Etymotic Research ER20 High-Fidelity Earplugs (Concerts, Musicians, Airplanes, Motorcycles, Sensitivity and Universal Hearing Protection) - Standard, Clear Stem w/ Blue Tip

I had gone to a concert for the first time in awhile a few days before I ordered these. After the show I had a slight ringing in my ears for the first time ever which after 20+ years of going to shows and playing in bands put a shock up my spine. I decided in my ever advancing age that I should invest in some decent hearing protection especially since I would be moving soon and going to shows more often. I have always had issue with most earplugs and IEM as my ear canals are smaller than normal people so unless they are custom fit I tend to have a problem getting a good seal. But I had these recommended to me by many of my musician friends and for the price they were worth a shot. I made my order and in two days Amazon got them right to my door. The build quality is excellent especially for the price point. In the package was the ear plugs, a little piece of a thin rope to connect the ear plugs and allow you to not lose them if one falls out or you have them out for a moment and a carrying case. I did a quick fitting to see if they fit ok and threw them in my bag until a few weeks later when I was at a major outdoor music festival. I used the earplugs all day and part of the night for the entire weekend, through various weather changes. They performed like a champ. They have a very good ability to lower db but still give you clear sound unlike many, many other earplugs I have used throughout the years. In fact at one of the after shows I was at if I didn't have them in the entire set would have been a unlistenable mess due to the speakers being too loud. The fit was a little tight for my ears which did cause some discomfort after a extended period of time (5+ hours) and I did have a issue getting a quality seal occasionally but that it excellent for me normally. For those with normal ears should have zero problems. As for durability I believe as long as you keep them clean they should last a very long time. I have about 30 or so hours on mine so far and they look and feel brand new. I would probably change mine out after a year or so but I shall see how they hold up and report back. In my opinion you can not do much better unless you go for custom molded ear protection, which I implore any serious musician to do. But for the average concert goer these are a fantastic solution.

I have never gotten a product that I wanted to give 10 stars to. I want to give this 10 stars. I've always been sensitive to sound. We've always suspected that I'm a high-functioning autistic, something like Asperger's. My dad wears hearing aids because he's technically nearly deaf, and I've always had a slight envy for his ability to literally mute the world. I am not kidding when I say that this product does exactly what I hoped it would do - allow me to hear everything pretty much normally, but weeding out excessive noise that hurts. I seriously want to know the science behind it, because my mind is blown. It's changed my life. I don't fear loud noise. I can double-click the be next to the car to lock it when before I had to go through the doorway to put some padding between myself and the ear-piercing "BEEP!" it makes. I don't fear being around my two twin daughters, whose inability to distinguish what constitutes loud noise has for a long time made my life a living hell. No product has ever been what nearly constituts a miracle. This one, for me, is. I got the regular size - polysomething - as opposed to the clamshell one, so I guess I must have Ferengi ears, according to the other reviews. I intend to take a picture of them with a ruler in it, because it was guesswork to determine what the size might be, and that's really annoying. (Hey, I still need to do that.) I took pictures of me lying down on the pillow with them but don't see the option to upload photos. I took rough measurements with an app, too: 1 and 1/8 about longwise, and 3/18 with the wings, and 5/16 with just the hard widest part of the stem. Estimates. Not clamshell. What I find particularly interesting is that it even slides slightly out of my ears, yet stays in, and stays pretty much effective. During louder times a quick push secures safe sound. I practically forget that they're there. Occasionally there's some discomfort and pain, but it varies, and I greatly prefer that type to a known overt nightmare. THANK YOU, whoever thought of this product and made it! Update: I was going to check to see if I'd already written a review or not. I'm going to be getting another pair. I love these and I see them as a life necessity of you're sensitive to noise. I'm also try out other products too, but that doesn't make me less impressed.

