There’s few things better than riding your motorcycle on a beautiful day, but protecting your hearing is vital. Here are the best motorcycle ear plugs that you need in your life.
There are a few different types of earplugs, so we’ve picked our favourites from various materials and designs. No matter what type of earplugs you choose, it’s important to protect yourself from hearing loss, especially from motorcycles.
Etymotic High-Def Motorsport Earplugs
Etymotic always creates a solid earplug and these are no different.
High fidelity earplugs work by reducing external sounds evenly but still providing ear protection. This is in contrast to foam earplugs which provide solid noise reduction, but it cancels all noises. These can leave sounds muffled, which is great for sleeping earplugs, but not always ideal for riding.
Instead, high fidelity earplugs allow you to hear what’s around you (including speech and conversations) without harming your hearing. These motorsport earplugs can lower sound levels evenly by 20 decibels, protecting your ears.
For this particular product, you’ll receive one pair of high-fidelity earplugs with 3-flange eartips and convenient removal pull tabs. This makes removing the earplugs much easier, thankfully! You’ll also get one pair of larger eartips in case you have larger ear canals, along with one pair of foam eartips, a neck cord and a carrying case. Lots of stuff in one order!
These High-Def motorsport earplugs have a new, shorter stem that fits comfortably in the ear without protruding too far. This is ideal when wearing hats or motorcycle helmets without causing discomfort.
Overall, these are ideal motorcycle earplugs to protect you from hearing damage caused by loud motorcycle noises.
NoNoise 3PROM0160 Motorsport Ear Protection
Another trusted option for hearing protection are the Motorsport earplugs by NoNoise. NoNoise has been around for decades and certainly know what they’re doing.
These motorsport earplugs help reduce harmful levels of sound, including wind and road noise. The come with patented ceramic filters to make sure you experience the maximum protection from dangerous levels sounds.
However, they still allow you to hear conversations, important sounds like sirens and horns, and still use your intercom. This is especially helpful for long rides when you don’t want foam earplugs to full cancel out all noise and leave you in near-silence.
Because these aren’t foam, they’re also reusable, which means you can wash and re-wear whenever you need to. For more details on proper maintenance, check out our in-depth guide on reusable earplugs.
These come with a noise reduction rating of 21 dB. This is a solid rating, but it will let in noise and sounds because of the type of earplug it is. If you’re looking for full noise cancelling, a foam earplug would be better.
Plugfones Earplug-Earbud Hybrid
Want something totally different? Plugfones might be a good option for you. It’s basically a combination of earplugs and headphones. So while these will protect your hearing from harmful levels of external noise, you’ll also be able to comfortably listen to music. This is ideal for motorcycle rides when you don’t want to ride in silence.
These earplugs come with a NRR of 26 dB, a fantastic rating and clever design.
One thing to keep in mind is the attached cord. This could get caught on things if it’s hanging down too much. However once the cord is tucked away safely, you can easily listen to an audiobook or music while riding.
These have the same triple-flange design as the NoNoise motorsport earplugs, but come with the added bonus that you can connect the cord to whatever you’re listening to. Of course it can take awhile you find the earplugs that give you that perfect fit, but these are a great option.
Alpine Hearing Protection Motosafe Earplugs
Another big name in hearing protection is Alpine and they’ve designed their own motorcycle ear plugs, Motosafe.
One order of these comes with two sets of earplugs, one with high protection filters and one with medium protection filters. You’ll also get a convenient carrying case and cleaning fluid to keep your earplugs clean.
The medium filters have a NRR of 17 dB while the high filters have a NRR of 18 dB. Not the highest compared to others options in the group, but still a solid earplug.
These motorcycle ear plugs also come with “AlpineThermoShape material”, which takes the shape of the ear when worn so the earplugs stay in place at all times. We haven’t used these earplugs enough to know what the implications of this material is long term, but we know Alpine make a solid, durable earplug, no matter the material.
Overall the Alpine Motosafe are great earplugs, especially when used on the road. They fit comfortably in the ear without protruding too much so they won’t interfere with your helmet. They’re also quite a bit softer than other options, so you don’t need to deal with ear irritation but still greatly decrease wind noise.
Mack’s Ultra Soft Foam earplugs
If you want massive noise protection, Mack’s Ultra Soft foam earplugs are incredible. While these are fantastic for creating a quiet environment to sleep, you could also use these on the road.
We love them so much that we specifically reviewed Mack’s Ultra Soft and why you should buy them.
There are a few downsides to using foam earplugs when on your motorcycle that you should keep in mine. These particular earplugs can be a bit big, so they may protrude slightly from the ear. This could get in the way of a helmet, depending on what type you use. Mack’s Ultra Soft also have a NRR of 32 dB which has extremely effective noise cancelling capabilities. However, this means you might not hear important noises like your intercom, sirens and horns.
Ultra Soft earplugs are made of foam, so they won’t be reusable. If you ride infrequently, this might be a more cost effective option than buying a more expensive reusable pair.
All in all, these earplugs are extremely effective for hearing protection, massively soft, easily accessible and very affordable. It all depends on whether you’d like a foam earplug for motorcycles or would rather have a different design and material.
Best motorcycle ear plugs
No matter what type of earplug you end up using, it’s vital that you protect your hearing when riding. It only takes minutes to cause permanent hearing loss from wind, road noises and a loud motorcycle engine.
We all love to ride, but losing your hearing over it isn’t worth it. Make sure to find the best fit of motorcycle earplugs for you, whether they’re Bluetooth, foam, or high-fidelity.
