Best ear plugs for sleeping 2024

The best ear plugs for sleeping help reduce unwanted sounds while you nod off, whether it's traffic or a partner snoring.

We tested the most popular silicone, foam and wax, reusable and disposable ear plugs for sleep from popular brands including Bollsen, Boots, Happy Ears, Loop and more. Our testers tried out our top contenders overnight and rated them for comfort, ease of inserting and how effective they are at dampening noise. 

Two ear plugs won over our testers to earn our Best Buy recommendation and two impressed at great value prices if you want to pay less. 

The best ear plugs for sleeping

Only logged-in Which? members can view the ear plug test results below. 

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The ear plugs we tested 

All the ear plugs we tested are listed in alphabetical order below.

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best ear plugs from our tests.

Join Which? to get instant access to our test results and Best Buy recommendations below.

Alpine SleepDeep Ear Plugs

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Material Silicone-free thermoplastic 

Claimed noise reduction 27dB

Need to know Reusable, storage case included, comes with two sizes – small and medium/large

Bollsen Life+ Ear Plugs

Available from Bollsen (£26.95)

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Material Silicone

Claimed noise reduction 24dB

Need to know Reusable, storage case included, two pairs for £39.95, three pairs for £49.95, four pairs for £59.95

Boots Mouldable Wax Ear Plugs

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Material Wax

Claimed noise reduction 27dB

Need to know Single use, five pairs per pack

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Boots Soft Silicone Ear Plugs

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Material Silicone

Need to know Reusable, replace when soiled or no longer sticky, storage case included, three pairs per pack

Get a relaxing night's sleep with our pick of the best mattresses, best pillows and best eye masks 

EarHub Soft Foam Ear Plugs

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Material Foam

Claimed noise reduction 33dB

Need to know Single use, 10 pairs per pack

Happy Ears Original Ear Plugs

Available from Happy Ears (£25.50)

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Material Plastic

Claimed noise reduction 25dB

Need to know Reusable, storage case included, Original Discovery Pack includes three sizes – small, medium, large

Loop Quiet Ear Plugs

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Material Silicone

Claimed noise reduction 26dB

Need to know Reusable, keychain storage case and four sizes of silicone ear tips included – extra small, small, medium, large

Pluggerz Sleep Ear Plugs

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Material Silicone

Claimed noise reduction 27dB

Need to know Reusable, two sizes included, storage case included

Superdrug Soft Foam Ear Plugs

Available from Superdrug (£1.99)

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Material Foam

Need to know Single use, three pairs per pack

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How we test ear plugs

We choose and buy the bestselling ear plugs for sleeping available in the UK. Our selection includes silicone ear plugs, foam ear plugs and wax ear plugs.  

The following factors are used to decide our top five ear plugs for sleep:  

• Comfort We assess how comfortable the ear plugs are to wear and how they feel when lying down. The most comfortable ear plugs can't be felt when lying on your side. 
• Ease of inserting Each pair of ear plugs is rated on how easy they are to insert. We also rate how useful the instructions are in helping to put the ear plugs in. 
• Noise reduction The ear plugs are also assessed for how well they reduce a range of sounds that can disturb sleep. This includes snoring, traffic and the radio. 

Our top five ear plugs are sent to testers who try them out overnight. They rate each pair of ear plugs on the factors above as well as:

• Security Each tester is asked if the ear plugs stay in their ears overnight or if they have to reinsert them during the night. 
• Cleaning If the ear plugs are reusable, testers rate how easy they are to clean after using them overnight. 

Find out more about how Which? is not influenced by product manufacturers or retailers and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent

Silicone vs foam vs wax ear plugs

Silicone ear plugs

Prices vary most among silicone ear plugs. They can be soft and mouldable or a more traditional ear bud. 

They tend to be reusable and lighter (although there are harder ones too).

Foam ear plugs

A cheaper and softer option – often disposable. Foam ear plugs are rolled between your fingers to shape them before being inserted into the ear where they expand to fill the ear canal. 

However, their porous material can host bacteria growth, so they'll need replacing often. Some designs have a little nobble on the end to help pull them out.

Wax ear plugs 

Wax ear plugs are generally warmed in the hand and then moulded to fit into your ear (they form a seal over the ear canal rather than being inserted into it). 

This can give a tighter seal, but they can be a bit greasy and attract dirt and fluff. Most wax ear plugs are designed to be single use.

Custom ear plugs

You can also get custom-made ear plugs that are moulded to the shape of your ear. They're more expensive but tend to be a better fit, particularly if you struggle with standard ear plugs because of issues such as having narrow ear canals.

