This is a separate test and a separate question. Not "which pair blocks most" but "with which do you wake up less often". We wore twelve pairs for eight weeks exclusively in bed beside someone who snores, and testers logged every morning how many times they had woken.
See our #1 ›
Testers woke least often with this pair — not because it blocks hardest, but because it was the only one that stayed in all night. The rest of the field dropped out somewhere around 2am.
✓ Sold by BOLLSEN · free shipping over $39 · 40-day returns
Snoring does not wake you evenly through the night. It wakes you at the moments it suddenly gets louder — and that is the only number that means anything.
So instead of comparing stated decibels we asked testers for one thing: write down the number of wake-ups in the morning. Over eight weeks that came to more than four hundred nights.
We scored the number of wake-ups, the seal after changing position and whether the pair lasted until morning. Attenuation was an entry requirement, not a scoring criterion.
Earplugs sold in the US usually carry an NRR figure, set by the EPA. BOLLSEN publishes a European EN 352-2 measurement instead — 24 dB, measured by an independent German laboratory. The two numbers are produced by different test methods and are not interchangeable, so we quote the figure that was actually measured rather than converting it into something it is not.
No, and nothing will. A passive plug takes around 24 dB off across the band, so loud snoring drops to the level of background noise. Testers fell asleep with it — but they could hear that something was there. Anyone expecting silence will be disappointed whatever the brand.
Loud snoring with pauses in breathing, or daytime sleepiness in the person who snores, is something to raise with a physician. That is about the snorer, not about your earplugs, and it is not something a product test can assess.
The fewest wake-ups across eight weeks. That was the whole difference.
See our #1 ›After more than four hundred nights beside a snoring partner, the BOLLSEN Life+ had the lowest average wake-up count in the field.
A pair that falls out at 2am blocks nothing for the rest of the night.
The most common cause of a wake-up in our test was not "too loud" but "it fell out". Stemmed models worked loose when testers changed position. This pair held in the canal all night.
Sealing depends on fit, and ears differ more than people expect. Two testers moved to the smallest size and their wake-up count halved. With one-size models that option does not exist.
Washable, up to 100 uses, aluminum case. With disposable foam, testers started economizing after two weeks and putting in an already-used pair — which showed in the results.
More than four hundred nights. One pair.
See our #1 ›The lowest average wake-up count in the field, and the only pair that lasted until morning for every tester.
| Rated on | Life+ | Rooth | Foam | Wax | Alpine | Ear muffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lasted until morning | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ✗ |
| Sealed after turning over | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Size can be matched | ✓ | ~ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ~ |
✓ meets · ~ partly · ✗ does not meet — based on the pros and cons in the cards above; tap a card to open it.
See our #1 ›We bought twelve pairs at retail and wore them for eight weeks exclusively in bed beside someone who snores. Testers logged the number of wake-ups each morning — more than four hundred nights in total. Not one pair came from a manufacturer.
The winner’s attenuation was measured by an independent German laboratory to EN 352-2: 24 dB overall, most at high tones and least at low. Snoring sits low in the band, so a passive plug takes less off it than off high sounds — which is exactly why it does not disappear.