Loop Quiet Ear Plugs for Noise - Black

Buckle up because I dont leave reviews often but when I do they are long and detailed because I either hate or love the product enough to spend time writing a review. Im the kind of person who does a stupid amount of research and reads hundreds of reviews before purchasing. In this case I absolutely love these ear plugs!!! What I use earplugs for: Multipurpose 1. I have a partner who snores so I sleep with earplugs often 2. I work at home and need to drown out people/loud kids/tvs and other distractions so I can focus. 3. I also can occasionally get overestimulated and need to filter out daily life sounds to reduce agitation. I have an issue with Misophonia particularly with hearing the sound of other people eating so sometimes I'll wear hear through ear plugs at the dinner table especially if my partners otherwise well behaved son is with us and despite his best efforts cannot chew with his mouth closed. 4. Sometimes i will use hearthrough earplugs for concerts 5. I occasionally do sensory deprivation Floats and use plugs to keep the salt water out of my ears and block outside noise. What im comparing these to: I had some cheap but decent enough soft silicone cone type earplugs I ordered off amazon for about $7 about 3 or 4 years ago. They were effective enough and had a small tab on one side that was supposed to help you pull them out. Unfortunately because of placement of the tab I'd have to put them in at a specific angle to reach the tab easily. I would frequently panic that I wasn't going to be able to reach/grab ahold of the tab and remove them if the plugs were seated 'just so' in my ear. They also caught on my tragus piercing and were tolerable but not super comfortable for sleeping. I struggled along with them until one day I went to pull them out and the tab on one earplugs completely broke off which made it completely unusable. Why I chose to purchase these Loop plugs over other Loop designs : I decided to look in to these after my previous ear plugs broke. I researched the manufacturers website and decided that their "quiet" earplugs were what I wanted to try first as they block out the most sound and were made of softer silicone material that would be more comfortable for sleeping. I did consider getting their new fancy plugs that have a switch where you can actually change how much sound gets through but they are made of a stiffer material and the website said they specifically wouldn't recommend them for sleeping. I might go back and purchase a few of their other styles for concerts now that I know I love these! Why I love these: True balance of form and function. The silicone is flexible but firm and the design is makes them functional and comfortable. The piece that goes in to your ear has more flexibility to form to your ear canal but the loop is firmer which is helpful for control while inserting and removing. They very easily seat in to my ears and create a secure suction that blocks out sooo much noise. I will say it does not block out EVERYTHING but it is VERY effective at blocking out like 98% of all sounds including snoring. Depending on the snore I would say it either completely blocks it out or turns it from a full on rage inducing racecar snore to it basically sounding like your partner is just softly breathing next to you like a normal human. If my partner knows I'm wearing them he can talk loud enough for me to hear him without me taking them out. I would describe the sound level to be like you just went in to a very quiet library or museum and no sound is ever above whisper level and that's only if it's really loud. The 'loop' design makes it so comfortable for sleeping and extremely easy to remove even with my piercings! The loop part sits in the 'bowl' of your outer ear and doesn't put excess pressure up against my tragus so even sleeping on my side is comfortable! There's no pinching or catching and I can put the plugs in and take them out without issue, finally no more irritated piercings in the morning after hours of sleeping on my side. These are excellent for hours of wear, the box comes with small, med, and large plugs that you can change out or mix and match if your ears are different sizes or have piercings. I've been using the medium size and they work great but I'm going to see if the smalls will work in my ears as well. I LOVE that they include a functional case and appreciate the loop for easy connecting to a key chain or lanyard. The case is awesome for several reasons. It's a clamshell design that isn't loud so even if I decide to put them in when my partner is already asleep and it's dark I don't have to worry about holding on to the lid because it stays attached and when I close it the click is soft enough that I don't worry about it waking him up! Also the way the inside of the case is molded to the earplugs makes it so that when I open the case the plugs stay seated and don't fall out. So far they work exceptionally well for reasons 1 through 3 I listed above and I'm excited to try them at a concert and for a float. I'd be very impressed if they work for Floats and will update this review once I test it. I really hope this helps you decide but these things are awesome and relatively inexpensive! Absolutely worth the investment for the quality and functionality. I doubt I will ever have to buy another pair of earplugs! UPDATE: I wore them on a float and the did work and didn't get any more water in my ear than I do normally with the foam plugs. Also I did switch to the small size and the seem to work even better for my ears.