Loop Earplugs review: are the viral noise-dulling earplugs worth it?

Exposure to sounds at 80 dB (decibels) or above to prolonged periods can cause hearing damage, and the average volume at a concert or festival is 100 dB — this can increase to 120 dB for heavier, rock concerts such as ACDC and Alice Cooper or DJ sets like Peggy Gou. So, what’s a music-loving Digital Writer to do?

Loop Earplugs have Certified Hearing Protection; there are seven different types of Loop Earplugs, and they have up to 18 dB (SNR) of coverage. As the RadioTimes.com Technology team endeavour to be as thorough as possible with our reviews, let’s get technical with SNR! SNR is signal-to-noise ratio; signal-to-noise ratio is defined as the power of signal (meaningful input) to the power of background noise (meaningless or unwanted input).

Loop Earplugs promise to maintain the great quality of sound while reducing the volume overall, but did they succeed when we tested them? Let’s find out.

Buy Loop Earplugs Experience for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs

Jump to:

• How did we test Loop Earplugs?
• Loop Earplugs design
• Loop Earplugs features
• Our verdict: Are Loop Earplugs worth it?
• Where to buy Loop Earplugs in the UK

How did we test Loop Earplugs?

When it comes to reviewing products, we have hands-on time with them, for example, we spent days with the Honor Watch GS 3, Xiaomi Watch S1 Active and Garmin vívosmart 5, to effectively rate the design, functions, and value for money, and come to an educated verdict. The Technology team are also lucky enough to get hands-on time with new releases, such as the Samsung S24 smartphone to deliver a well-rounded release date page before you spend your hard-earned cash on a product.

We’ve been testing the Loop Earplugs Experience since October 2023, and when we tell you we’ve tried out the earplugs at an eclectic range of concerts, we truly mean it. We wore the Loop Earplugs to see indie pop musician The Japanese House at Here at Outernet on October 23rd, during Little Simz’s second night at Alexandra Palace on 11th November, to South East London club night Random Select to watch electronic music trio Theorist, Yskr and Tysk, just to name a few! We wanted to experience a range of locations, from Alexandra Palace to New Cross’ Planet Wax, genres, from grime to alternative, and varying noise levels.

With over 26,109 five star reviews, we were excited to put Loop Earplugs to the test. Here is our honest review.

Buy Loop Earplugs Experience for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs

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Loop Earplugs design

The Loop Earplugs Experience arrived in an recyclable lime green box with hot pink lettering. The words ‘Never Too Loud’ and ‘Loop Experience’ adorn the front, with the back of the box detailing important information such as the Mean SNR (18 dB) and Noise Reduction Rating (7 dB). The Loop Earplugs colour is on the side in black lettering, and there’s also a plastic pull tab on the parallel side which, once pulled, opens the box completely to reveal more detailed information. There’s the Loop Earplugs Instagram handle and a QR code inside which shows you how-to insert videos and warranty information, however, the QR code wouldn’t scan for us.

This variation of the Loop Earplugs come in the following colours: Silver, Black, Gold and Rose Gold, and Loop Earplugs have also collaborated with three artists to create the Loop x Andrew Footit collaboration, Tomorrowland collection, and Equinox collection, which boasts Celestial Equinox, Flamingo Flux, and Midnight Sapphire colours.

We received the Glorious Gold Loop Earplugs Experience. If we were to select our own Loop Earplugs, we would’ve gone for the Silver version; it’s common that when you receive your first piece of jewellery (for this Digital Writer, they’ve had a silver Saint Christopher necklace since birth), you become either a gold or silver person, and build your jewellery around that. However, we do love the metallic gold colourway of these Loop Earplugs; it looks stylish and sleek, and the loop design is certainly more fashionable than a foam earplug alternative.

While testing the Loop Earplugs Experience, we selected the medium size ear tips. Each Loop Earplugs product comes with comfortable, soft-touch silicone ear tips which come in interchangeable sizes, XS, S, M and L. The silicone tips which came with the Glorious Gold Loop Earplugs were matte black ones which matched our matte black carry case.

The small, circular matte black carry case will fit one pair of Loop Earplugs inside, and it comes with a small, elasticated loop at the top which will fit around your finger. We’ve found that the loop fits nicely on a keyring, but you could also attach it to a Carabiner, a phone case, or other accessory that you keep close to hand. The carry case comes with a simple ‘loop’ engraved on it, and while we think it’s a nice feature, we’re grateful that the Loop Earplugs don’t have any obvious branding on the earplug itself, as we think that would detract from the simple, stylish design.

