Students
Hear the band. Hear yourself.
Your horn sounds like your horn, not like it is inside your head. The count stays crisp, the drum major stays clear, and the plugs stay put through every set and every game.
Marching band hearing protection
Hear your music like you’ve never heard it before.
Big Ear premium filtered earplugs are molded to each student’s ears, so the band keeps the full color of the music and the world around it while the volume comes down. No more fighting hollow, tiny-sounding generic plugs to protect your hearing on the field.
- 4.5, Excellent on Trustpilot
- Made by hand in the USA since 2003
- Fitted on campus at South Carolina and Michigan State
Why regular earplugs sound hollow
The problem every musician knows
Plug your ears and your horn moves inside your head.
Put in a generic earplug and play. Your own instrument turns boomy and hollow, the band around you goes small and muffled, and you start fighting the plug instead of playing the music. Audiologists call the hollow part the occlusion effect.
- Hollow and boomySound from your own voice or mouthpiece travels through the bone of the ear canal. Block the canal at the entrance and those low notes have nowhere to go, so they get louder in your head. A shallow foam plug can raise them by up to about 30 dB.
- Tiny and muffledMost foam plugs cut high pitches far more than low ones. Cymbals, upper woodwinds and the edge of the brass disappear, so tuning and blend get hard to judge.
- So the plugs come outWhen an earplug wrecks the sound, musicians stop wearing it, and a plug in a pocket protects nothing.
The fix
A deep, custom seal and a filter built for music.
Research on musicians’ earplugs shows that sealing deeper in the ear canal, at or past its second bend, cuts the hollow occlusion effect. The One is molded from impressions of your own ear canals, so it seals where your canal is shaped, not at the entrance like a foam plug. Its interchangeable filter turns the volume down while keeping music clear.
Sources: Marshall Chasin, Hearing Health Matters, citing Killion, Wilber and Gudmundsen (1988) and Pirzanski (1998); Aalto University, Sound and Music Computing 2017.
From the band
Directors, drum majors and section leaders.
Straight from Earplug TV, Big Ear’s channel. Tap to play.
- David ThorntonDirector, Spartan Marching Band, Michigan StateMichigan State’s band director on Big Ear.
- Chase BanksPercussionist and educator, Columbia, SCDrumline volume, every rehearsal.
- Jake WalkerDrum major, Northern Illinois UniversityHearing your own trumpet with plugs in.
- Nick PorterSousaphone section leader, Carolina BandThree years in his Big Ears.
- Alexis MaceySenior drum majorStaying engaged with every member of the band.
- Glenn Hood at NIUBig Ear, talking with Northern Illinois UniversityWhy custom filtered earplugs suit marching band.
The only earplug on this page
The One. Soft enough to forget, tuned for music.
Molded from your own ear impressions in soft platinum-cure silicone. No hard shell. It folds, it presses flat, and it seats in your ear in one smooth motion.
- Folds
- Presses flat
- Seats in seconds
Five volume settings in one earplug.
Pick the filter for how loud it gets and swap it when the day changes.
- 9dBLessons, practice rooms, teaching
- 15dBRehearsal rooms, small groups
- 20dBConcert band, orchestra, gigs
- 25dBMarching rehearsal and the field
- 30dBDrumline, the stands, game night
- For marching band: 25 dB, or 30 dB for drumline and the stands.
- Half shell recommended. It sits low, under a shako, a hat or a helmet.
- Made to last 7 to 10 years with normal care.
- Clear at no charge, or add a color for $10.
- Home impression kit included, no clinic visit.
- 30-day fit warranty.
$224.95per pair, kit included
Get The OneOn campus with the band
We bring the fitting to your band room.
Big Ear has fitted band members on campus at the University of South Carolina and Michigan State. Ear impressions are taken right in the band room, then every pair is built by hand in our USA lab and shipped to each player.
Band directors: plan a fitting day.
Plan my band’s fittingTell us your band size, dates and season start. We plan filters, shell size and timing so every pair arrives before the first game.
