Best Motorcycle Earplugs

A relatively new entry on the earplug scene, the EarPeace Moto Pro earplugs offer some distinct advantages over their lower-priced sibling. The unique oval shape mates quite easily with the ear canal, providing a snug fit and without the occasional rotation we experienced with the standard EarPeace earplugs. According to the manufacturer, the redesigned filters act as the primary eardrum, replicating the sound precisely – only at a lower volume. However, the Pro comes with a trade-off. You only get one kind of filter, so choose your dB reduction carefully. We always go for the highest level of sound attenuation (the Max Protection 24 dB). You also get an extra earplug and filter, in case you lose one plug. The aluminum container is still a nice touch.

Like all of the top-of-the-line generation of motorsport hearing protection, EAROS Sport are designed to attenuate noise in a high-decibel environment without sacrificing your ability to hear clearly. These upgraded ear plugs offer a full 20dB NRR while still offering flat frequency response. To achieve this, EAROS drew upon its roots in the music industry, where sound quality is just as important at protecting hearing, to filter out the harmful sounds while still allowing other sounds in. So, even with these in place, you should be able to clearly hear the traffic around you and your helmet communicator because your ears aren’t being overloaded by the wind blast. While many current generation hearing protectors employ their manufacturer’s own technology to achieve similar claims, what truly sets EAROS apart from other brands is the proprietary shape that actually uses the anatomy of the ear’s concha to hold the ear plugs in place. This is a boon to anyone who has ever had to use their motorcycle key to fish an errant plug out of their ear after a ride.

All of the Motorcycle.com staff have worn these earplugs and found them to be comfortable and quiet. One of the unique features is that EarPeace earplugs allow the user to switch between one of three levels of included filters to choose the best amount of sound damping for their needs. These filters nest inside of dual-flanged pieces of silicone which make up the body of the earplug. On the back of the EarPeace earplugs is a silicone tab for easy extraction. With the ability to swap out filters that provide variable levels of noise damping, the EarPeace earplugs are a step above many others in terms of versatility. One characteristic that should be noted is that they sometimes rotate in the ear canal, making it difficult to grab the small tab for removal. Read our full review for more information.

MO Tested: EarPeace Earplug Review

Eargasm earplugs have been around since 2015. As with many of the earplugs that utilize attenuation filters, the big selling point for Eargasm plugs is their flat frequency response that leads to the sound not being muffled despite the 20 decibel drop in volume. The packaging and the included aluminum carrying case add to the premium feel of these earplugs.

MO Tested: Eargasm Earplugs Review

Many riders are familiar with the Pinlock anti-fog visor inserts, but few know about the company’s earplugs. Constructed out of medical-grade silicone-free materials the flanged earplugs are inserted into the ear canal to form a seal. Pinlock claims the earplugs are all-day comfortable thanks, in part, to the two sizes included in the product box. The protection comes from an “advanced precision filter” that limits the wind noise that can damage hearing while still allowing the frequencies that deliver important information – like sirens, horns, or other road users. Riders should also be able to hear conversations with these plugs in place. Even with those capabilities, the filters are rated at a CE certified 24 decibels of suppression.

Loop adds an element of style with its earplugs, with a unique ring shape and a selection of trendy colors like rose gold. Loop claims its Experience earplugs reduce noise by 18 to 20 dB in mid and high frequencies. The earplugs have an acoustic channel specially designed to imitate the length of an ear canal. Loop claims this lets what noise you do hear sound natural, letting you stay aware of your surroundings.

The Loop Experience earplugs come with a carrying case and four sets of silicone ear tip sizes. Loop also offers an Experience Pro version that has an additional membrane to reduce noise with low frequencies. The Pro version also comes with two sets of Loop’s Mute add-on which can reduce noise by another 5 dB.

Etymotic is widely known within the music industry for making high-fidelity earplugs, earbuds, and ear monitors for much longer than many of the other filtered earplugs now on the market. (I have been riding with them for years since I was never happy with how foam plugs fit in my ear canals.) The Etymotic ER-20XS High-Fidelity Earplugs are a new form-factor that sit closer to the ear and work much better with helmets than the previous model. Each earplug reduces the sound intensity by 20-dB across the spectrum of frequencies that the ear can detect. Essentially, you hear everything the same – only quieter. The flanged earplugs are available in standard and large fit to accommodate different ear canal sizes.

At many motorcycle events, you may have seen people getting brightly colored goo injected into their auditory canal, but that’s not the only place you can get custom-molded earplugs. Decibullz are one option on the market that allow you to make your own custom earplugs at home. Custom earplugs will only fit the unique ear shape of their owner, giving them easier insertion and a perfect fit for maximum attenuation of noise – to the tune of 31 db! Like with foam plugs, some people feel that these solid custom plugs mute the sound too much, making it hard to hear things that riders want to hear, such as approaching traffic or conversation at a stop. Still, it’s hard to argue with earplugs made specifically to fit your unique ear canals. Plus, custom earplugs are the only ones motorcyclists are legally allowed to use in Maryland.

Welcome to Old School hearing protection. Just because Hearos foam earplugs don’t use fancy filters to damp the sound intensity doesn’t mean that time has marched on, leaving them behind. They are still some of the best motorcycle earplugs you can buy. If you’re looking for the highest amount of noise-reduction you can buy, Hearos claims a rating of NRR 33, the highest attenuation in this buyer’s guide. A word of caution, though: The protection offered by foam earplugs is highly dependent on proper insertion in the ear canal.

Unlike the foam ear plugs we’ve become used to, Vibes ear plugs lower the volume of engine, road, and wind noise to a safer decibel level without completely blocking out all the other soundwaves you need to hear (like sirens). Vibes also makes listening to music while riding that much more enjoyable. In total, Vibes says you can expect about a 22 dB reduction in sound across all frequencies. The low-profile design keeps them discreet in your ears, and three different tip sizes are included, so they fit into many different ear types.

Sometimes a pair of simple foam ear plugs are all we need to block out the noise during a ride. Other ear plugs on this list claim to block out certain frequencies while keeping certain others. Some days, however, we just want to block out everything and get lost in our thoughts. For those days, the EarSoftFx ear plugs from Oxford do the trick.

Believe it or not, not even all foam ear plugs are created equal. The EarSofts are self-molding polyurethane foam that’s PVC free and block out up to 39 dB.

NoNoise Motorsport ear plugs were designed specifically for motorcyclists to keep the noise you want and block the sounds you don’t. So much more than ear plugs, NoNoise utilizes ceramic filtration technology to filter higher sound levels that cause hearing damage but allow lower sound levels to be heard.

The magic ingredient is a venturi-shaped sound channel and a zirconium oxide ceramic filter. This provides a feeling that your ear drums aren’t being blocked or muffled.