Eargasm Earplugs - Expert Review and Audio Samples

[@HearingTracker]

Hey everyone, we are going to start reviewing earplugs again! If you have a spare moment, please take this 2 question survey about earplugs. It'll help us decide what tests to do and how best to convey the data. steve.questionpro.com/t/AawyEZ2oF9 - Steve

[@sword1O5]

this video is heaven sent and exactly what i was looking for before buying and couldnt find this kind of proper info on their website

[@7fink7]

interesting that you have actually managed to get more realistic reviews by using that built-up head with ear rather than other reviewers just guessing and tell you of how that "feels" . subscribed now! keep it going! 🤗

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks BoBBy, appreciate the positive words. There is far too much subjectivity around hearing products. We’re trying to change that so people can see fact from marketing hype and sort out their own informed opinions. Thanks again! - Steve

[@Penningtonac]

@@HearingTrackerthe slide version isn’t available anymore would you be able to make an updated review?

[@devincagadoc6619]

Would you consider reviewing the new Loop Switch and comparing to these? as well as the Loop solo counterparts for each setting?

[@BuddyL]

I actually have both. I got the Hi-Fis in early 2020; they work great, but could never get a "perfect" fit in both ears at once. I got the Slides several months back and they work great for me.

[@stevetaddei872]

That was my experience as well where fit was a struggle - not something you want when putting plugs in quickly before a show kicks off! I find myself using the Slide more for general use due to the adjustable attenuation.

[@ephemeralstardom]

Thanks so much for this video. Im still not sure if they will help me for my purposes. But theyre cheap enough to try. Love the samples, that recording setup is so genius

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks for the kind words Allison! I do like Eargasm for music but earplugs are as varied as eyewear (corrective lenses, protection goggles, sun glasses, etc). What are you using them for? Maybe there's another style that may be more appropriate?

[@steelsteez6118]

@@HearingTracker what would you recommend for monster jam monster truck show?

[@so_hip_]

Real question is can they stay in your ear while your headbanging? 😅

[@HearingTracker]

😂😂😂😂

[@Estevan_Leyva]

I’ve done my fair share of headbanging with mine. So yes they do!

[@shadyzz9549]

One won’t have to worry about hearing after they’ve got full CTE from head-banging.

[@unknownterror18]

I was wondering the same thing?I'm going to see Pantera & Metallica August 18. 🤘

[@user-el6lt8fr3x]

@@unknownterror18 they def stay in your ears pretty well, I was headbanging and jumping like crazy and they didn’t fall out. I went to see Slipknot last year with these plugs and they still keep the majority of the clarity while lowering the volume. Would HIGHLY recommend

[@brenna0323]

I ended up getting the standard size and both sizes were way too big for me. I contacted Eargasm, and they sent me both of the smaller ears shells, free of charge (amazing company) and the smallest shell they have fits me. I honestly have very standard size ears, but their shells just fit very large.

[@Klust413]

Wish I'd had these for the concert I went to recently. The venue kept the volume up a little too high and more distortion heavy parts would peak the speakers which really took away from the experience and something like this could have at least dulled that a bit.

[@HearingTracker]

That sounds horrible Klust. I'm not sure why some live sound engineers do things like this and push the limits of (1) their systems and (2) human comfort. Did you end up getting these or another pair? - Steve

[@stanleywaring4699]

would the eargasms be your go to for concerts ahead of the loop experience pro?

[@stevetaddei872]

That's a great question. I found the Loop Experience Pro easier to get in properly with their foam and single silicone tips. However, the Eargasm Hi-Fi plugs had a more uniform sound quality to them. I'd honestly like to try the extra-small Eargasm plugs and see if that fixes the fit difficulty I had - If that worked I'd favor the Hi-fi Eargasm plugs!

[@Allbutnowhere]

@@stevetaddei872 can you link which one you are referring to. Going to a concert next month and I am already slightly deaf in one ear. I don’t want to damage my ear(s) even more.

[@bombaybeach208]

I have tinnitus/noise sensitivity and use silicone earplugs. How is this any different?

