. For most people starting out, a reusable silicone pair in the right size is the lower-risk first step.
When is an earplug not the right tool?
An earplug is the wrong choice in three situations: when the sound is a steady hum such as an air-conditioning unit, a fridge or engine drone, when you are at home and can control the room, and when you would want something in your ears for most of the day.
Active noise-cancelling headphones work best on steady, low-frequency sound and less well on sudden, sharp sounds. Our comparison of earplugs vs noise cancelling headphones for misophonia looks at that trade-off, including earbuds playing masking audio. At home, a white-noise source or a fan in the background is often simpler than anything in the ear.
Two more limits are worth knowing. Some people react to seeing a movement, such as a jiggling foot or someone chewing, and no earplug changes what you see. And if you would want earplugs most of the time, the NHS caution on continuous wear applies, and it is time to talk to someone.
Who can you talk to if certain sounds affect daily life?
Start with your GP, who can refer you to audiology, ENT or psychology services depending on what is going on. The NHS noise sensitivity page advises seeing a GP if everyday noises feel too loud or painful, and it lists misophonia among the forms noise sensitivity can take.
For a UK specialist reference, the Oxford Health OHSPIC page on misophonia explains the condition and notes there is some evidence that CBT can be helpful. Misophonia has no stand-alone diagnostic code in DSM-5 or ICD-11, so a clinician will describe it in their own terms. Charities such as Misophonia UK and soQuiet also share information and peer support. An earplug is a practical tool for chosen moments; it doesn’t replace any of these routes.
So which earplug should you start with?
For most people who find certain sounds hard to sit with, a reusable silicone earplug of about SNR 24 dB, in the right size, flush in the ear, is the sensible place to start. Use it for a meal, a commute or a study block, then take it out again.
Life+ is £29.95, lasts up to 100 uses and comes with our 40-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it at your own table without risk. If your ear sizes are hard to judge, the AI ear measurement version picks the size from two photos. And if earplugs start to feel like an all-day need, book in with your GP.
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.