Best Earplugs for Anxiety (15+ List)
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OptimistMinds
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Author bio
The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter. The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.
In this quick article, we will describe some of the best earplugs for anxiety. The product descriptions will mention why these earplugs are better than others. We will also cite research to confirm these benefits.
What are the Best Earplugs for Anxiety?
We looked at plenty of different kinds of earplugs and found the following ones to suit people with anxiety:
- Loop Earplugs
- Knops
- Flare Calmer
- dBud
- Vibes High Fidelity Earplugs
- Ohropax Wax Ear Plugs
- Cruchan
- 3M 1100 Foam Ear Plugs
- Black Noise Premium Ear Plugs
- Softvox
- Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs
- Hearprotek
- PQ Silicone Wax Ear Plugs
- Wutan
- LYSIAN Soft Foam
- Haomei
- Decibullz
Earplugs That Ease Anxiety
People often don’t realise that their anxiety got triggered due to a noisy environment. When we live in urban areas, surrounded by traffic, construction, or the sound of people yelling, anxiety levels rise.
Earplugs are an inexpensive and practical way of taking care of this. A randomised controlled trial determined that earplug interventions are effective in reducing the anxiety of patients. Similar studies have also found that these devices can promote sleep.
Here, we are going to talk about the best earplugs you can use to control your anxiety:
Loop Earplugs
Loop Experience earplugs reduce noise by 20 decibels. By combining an acoustic channel and filter for natural sound, Loop protects your hearing in style. It helps reduce anxiety from noise triggers, makes one feel less stressed or impatient, and avoids outbursts of anger.
The ear tips come in four sizes for ultimate comfort and fits all types of ears. It is designed to take the edge off while enabling you to not miss a peep. Live life at your volume, Loop ear plugs have got your ears covered.
Knops
Researchers believe noise-annoyance contributes to anxiety and depression in the general population. The sounds around us – constant aircraft flyovers, honking horns, people yelling, dogs barking could elicit anxiety.
Knops are ear plugs with volume buttons. They’re ideal for people who get anxious in noisy places.
Knops are comfortable and feature four settings to help people such people through the day. They’re based on audio-reproduction techniques that were developed over a century ago.
Flare Calmer
The World Health Organisation published evidence in 2018 that unpleasant city noise contributes to raised stress levels. These noises affect a multitude of health issues and even increased risk of premature death.
Calmer comes following a decade of research and testing by Flare, a UK-based audio technology company. It is proved to make an invaluable contribution to reducing these risks and improving our day to day well-being.
Flare Calmer is a non-electrical device that sits in the ear and enables a more relaxing evening and a better night’s sleep. It reduces stress and calms sound sensitivities. Calmer Night features a unique design which reduces frequencies from 2 kHz upwards.
dBud
dBud’s noise-reduction is certified with EPA and CE marking. It is tested and verified according to both the U.S. and the Europe standards.
It is designed specifically for Highly Sensitive Person, Meniere’s disease, migraine, headaches, misophonia, phonophobia, and ADHD. The earplugs are the ones you carry with you and use where you go, ready to use wherever there’s noise.
Comes with an attachable leash so that you can wear the plugs around your neck. The magnets make them stay in place, always in reach. It does not require batteries, charging and is always on.
Vibes High Fidelity Earplugs
Vibes Hi-Fidelity Earplugs are an extremely helpful tool for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and extreme anxiety. Sensitivity to sound can make everyday activities difficult, painful, uncomfortable, and impossible.
Vibes Hi-Fidelity Earplugs lower volume to more comfortable levels, while still allowing you to hear your environment with clarity. Its noise-canceling earplugs filter the lower volumes via filter specific frequencies vs outright noise cancellation.
Thus the filtered sound reduction earbuds ensure a clear sound experience. Additionally, Vibes’ clear-as-glass design makes them virtually invisible, thus avoiding the stigma that is associated with wearing bright, visible hearing protection in public.
Ohropax Wax Ear Plugs
Ohropax ear plugs are made from a soft wax compound covered with cotton. They provide a comfortable fit into the ear canal while creating an efficient seal against noise or water entry. It is ideal for sleep, study, travel or noisy workplaces.
If your anxiety is triggered by unnecessarily loud sounds, you can use these plugs to block out the noise. These can be used for other purposes too. Swimmers and bathers can wear them to keep water out of their ears.
Cruchan
Cruchan silicone ear plugs can easily block all types of noise. They are the best for anxiety, sleeping, snoring, flying discomfort, travel, concerts and live music. It can also be used to avoid noises from factories, and commercial areas, construction sites, motorcycles etc.
Its long ends sticking out makes it very comfortable for sleeping on your side. These were easier to put in, more comfortable, and they stayed put. Made of high-grade silicone material, they are BPA free, washable, reusable, and hypoallergenic.
You can cut it in two or more pieces to fit the size of your ear. We know that everyone’s ear canal shapes are different, therefore, using fixed shape earplugs always makes our ears uncomfortable.
3M 1100 Foam Ear Plugs
3M is a world renowned brand because of its premium quality products. These are soft, clean, comfortable, and affordable hearing protection for use in noisy environments. Try them to reduce your cortisol levels caused by sudden sounds.