[@audiotomb]

I would love to hear ear protection that focused on heavily reducing the low end bass drum crap that deaf soundboard engineers always push far too loud

[@HearingTracker]

The lows are definitely hardest to tame. I was at a concert last winter where the engineer blasted ~60Hz for several minutes slowly increasing the volume to a building-shaking sound level. Even with Loop Pro + Mute my head felt like it was going to explode. We need better standards, and engineer education, for things like this. - Steve

[@foxtrotwhisky4061]

Subbed to your channel! Which earbuds do the best job of reducing bass?

[@bingboompow8861]

@@HearingTracker so true . As someone with tinitus , people look at me like I'm crazy when they have super loud bass playing in the car . It for , whatever reason, really triggers my ears

[@Bmxrkid]

@@bingboompow8861yeah, I hate that too

[@craigmelissa12]

How do you clean the ear plugs? Both silicone and foam? I have the EG Sliders. Thanks

[@pedrokaco]

Great job, I have a question about earplugs but what about when you talk and hear your own voice too loud? Called the occlusion effect. Is this amplifying your own voice? Can this harm your hearing too? Thank you very much

[@HearingTracker]

Hi Pedro, that is a good question. Yes, occlusion can cause an increase in the sound pressure level of lower frequencies. Fortunately, our ears have a muscle contraction known as the acoustic reflex which can help reduce sound levels when we vocalize. I would also imagine that the vocal cords to become fatigued and overused before you could cause hearing injury. I am not aware of any studies looking specifically at this. Please share if you do as it's very interesting. - Steve

[@pedrokaco]

@@HearingTracker cool, so I have the impression that there is a standing wave phenomenon inside the auditory canal when the door is closed, this generates amplification at a certain frequency, in voice frequencies that have more power! and that is an increase in amplitude and danger of an increase in tinnitus! I have this print!

[@charlesthomas6987]

Have you reviewed/tried the Zound brand ear plugs? They claim to be best for concert goers. Can you do a full review on the Zound ear plug?

[@Krippinvirus]

Hey I’m a guitarist that plays metal would these be great for musicians that play really loud or do you recommend a different brand?

[@jg769]

Great review. I used to wear cheap foam earplugs to concerts for years but it wasn’t until this past weekend when I was at a show that I felt like they blocked out too much. Don’t get me wrong, I liked that they made things quieter but they muffled things to the point that I was hearing about 80% bass drum and 20% everything else. I ordered a pair of these Eargasm plugs and hope they provide a more balanced sound.

[@bobbil6765]

im ectremely torn between all the options for earplugs. have tinnitus and want to protect my ears but still want the best quality at concerts. do you recommend eargasm,loops, or any other brand?

[@hippiehairstylist]

Other than health & safety reasons, I dont know how beneficial these are for better sound when it comes to concerts. I ordered something similar, so im excited to see the difference at my next festival.

[@HearingTracker]

Eargasm hi-fi, Loop Experience, and Etymotic er20 provide a much flatter more natural sound quality for music than industry foam plugs. Hope you noticed a difference! - Steve

[@richtudor8547]

Do you know why the eargasm slide was discontinued? I have a pair, and I’m wondering if there is something bad about the design.

[@cloudyair7395]

thank you so much, this has been a great help and thanks for explaining the level volume comparison in this video. I'm just tossing up between loops and eargasms now for mostly concert usages😁😃. which ones would you say has less internal sound eg. swallowing, heart rate. For the loop, eargasm slides and hi fi? and which ones in order for level of comfort for long term use

[@stevetaddei872]

Thank you for the feedback regarding the volume comparison - it was definitely unclear before. Honestly, I prefer Loop Experience Pro plugs for music due to their comfort and ease of insertion. They may not be quite as natural sounding as the Eargasm HiFi, but they are very close for me. This is a worthwhile tradeoff as without a good reliable fit earplugs do not work well. Regarding internal noises (autophony is the fancy word for it 😊), this really depends on how much sound the devices attenuate and how deep they sit in your ears. I find both devices comparable here. The best way to remove this sensation is to purchase custom earplug. These are more expensive but they should be made to sit deeper in your ear canal minimizing that "boomy" voice quality.

[@JBrain58]

How are these vs the earpeace music pros in regards to natural sound?

[@DerBullgod]

Have you tried the Earasers High Fidelity Ear Plugs? I have them and would like to see/hear how they compare to the Eargasms. They intentionally reduce the ear resonance frequency and I prefere them (NNR5) to the Alpines I used before.