Buy Loop Earplugs Experience for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs

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Loop Earplugs features

One of the things we anticipated before reviewing the Loop Earplugs was that they’d leave a dull ache in our ears in the same way that glasses, wireless earphones and traditional foam earplugs do. When we’ve worn glasses for the eight hours of work, we notice a pain behind our ears, and the Apple AirPods that many of the Digital Writers wear are slightly uncomfortable after extensive use, too. The silicone ear tip of the Loop Earplug fits inside the ear canal, while the loop itself sits between the conch and the tragus on the outside of your ear to hold it in place. The lightweight, soft-to-the-touch ear tips are comfortable, and you hardly feel them inside your ear. We opted for the medium sized ear tip and have stuck to it ever since first trialling it, however, smaller sized ear tips are recommended for sensitive ears.

If you’ve read our What are Loop Earplugs? explainer, you’ll know that Loop Earplugs work by combining an acoustic channel and mesh to filter sound waves instead of blocking them. But does this work in practice? At the Random Select electronic club night, we were incredibly close to the DJ decks, yet the sound didn’t feel uncomfortable, and at Little Simz’s concert in Alexandra Palace, we could still hear every lyric in Gorilla, yet the background noise of the crowd didn’t pull us away from the concert. With Loop Earplugs, the sound quality is just as clear as without the earplugs, but it is at a reduced volume.

Although we didn’t test this out, it’s worth mentioning the Loop Mute mechanism; the accessory offers an extra 5 dB of noise reduction. To insert the Loop Mute, simply take it between your thumb and index finger, and gently push it into the centre of your Loop Earplug. If you’re particularly conscious of loud noises, we’d recommend purchasing this accessory.

Buy Loop Earplugs Experience for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs

Are you in the market for a new music streaming service? Take a look at our Amazon Music Unlimited UK guide.

Our verdict: Are Loop Earplugs worth it?

The Loop Earplugs are easy to recommend. Loop Earplugs Experience do exactly what they say on the tin: they maintain great sound quality but at a reduced volume, which means that you don’t miss out on a second of the action, yet your hearing is protected and your general comfort is adhered to as they prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by noise.

We like that Loop Earplugs look good, too; the earplugs are simple yet fashionable, and they come in a range of colours and designs to match your own personal aesthetic.

To compare Loop Earplugs to the traditional foam earplugs, they are essentially a more stylish and more streamlined version — in the sense that you can choose from seven different types of earplugs to focus on experiences, engaging with friends, or sleeping, for example — of mainstream earplugs.

This Digital Writer’s dad used to work on the shop floor at an engineering company, so foam earplugs were easily accessible. Foam earplugs block out all noise, which is useful for things such as snoring, noisy neighbours and street noise, but not for phone alarms or people calling you. The foam aspect is also very hit-and-miss, as sometimes the earplugs squash together, and sometimes they don’t. Foam earplugs are also uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods as they are inserted deep inside your ear canal to prevent them falling out.

Loop Earplugs combat each failure of the foam earplugs as they’re comfortable, easy to insert, they stay secure in your ear, and look great, too.

The Loop Earplugs Experience come in at £29.95 and we think that's great value for money. The earplugs are easy to clean for longevity, and as they sit securely within the ear canal, it's unlikely they'll fall out of your ear. In theory, the Loop Earplugs could last forever! So £29.95 for a lifetime of protected hearing is brilliant value for money.

Buy Loop Earplugs Experience for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs

Where to buy Loop Earplugs in the UK

You can purchase Loop Earplugs from the official Loop Earplugs store, and the earplugs we tested were the Loop Earplugs Experience.

• Buy Loop Earplugs Experience for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs

However, there are plenty of other Loop Earplugs variations. Plus, remember you can get 100-day free returns.

• Buy Loop Earplugs Quiet for £19.95 at Loop Earplugs
• Buy Loop Earplugs Engage Kids for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs
• Buy Loop Earplugs Engage for £29.95 at Loop Earplugs
• Buy Loop Earplugs Engage Plus for £39.95 at Loop Earplugs
• Buy Loop Earplugs Experience Plus for £39.95 at Loop Earplugs
• Buy Loop Earplugs Switch for £54.95 at Loop Earplugs

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