How loud is too loud
How loud is too loud
Every 3 decibels louder cuts your safe time in half.
NIOSH, the CDC’s institute for occupational safety and health, recommends no more than 85 dBA averaged over 8 hours. Each 3 dB step doubles the sound energy, so the safe time halves. Hearing lost to noise does not grow back, and it is preventable.
Where does your band land? Measure a full rehearsal with a sound level meter, such as the free NIOSH Sound Level Meter app for iPhone, and find the number on the chart.
| Level | Time to the daily limit |
|---|---|
| 85dBA | 8 hours |
| 88dBA | 4 hours |
| 91dBA | 2 hours |
| 94dBA | 1 hour |
| 97dBA | 30 minutes |
| 100dBA | 15 minutes |
| 103dBA | About 7 minutes |
For everyone who decides
Students, parents and band directors.
Parents
Outlasts the uniform.
Hearing lost to noise does not come back. One pair, molded to your student’s ears and made to last 7 to 10 years, covers every season of band and whatever comes after. The kit comes to your home.
Band directors
One standard for the whole band.
Choose one filter for a section and every player gets the same, predictable reduction. Order for a section or the full band, or bring Big Ear to campus for a fitting day.
Fitting daysHow ordering works
No clinic visit. The kit comes to you.
- OrderChoose your options and check out. Your home impression kit is included.
- Receive your kitIt ships 2 to 3 business days after we receive your order. Watch your email for the tracking number.
- Make your impressionsAbout 15 to 20 minutes at home, with a video that walks you through every step. You can do it yourself; a second person makes it easier.
- Send them backPack them in the same box and use the prepaid return label. We start building the day they arrive.
Then we hand-build your set in 40 business days from the day your impressions reach our lab and ship it to your door, with a 30-day fit warranty. If the fit is off, we adjust it. Younger students should have a parent help.
Order today and your finished pair arrives in about ten weeks.
Order well before band camp or the first game. Dates are an estimate, not a guarantee, and depend on when you mail your impressions back and when they reach us.
Questions
Before you order.
Why do regular earplugs make my instrument sound hollow?
That is the occlusion effect. Sound from your own voice or mouthpiece travels through the bone of the ear canal, and a plug that blocks only the entrance traps those low notes so they get louder in your head. Research on musicians’ earplugs shows a seal deeper in the canal, at or past its second bend, reduces it. The One is molded from impressions of your own ear canals for that reason.
Will I still hear the music and the people around me?
That is the point of a filtered earplug. The filter is designed to lower the volume while keeping music and voices clear, unlike foam plugs that cut high pitches far more than low ones.
Which filter should I use?
25 dB for most marching rehearsals and performances, and 30 dB for the drumline or the stands on game night. Concert band indoors often suits 20 dB.
Can I play with them in?
Yes. Many musicians wear filtered earplugs while they play. Your own instrument may sound a little different at first while you get used to it. If something sounds wrong, tell us within the 30-day fit warranty and we adjust the fit.
Do they fit under a shako or a hat?
Choose the half shell. It sits low in the ear, so it fits under a shako, a hat or a helmet.
Do I really make the impressions myself?
Yes. You press a soft impression material into each ear and let it set, following a video for every step. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes. Younger students should have a parent help.
How long until I have them?
Your kit ships 2 to 3 business days after we receive your order. Once your impressions reach our lab, we build your pair by hand in 40 business days. Dates are an estimate, not a guarantee.
How long do they last?
Made to last 7 to 10 years with normal care. Keep them in the case between rehearsals.
How do directors order for a section or the whole band?
Talk to us before you order and we will plan filters, shell size, colors and timing so pairs arrive before the season, or set up a fitting day on campus. Chat with us.
What if they do not fit?
Every pair has a 30-day fit warranty. If the fit is not right, tell us and we adjust it.
Protect the ears that make the music.
Molded to your ears, filtered for music, made to last 7 to 10 years.