[@HearingTracker]

I have tried Earasers earplugs and strongly recommend avoiding them. As you mention, they reduce sound in a very narrow range while offering minimal overall sound reduction. This is the opposite approach of most musician's earplugs as it offers little protection and an unnatural sound quality. They are comfortable though. Alpine MusicSafe are nice as they offer multiple filters, but they are very muffled compared to Eargasm Hi-Fi, Eargasm Hi-Fi, and Er20 imo. By the way, we are testing earplugs again. If you have a moment, here is a quick 2 question survey that will help us understand what you look for in plugs so we can test and share data better. Thanks! steve.questionpro.com/t/AawyEZ2oF9 - Steve

[@DerBullgod]

@@HearingTracker Hey, thanks for the response! I use the low filter Earasers for low volume jams and rehearsals and their medium filters for concerts now, so protection isn't an issue anymore. They are very comfortable, right. But judging the sound quality is tough, which is why I like your direct comparisons. I will have to compare them to Eargasms if I get the chance. Saw your post about the quiz when I got your like and already took it. :)

[@iurigrang]

Why do the eargasm high fidelity seem to measure so different here compared to the 2023 compilation review? Here they both sound and look very flat compared to there. Is it a different dummy head?

[@HearingTracker]

We have upgraded our dummy head from a miniDSP EAR to an industry standard KEMAR manikin. Good catch. The measurements very a bit, but the overall "slope" is important perceptually. You can see this in our "Uniformity" rating where we calculate the flatness by comparing the difference between low and high frequencies. - Steve

[@Mr_Porter]

Excellent video👍🏾 I'm currently looking through reviews for hogh fidelity ear plugs that I've seen on Amazon. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for 👏🏾 I'm going to buy some for those long flights packed with loud passengers. The closed loop is what I'm looking to buy. Thanks again 🫡

[@davidmcaninch4714]

Would they be good for drummers?

[@stefanhansen5882]

I really like the scientific approach here. Can you recommend earplugs for motorcycle riding. I want as MUCH noise reduction as possible. Thanks!

[@anteyes6976]

I know this is a dumb question but which position is open on the slide? There’s no indicator marked and it looks the same up or down

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks for the question Ant. When the slide is towards the back (further away from the ear tip) you can see a slight opening to the acoustic filter. When the slide is moved forward the filter is blocked and this is the "closed" position. - Steve

[@graz7996]

Can be used for cutting cars noises when sleeping?

[@doreenmorawski3484]

That was awesome. thank you so much for that review to be able to actually hear what it may sound like. I have permanent ringing from heavy metal concerts since my teenage years. Im going to see Sleep Token this month at radio city in nyc and im sure the sound will be incredible but very loud. I wanted something that would not totally muffle everything, so i think these may work!

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks for the kind words and I'm in the same boat regarding tinnitus from heavy metal in my early days. Eargasm Hi-fi are great plugs but I do struggle to get a good fit due to the filter size being so large. How have they worked for you? Also, we are testing earplugs again. If you have a moment, here is a quick 2 question survey that will help us understand what you look for in plugs so we can test and share data better. Thanks! steve.questionpro.com/t/AawyEZ2oF9 - Steve

[@imasuperkoala]

Can this be usef for sleeping? Or is uncomfortable

[@sayansingha1635]

Please answer This product Available Available in india

[@bouleamythe]

Hi,i’ma guitar player who play’s in bars every week ends. The drummer plays pretty loud. I’ve tried some earplugs but i loose the definition. Any suggestions? Thanks

[@reeseboyko1650]

I would love to see a video where we see full EQ visualizer response from the mic inside the "head" testing the supposed frequency cancellation effects of different earplugs against each other and most interestingly of all against a few sets of foam plugs (is it all marketing hype?)

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks Reese, I have wanted to add a real-time analyzer to these videos. Simply haven’t found a good way to create and then overlay. Here is the more thorough article review including insertion loss plots for all of the plugs I tested. There is a very big difference between good musician’s plugs and those designed for industry (foam). - Steve www.hearingtracker.com/earplugs

[@reeseboyko1650]

​@@HearingTracker Sweet thanks for the article! my first thought/solution would be use a DAW to screen record an equalizer vst such as ableton's EQ eight or fabfilter responding to the raw track and then seperately the input of the ear in another track thus allowing simultaneous recording.