Custom-made ear plugs can last a few years, although they will need regular cleaning and typically cost a lot more (starting from around £80).

It might be worth it though. In a Which? survey of 3,774 members in May 2023, 79% of people using custom-made ear plugs found them very or extremely effective (compared to 36% for those who used disposable and reusable ones).

Smart ear plugs

Smart ear plugs may have active noise-cancelling technology and/or passive noise-blocking technology. They sometimes come along with extras such as linking to your phone and providing a library of sounds. 

They're different from standard noise-cancelling headphones as they slowly fade out the audio when they sense that you're asleep.

These cost from around £50 up to £250.

Take care of your eyes as well as your ears with our pick of the best opticians stores

What are the most soundproof ear plugs?

Damage to your hearing can start to occur with exposure to around an average 85dB over the day or week – that's the noise level of heavy traffic or a vacuum cleaner.

Higher levels can have an impact quite quickly, and it's important to know that the decibel scale isn't linear. So, while using an electric drill (an average 94dB) is safe for around 60 minutes, a pop/rock concert (100 dB) is safe for just 7.5 minutes.

The amount of noise reduction ear plugs or defenders give – known as the attenuation value – is measured in decibels, or as a simplified noise-reduction level (SNR) figure. For standard ear plugs, noise reduction levels range from 16 to 38 decibels. Those we tested averaged around 27 decibels. 

You won't necessarily want the ear plugs with the highest decibel reduction. This could be a real bonus while sleeping, when you want all sound reduced, but not at a concert where you'll just want to reduce certain sounds to a manageable level.

With noise-cancelling headphones, keep in mind they're not hearing-protection devices and are not marketed as such.

See our noise-cancelling headphone reviews to find the best pair for you

What are the best ear plugs for sleeping with a snorer?

World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines recommend sound levels of less than 30 decibels in your bedroom during the night for a good-quality sleep, but EU research shows that more than three in 10 people are exposed to levels exceeding 65 decibels at night.

Snoring is a common bugbear, and can clock in at 50-100+ decibels.

Look for ear plugs that are marketed for sleeping or snoring. They are typically designed to be comfortable to wear at night, for example, because they're made of very soft silicone.

What is the best ear protection for noisy work or DIY?

If you're exposed to noise at work or while doing DIY at an average 85dB or more over the day or week, you should use ear muffs or defenders to protect your hearing. These are designed to wear for longer periods. 

Make sure you choose ones that state they have the right level of hearing protection. For example, if the DIY noise was 100dB and you wore ear plugs reducing it by 15dB, this should mean you're hearing a safe 85dB.

What are the best ear plugs for a concert?

If you're at a concert or festival, you want to hear the music rather than having certain pitches muffled as standard ear plugs tend to do. 

Musicians' ear plugs can do this by using filters to muffle sounds at all pitches so you're hearing the music as it should sound, but just a bit quieter and at a safe level. 

Is it good or bad to sleep with ear plugs?

Ear plugs can cause problems by not giving wax a chance to escape, so it's important for your ears to have a rest between uses. 

They can also push wax into the ear canal, and this can build up, leading to – or exacerbating – problems such as tinnitus, itchiness or reduced hearing.

The ears are a dark warm place, which makes them a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. Clean reusable ear plugs regularly and only put clean ear plugs into your ears to avoid bacteria build-up. And avoid reusing disposable ones many times. 

Don't be tempted to use DIY ear plugs made from balled-up cotton wool or tissue either. As well as being ineffective, they can get stuck and need professional removal.

And if you're wondering 'are silicone ear plugs safe?' They are, providing you clean them regularly and insert them correctly according to their instructions.

Make sure you're taking care of your ears properly with our guide to safe ear wax removal

Do I need ear plugs if I wear hearing aids?

Digital hearing aids compress loud sounds at the limits of your hearing tolerance to make them more comfortable for your ears.

However, you still need to wear proper ear protection if you're exposed to loud noise over prolonged periods.

If you wear hearing aids, you'll want to get air into your ears at night to avoid bacteria build-up and to allow wax to escape – so wearing ear plugs regularly isn't a great idea. 

We reveal the best and worst hearing aid providers, plus how to choose the right hearing aid for you

Can you recycle disposable ear plugs?

Unfortunately disposable foam ear plugs can't be recycled as they aren't biodegradable and so they end up in landfill.

You can sign up to a Terracycle scheme whereby you buy a zero waste box specifically for the disposal of foam ear plugs. You fill the box and then schedule a collection or use the pre-paid label to post them for recycling.

However the smallest box is £132, so this does come at a sizeable cost.