Product Review: Best Earplugs For Different Ear Sizes
4 Minutes ReadEver felt like you’ve woken up on the wrong side of the bed every single day? Is your partner’s snoring giving you sleepless nights? Here, we review several earplugs to see which one performs the best for sleeping. Studies show there is better sleep quality when earplugs are worn.
How We Tested
Choice of earplugs: We chose two types of earplug materials -
silicone and foam. Foam earplugs are the most popular today, and on average they
are more effective for blocking noises. However, they need to be inserted deep into
the ear canal to be effective and this may not sit well for everyone. Moldable
silicone earplugs, on the other hand, work differently. They only seal the ear canal
entrance and hence, may be more comfortable.
Where we purchased: All products were purchased online or in
Singapore stores.
Scoring: We scored them for comfort, fit and noise reduction.
Categories: We split the results into two categories: for smaller
and larger sized ear canals.
Top 3 Earplugs for Larger Sized Canals
NRR means Noise Reduction Rating
1. Antinois Earplugs NRR21
| WRITER'S CHOICE | |
|---|---|
| Comfort | 4.8/5 |
| Fit | 5/5 |
| Noise Reduction | 4.8/5 |
| Type | Silicone |
| Price | $6.98 for 3 Pairs |
| Purchase Here | |
Comments: This is our first choice. Being able to shape these earplugs into the exact size of your ear is highly appealing. Every individual has different ear canal sizes, and a one size fits all hardly works. Taking time to contour these earplugs into our external ear ensured a good fit and strong performance in terms of noise reduction.
2. 3M Honeywell Max NRR33
| Comfort | 4.5/5 |
|---|---|
| Fit | 4.5/5 |
| Noise Reduction | 4.5/5 |
| Type | Foam |
| Price | $3.67 for 5 Pairs |
| Purchase Here | |
Comments: This is our second choice for larger ear canals and we are quite impressed with the overall engineering of the product. It exudes a certain softness to it while adequately blocking out noise. Additionally, it expanded enough and did a little additional covering of the external ear which helped to reduce noise. However, one of our reviewer found that while it was comfortable initially, it was difficult to fall asleep with the feeling of something embedded deep in one's ear canal.
3. Mack’s Snoozers Silicone Putty Earplugs NRR22
| Comfort | 4.2/5 |
|---|---|
| Fit | 4.5/5 |
| Noise Reduction | 4.5/5 |
| Type | Silicone |
| Price | $14.32 for 6 Pairs |
| Purchase Here | |
Comments: This was largely quite similar to Antinois earplugs, except that we found Antinois earplugs looks more aesthetically pleasing, given the translucent material. We also felt that this was slightly harder in terms of texture compared to Antinois earplugs.
Top 3 Earplugs for Smaller Sized Canals
NRR means Noise Reduction Rating
1. Mack’s Ultra Soft Foam Earplugs NRR32
| WRITER'S CHOICE | |
|---|---|
| Comfort | 5/5 |
| Fit | 5/5 |
| Noise Reduction | 5/5 |
| Type | Foam |
| Price | $12.85 for 10 Pairs |
| Purchase Here | |
Comments: These earplugs ticks all the boxes. Made with special low pressure foam that expands within the ear canal, we are pleasantly surprised at how much sound was blocked out and how comfortable they are even in side lying positions. A clear winner.
2. AudiPlugs Soft Foam Comfort & Sleep Earplugs NR33
| Comfort | 5/5 |
|---|---|
| Fit | 5/5 |
| Noise Reduction | 4/5 |
| Type | Foam |
| Price | $7.26 for 4 Pairs |
| Purchase Here | |
Comments: Coming in at a close second are these soft foam earplugs by Audisol. They’re so comfortable to sleep in any position plus it does a good job of blocking out noise.
3. Mack’s Slim Fit Soft Foam Earplugs NRR29
| Comfort | 4/5 |
|---|---|
| Fit | 4/5 |
| Noise Reduction | 3.5/5 |
| Type | Foam |
| Price | $15.32 for 50 Pairs |
| Purchase Here | |
Comments: At number three are these slim fit earplugs from Mack’s. These are made of super soft foam to provide extreme comfort. We like how it fit well and how comfortable these are in side lying positions. However we could still hear quite a fair bit of ambient noise despite an NRR of 29.