They are flexible for a wide range of ear-canal sizes Noise Reduction Rating (NRR). The smooth and dirt resistant surface provides better hygiene. The carton transforms into a handy dispenser box.
Black Noise Premium Ear Plugs
Black Noise Premium Ear Plugs reduce noise levels effectively with its premium foam ear plugs. These have an impressive noise reduction rating of 33db, which renders loud environments tolerable.
When your anxiety starts feeling overwhelming, you can pop these in your ear to feel calmer. These also keep the ears safe from playing music to attending sports events, certain activities generate too much noise. They will provide ample hearing protection so you can keep doing these activities safely.
Softvox
Softvox ear plug has adopted acoustic filters, combined with memory foam ear tips. These ear plugs have greatly enhanced the effect of noise reduction. Perfect use for anxiety, sleeping, snoring, study, flying, travel.
The arc-shaped appearance design makes the earplug wear more stable and not easy to fall off. Soft noise reduction ear plugs do not cut the ears and make you feel uncomfortable. It doesn’t create stress when you sleep on the side.
Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs
Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs are original and the most selling moldable silicone ear plugs. It provides safe, non-toxic, non-allergenic waterproof protection and protects hearing from loud noises.
This makes them highly useful for anxiety disorders because they’ll reduce triggers. Mack’s soft moldable silicone putty molds very comfortably to the unique contours of any ear. It is lab tested and proven to help relieve airplane ear pressure and pain due to flying.
Hearprotek
Hearprotek earplugs are equipped with memory foam ear tips that enhance the noise reduction capabilities. It is capable of 33db of soundproofing, which is great for anyone who needs a quiet environment.
It protects your hearing from the harmful noise and high damaging decibel levels, avoiding depression, anxiety, and tinnitus. The earplugs fit in most ears to maximize comfort and help provide a secure fit to block the noise reduction. And is specially designed for side sleepers so that you can enjoy a peaceful night’s rest without pressure pain.
PQ Silicone Wax Ear Plugs
The earplugs fit in most ears to maximize comfort and help provide a secure fit to block the noise reduction. And is specially designed for side sleepers so that you can enjoy a peaceful night’s rest without triggering anxiety or pressure pain.
Wax ear plugs adjust to every ear shape without making any pressure on an ear canal, unlike other foam earplugs. They cover the ear canal tight enough, so they will never fall out.
These are reusable silicone gel ear plugs that will last you for a long time.
Wutan
Wutan earplugs ensure to protect your hearing from loud noise and hence prevent sudden spikes in cortisol levels.
These are appropriate for sleeping peacefully through the night by blocking out nearby sounds while you sleep. These silicone ear plugs come with 2 pairs, small size and large size, great suits for men, women, and kids.
The soft ear tips of the earplugs conform to your ears’ shape for a comfortable snug fit and ear protection. These sleeping earplugs prevent secretions such as ear canal from being pushed deep into the ear. Thus, resulting in no pressure, no itch and no pain.
Haomei
Haomei earplugs are Noise Cancelling earplugs that are made of non-toxic, soft silicone material which can be worn for a long time. These ear plugs do an effective job of bringing down the overall volume and blocking background noises.
These preserve the sound clarity and sharpness, thus minimizing muffling. It’s a great choice for studying, sleeping, working, and general hearing protection in noisy environments. Wearing them lowers the chances of you getting an anxiety attack.
Decibullz
If you’ve been using earplugs to control your anxiety, you should definitely try this one. Decibullz earplugs create a perfect fitting earplug that will not hurt and provide superior noise isolation.
These are the only custom earplugs that can be remolded in boiling water to fit the shape of your ear. Made in the USA, these earplugs will help you keep your cortisol levels low and your relaxation high.
Conclusion
In this quick article, we described some of the best earplugs for anxiety. The product descriptions mentioned why these earplugs are better than others. We also cited research to confirm these benefits.
The best earplugs for anxiety are Loop Earplugs, Knops, Flare Calmer, dBud, Vibes High Fidelity Earplugs, Ohropax Wax Ear Plugs, Cruchan, 3M 1100 Foam Ear Plugs, Black Noise Premium Ear Plugs, Softvox, Mack’s Pillow Soft Silicone Earplugs, Hearprotek, PQ Silicone Wax Ear Plugs , Wutan, Haomei, and Decibullz.
FAQs (Best Earplugs for Anxiety)
Can earplugs help with anxiety?
Earplugs help with anxiety by lowering the auditory stimulation of the brain. As the sound coming in can be controlled in terms of volume, one avoids unnecessarily loud sounds. This prevents them from getting startled and effectively lowers cortisol levels.
Is it bad to sleep with earplugs every night?
There are earplugs specially designed for use during sleep. These make the experience comfortable and pain free. Though earplugs are generally safe, there can be some issues caused by long-term use.
If you use them every night, make sure to clean your ears regularly as they might cause earwax build-up. This may further cause pain or temporary hearing issues.
Are there any ear plugs that block all noise?
No earplugs can block all noise because though they attenuate sounds, the ear and brain work in a unique way. Even if the entire ear canal is blocked, it will still pick up signals and you will be able to hear something.
Citations
Take Control of Your Anxiety Today: Personalized Counseling with BetterHelp