These are hopefully going to save my ears when I'm 60! My dad and I are both musicians and unfortunately for him the years of performing and jamming in the family basement have killed his ears. He is literally that old guy that goes "Huh?? What did you Say?" after everything you say to him. Anyway, the theory behind these earplugs are sound (no pun intended) & reduce the damage that loud music does to your ears. Now I usually don't play to loud and I haven't gotten a chance to use these in a confined area but I did bring them to the most recent concert I attended. I had NO ringing in my ears afterwards & the company I was with did. So I know that they at least worked in the short run. As for comfort, I would say these are very similar to nice pair of ear buds. They fit comfortably in my ear and didn't move around or fall out when I was jamming out at the concert. In addition to the comfort the sound is also very good. I don't feel that the sound coming in is muddied at all, in fact it sounds very clear it's just not as loud.

just used at a concert and they definitely attenuate the volume significantly. The sound was not nearly as muffled as drug store foam plugs but still not as perfectly clear as listening without any plugs. No headache or ear ringing after the concert and no diminished hearing the next day and that was the whole point for me. trying to protect my already aging hearing from getting any worse while still enjoying live concerts. They do fit very tightly in my ears and aren't perfectly comfortable (as compared to above mentioned cheap foam plugs) but the sound quality was far better and the attenuation was also greater. If you have really small ear canals these might not fit. My wife couldn't get them past the first ring and couldn't use them. Need to find a child size for her.

These arrived on time, and are perfect for concerts. I've never had anyone notice the clear tip of these until I point them out after mentioning using earplugs. They reduce volume very nicely without muffling, it's easier to pick out different parts of the music that are drowned out by the volume without protection, and vocals especially are clearer. It's easier to hear people talking to you, and they are comfortable to wear. They're not so comfortable that it's like not having them in at all, but I hardly notice it when getting down to the music. I've purchased these a few times (the second pair due to the first accidentally being the large size, and again when I accidentally lost the second pair), and will probably never use anything else. The value is very good. I used to go to extremely loud edm concerts arthritis protection and also listen to music extremely loudly through headphones and have a mild case of tinnitus unfortunately. I would be deafened after shows, with lingering hearing issues the next 2 days. No more, with these earplugs I can walk out of the venue, take these plugs out, and have perfect hearing. No more yelling at my friends and having them yell back at me just to exchange words. It's really a godsend, please, if you don't already use ear protection, start immediately. You'll thank me later.

They're fine. I've worn these to softer and louder concerts, and to a noisy bar. If it's a mildly loud situation (a guy with a guitar and an amp, a bar with loud music) these will do the trick perfectly well. The sound quality is reasonable, and while they feel a touch scratchy and a little hard to insert, they stay in place well and the irritation disappears after a few minutes. I've worn them for 90+ minutes with no major issues. When the volume gets louder, though, they're thoroughly insufficient. I had to move to the back of the bar behind a wall at a second concert where my Eargasms would have been completely sufficient. The plastic rods can be a bit slippery and trickier to tug than one would want for something lodged in your ear, but they still came out with a touch of tugging. I'd say these make for a great backup set if you're like me and afraid to lose your good ones. Fine for average rides at Disneyland and dive bars, or other places where you want to drop the volume a little but not a lot. If I need real reduction (Fireworks, a club, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), I'll stick with my Eargasms.

Great ear protection! Thanks!

Hypothesis confirmed! I was in a restaurant the other night full if festive, high-frequency talkers. I was sitting about 8' from the front of the restaurant, which is a floor-to-ceiling wall of windows. The background, high frequency NOISE, was large enough to prevent me from hearing my wife and son across the table. In frustration, I rolled up a paper napkin, and cut two 1" long, 1/4" diameter plugs which I promptly inserted in my ears. High frequencies attenuated, low frequencies allowed in. I could hear my wife and son talking! I wasn't annoyed with all the high frequency chatter (like hens cackling, but I digress). When I got home, I went looking for something that wouldn't embarrass the people I was dining with, and I came across these. The write-up indicated these have uniform attenuation across the spectrum, but the documentation that comes with them indicates that high frequencies get about 20 dB attenuation vs 10 dB at the low end. I tried them the other night. I was again in a restaurant, with some background noise, when my phone rang. My son was home, but w/o a key to get in. I left the table for the 10 minute drive home, and listened to NPR on the way. I usually have the car radio set to 21 (Dodge van), but found I could hear with it set at 12 with these earbuds! I must (over 55+ years) have lost some of my low-frequency response, and perhaps these ear plugs, attenuating the high frequencies, flatten my hearing passband. I'm sold, and will keep these with me, especially when out and about. No one even notices these in my ears: apparently the 1" napkin plugs were can not make the same claim. Try them, especially if you've noticed that hearing people at the table is getting more difficult.