Hearing protection for musicians
Hear your music like you’ve never heard it before.
Big Ear premium filtered earplugs are molded to your ears, so you keep the full color of the music and the room around you while the volume comes down. No more fighting hollow, tiny-sounding generic plugs to protect your hearing.
- 4.5, Excellent on Trustpilot
- Made by hand in the USA since 2003
- Home impression kit included
Real people. Real ears.
Musicians who wear them, in their own words.
Band directors, section leaders and players from South Carolina and Michigan State, on camera. Tap to play, sound on.
- David ThorntonDirector, Spartan Marching Band, Michigan State“…the best earplug that I’ve ever worn, certainly the most comfortable.”
- Dr. Tanya MitchellAssociate Director, Carolina Band“I need my ears to do my job… I just forget that they’re there.”
- Chase BanksDrummer, University of South Carolina Marching Band“I personally have very small ear canals… The Big Ear musician earplugs are incredible.”
- Nick PorterSousaphone, Carolina Band“I’ve been using the Big Ear One earpiece for the past three years now and can’t rave enough about it.”
- Maggie CocoTrumpet, Spartan Marching Band“They were reliable every single time.”
- Ryan MalbergBaritone, Spartan Marching Band“They’re better than any headphones that I’ve used while playing my instrument.”
- Alto saxophoneSpartan Brass, Michigan State“I can still hear everything, but it’s not piercing my ear bones.”
- Trumpet playerAlso wears them for tractors and chainsaws“They fit perfectly.”
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
Musicians who play in them.
Straight from Earplug TV, Big Ear’s channel. Tap to play.
- Jake WalkerDrum major, Northern Illinois UniversityHearing your own trumpet with plugs in.
- 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
- 25dBLoud stages, rock and brass
- 30dBDrums and the loudest rooms
- Most musicians start at 20 dB, and move to 25 or 30 for the loudest stages.
- Half shell recommended. Low profile, comfortable for long sets.
- 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 OneHow 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 room 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 |
How 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 arrives 3 to 5 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.
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?
Most musicians start at 20 dB. Choose 25 or 30 dB for loud stages and drums, and 9 or 15 dB for lessons, teaching and quiet rooms.
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 arrives 3 to 5 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.
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.
Hear your music. For life.
Molded to your ears, filtered for music, made to last 7 to 10 years.