Earplugs: Our favourites

Earplugs aren’t something to get excited about. But they are a vital piece of kit and, like most kit, come in many shapes and sizes

Honeywell Laser Lite £22 for 200

honeywell.com

⏢ Roll, slip into your lugs, they expand to fit. Noise reduction is 32db so no problems with race cans, wind noise, anything. I used something similar in a noisy machine shop in a former life and got used to being bunged up. I’ve tried pricey attenuated earplugs (below) but they let a bit of noise through so feel like they’re not working properly. These are single use, and won’t expand properly if overused. No bother, they’re super-cheap. Unfortunately not rhubarb and custard flavour, though.

Auritech Custom Fit £119

auritech.co.uk

⏢ The clever part of the Auritech earplug is a ceramic filter, that reduces high frequency wind noise, but allows you to hear petrol station cashiers. Auritech do an off-the-shelf version for £19.95 that is really effective. Why buy custom fit? Because you can’t mis-fit them (each ear canal is a unique shape) so you don’t have to stop half-a-mile down the road, remove your helmet and refit the plug that wasn’t quite seated properly.

3M E.A.R. FX £2.95

ebay.co.uk

⏢ You’d think custom earplugs would give you the best protection from wind noise, but no . These do. The E.A.RS have an SNR (Single Number Rating) of 39db, which means they knock 39db off whatever racket you don’t wish to endure. So the 110db at 80mph (enough to damage your hearing in two minutes) becomes 71db (safe for over eight hours). The E.A.RS have the highest SNR of any foam earplug and are better than any custom one I’ve tried. Comfy too.

Protecthear custom fit £85

protecthear.co.uk

⏢ These are the most comfortable ear plugs I have ever used. Mainly because they are custom fit, and so fit perfectly. They never fall out or move around even on the longest of journeys. Like Hugo’s they have a passive acoustic noise filter to let me hear speech, sat nav instructions and music but not the harmful frequencies that can damage hearing. Biggest downside is I’m paranoid about losing them, but they are amazing.

‘The location is amazing, a cliff on the coast’