[@snip3r416]

Is are the just ear plugs but just much fancy right?

[@OysterWallace]

How type are English you study forever?

[@snip3r416]

@@OysterWallace well I looked it to them of my research in the English they are ear plugs.

[@HearingTracker]

These are different from standard earplugs as they are designed specifically to provide a more natural sound quality. That way, when you listen to speech/music you can still hear well without the same exposure to hazardous sound levels. Good luck!

[@lilblingking1491]

@@OysterWallace Not everyone's native language is English. No need to be an asshole.

[@metallicarockacion]

Thank you so much for this video. It helps a lot. My problem with this filters is when I talk my own voice sounds muffled and is harder to listen to others while I talk. Does this happens with this Eargasms ?

[@stevetaddei872]

PaulRM thanks for watching. You are describing what's known as the occlusion effect and it will unfortunately be relatively consistent across all earplugs of this style. One option would be to find an adjustable attenuation plug such as the Eargasm Slide - the open position will not have as much of that boomy voice quality. The best way to minimize the occlusion effect with hearing protection is to go the custom earplug route. That way the earplug can be made to sit deeper within your ear canal which can minimize this effect.

[@metallicarockacion]

@@stevetaddei872 woah very useful! thanks a lot.

[@HearingTracker]

Happy the video helped!

[@theblind_guitarist1990]

@HearingTracker Hello there. I'm visually impaired. It will be my second time, attending a show, that my cousin is inviting me to on November 24. First show i attended, was daughtry at the arizona state fair in october 2007. it was awfully loud inside the colasium. my anxiety was sky high to the point where i had my friend escort me out of the venu. i just want to know. if i wear these ear plugs, will i leave the venu without having the risk of my ears ringing? usually when you wear no ear plugs at shows, and leave the place, you head home with your ears ringing. i just want to know if i wear these ear plugs at the august burns red show, if my ears won't ring. my ears are my eyes, and i'd hate to risk in losing my hearing, especially since i'm a musician as well. please give me some feedback. also, would you recommend these ear plugs. gonna do research and review these before i decide to buy them next month if i decide to go to the show on november 24. thank you so much!

[@davidbanach7982]

I do sound for a 12 piece wedding band and also am a concert goer, I never knew these existed!!!

[@Penningtonac]

“Eargasm Slide” (aka the only one that worked in the video) are nowhere to be found now

[@DrCHO-xx6gz]

Why would you present this as though it's a quantitative review while not presenting a single piece of data?

[@audiotomb]

Eargasms sound very muffled at the same volume

[@HearingTracker]

Which ones audiotomb, the Slide or Hi-Fi plugs? Hi-Fi provided a much more natural sound quality for me between the two. - Steve

[@mamacindyrogofsky495]

How does he keep a straight face with Eargasm? 😆😆😆

[@HearingTracker]

😅🤣🤣🤣

[@kee7678]

I cant get any earplugs to stay in my ear correctly when I put my dang helmet on...

[@glendicky]

Flat attenuation? They sound very unflat to me 😂😂😂

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks for your comment. Flat here is relative to other musician's earplugs. If you'd like to dive into our objective testing you can read my full reviews on hearingtracker.com (www.hearingtracker.com/earplugs?). You can see insertion loss plots that show Eargasm Hi-Fi earplugs are relatively flat. - Steve

[@meric12131415]

🤣 man that name sounds so weird easgasim

[@HearingTracker]

Everyone I’ve spoken to about this company agrees. But it has us talking, so must be a good marketing angle. -Steve

[@meric12131415]

@@HearingTracker 🤣 most likely bit of an odd naming scheme though

[@chrisk6488]

Not good earplugs.. Alpines musicsafe pro, much better..

[@HearingTracker]

Thanks for your comment. Why do you not like them? Alpine MusicSafe are good plugs and were my go-to for years. - Steve

[@chrisk6488]

@@HearingTracker they are uncomfortable in the ear and also don't reduce the volume as well as the alpine.. I ordered them from America in the country where I live in Europe and as soon as I tried them on, I immediately packed them and sent them back to the company.. The next earplugs I want to try , are the minuendo and the decibulz..