EtymoticResearch ER20XS High-Fidelity Earplugs (Concerts, Musicians, Airplanes, Motorcycles, Sensitivity and Universal Hearing Protection) - Large, Clear Stem

As a musician who is constantly in a performance environment, these provide amazing noise reduction and protection of my ears. Super easy to use and carry around. They fit well and are a small price to pay for the protection they offer for my ears.

So these do work. They lower the volume as opposed to blocking the sound (like a foam earplug would). However, at least for me, you do lose the feeling of the music. You lose a lot of highs. Mids sound fine, maybe a tad muddled. Bass sounds fine too. But losing the highs definitely takes away from the soul of the music.Now, with that being said, it is MUCH better than foam ear plugs. It *IS* like turning down the volume, but it's also like switching from your expensive home audio system to a portable bluetooth speaker.The genre of music DOES matter. For anything with instruments I almost never wear these. I'd rather hear the full body of music. But for EDM these things are LIFE SAVERS. Er, ear savers, I guess. EDM is more about the lows and mids and less about the highs, so these earplugs don't ruin the sound as much. I was just a few rows away from the stage during a Bassnectar show, so I was close to some gnarly loud speakers. Not only were my ears very well protected, but everything still sounded great. My friends had to retreat to the back because their ears were hurting so much, but I was able to stay up front.Later in the year I purchased "EarPeace HD Concert Ear Plugs - High Fidelity Hearing Protection for Music Festivals, DJs & Musicians (Standard, Red Case)" (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076VTXWBP/). In comparison the EarPeace was much more comfortable. The Etymotics start to dig into your ear and become uncomfortable after a while. The EarPeaces fit much more softly in your ear. However, the Etymotics had far superior sound quality than the EarPeaces. The EarPeaces sounded much more muddied than the Etys. Granted, I only tried the mid-grade sound dampening filter of the EarPeaces (they came with three filters, most dampening, some dampening, least dampening). Next time I will try the least to see how they compare to the Etys.Now back to the Etys. I never tried the foam plugs. The carrying case sucks, it's difficult to use and open. Also, don't get caught up on having a lanyard. With both the Etys and the EarPeaces neither plug would simply fall out of your ear without coercion. And when you take out the plugs and use the lanyard to rest them on your shoulders, it honestly feels like the lanyard could fall off me at any moment. The EarPeaces didn't come with a lanyard, which had me worried. But when using them in the field I realized I didn't need it and I was better off putting them directly back into their case anyway. (Which, btw, EarPeace has the superior case).So yes, the Etymotics do work. They don't work great, although they work better than EarPeace. They aren't very comfortable, however, I've found that you can't rely on someone else's definition of comfort. Everyone's ear canal is shaped different.

I have better results with multiflanged silicon earplugs than foam earplugs, ymmv. These are excellent for a person who might be a light sleeper, or for a person with a snoring bed partner.If your partner snores like an unmuffled chainsaw- you've got problems that earplugs won't fix and a sleep study might be a good idea.These are also great hearing protection for loud concerts!Some people suggested it's not a great value.Debatable.I haven't found better for this price.A LOT cheaper than eargasm earplugs for concerts!Hopefully, people will understand that an earplug is only as good as the seal you get. Same goes for Bluetooth earbuds. Chances are if you don't have a good seal, they won't work- so KNOW YOUR SIZE!So- if you take S,M or L eartip for your apple or samsung earbuds- that's the size earplug you'll need.

Fantastic! I bought these to wear at a recent rock concert at a small, loud venue. I knew the crowd was going to be exuberant and I wanted to be in it so I was worried that the regular ER20 with the long stem might pose a problem, so I went with these low-profile versions instead. They worked beautifully.Was the music as sharp and clear as if I hadn't worn earplugs? No.HOWEVER:Were my ears hurting and ringing by the end of the night? No.Could I hear everything well enough to still feel like I was hearing them loud and live, including guitar and soft vocals? Yes.Could I still hear people around me? Yes.Did they stay in my ears comfortably through all three bands' sets during which I was in the pit the whole time getting shoved around, jumping up and down, singing, sweating, and having a blast? Yes. Yes. Yes.I bought the universal fit package because I have a hard time wearing ear buds and so I was unsure of the fit if I only got the standard and I only had a few days before the concert. When they arrived, I put the standard fit in to see how they were and to get used to them before the show. They did seem to go in a little far and I could feel the stems but, given other reviews, I thought maybe it was just something to get used to. After about a half hour of wearing them, they actually hurt more and I took them out, swapped out the standard tips for the large tips, reinserted them and they did not hurt at all.I did not bother to remove the tabs either because they do aid in the removal of the earplugs. With the angle these plugs sit in my ears, I could swivel the tab around so it didn't just stick straight out. Everyone's ears are a little different though so I can't say if this would work for anyone else. (Though I also bought a pair of these in just the standard size for my sister who was also going to the same show and she swiveled the tabs around too to keep them more out of the way.)The low profile earplugs were nice too in that I wasn't worried about an elbow to the ear knocking the plug further in or completely out.I highly recommend these earplugs to anyone attending concerts, especially if you know you're going to want to be part of the main floor/pit crowd.