Does anyone have experience of the Loop Engage earplugs?
I was at a birthday gathering the other night. The type in a private room of a bar, about 40 people and not a lot of space so noise bouncing around everywhere. Was stood in a group of 7 of us and I could not hear a single word that was being said, just stood there for about 10 mins nodding and smiling politely like a complete idiot, unable to join in with the conversation because I had no idea what anyone was talking about.
I don't know if it's a personal thing that I am unable to process and differentiate the voices I want to hear from the other background noise. I get the same at work if there is a group meeting going on on the shop floor with all the background factory noise. No idea if I pick up any actions at these meetings but so far I've gotten away with it.
Anyway, I was looking in to these Loop ear plugs and it looks like the Engage 2 ones are the sort of thing I need. But, I don't want to splash out £30 on a couple of small bits of plastic if they're not going to make any difference.
But, I don't want to splash out £30 on a couple of small bits of plastic if they're not going to make any difference.
Pretend they're carbon fibre. Then £30 will seem like a bargin 😉
The concept should be god for what you are aiming at, depends on how comfortable they are for you and whether you can still hear enough of what you need to. I bought a set recently to try and help sleeping and after switching down to the small ear canal inserts I feel like I could still go a step down, perhaps I have xs ear canals? I used them once when the rain outside was heavily hammering onto a covered veg trug and I did fall asleep shortly after putting them in so they seemed to work quite well for that. £20+ for what they are is nuts though, 2 tiny silicon rings with stems and some pop on/off ear plugs.
I don't know if it's a personal thing that I am unable to process and differentiate the voices I want to hear from the other background noise.
I've had this for years and I hate it .... apparently it's an age thing according to my ENT consultant mate 😟
No idea if an ear plug will help though I'm afraid.
Yes, i used to use the one throw away ear plugs (motorbike), which was quite wasteful. The loop ones still allow some sound, just dulled down, so I can hear music and focus on conversation without the drone of other noise
From experience, they're possibly the worst thing ever for that particular situation. I found they filtered out 'hubbub' and instead you could hear all the conversations with perfect clarity. Overwhelming to the point of painful. I've just accepted that I can't do those sorts of situations, so I just have to stand there like a plum, power drinking.
I bought a set recently to try and help sleeping and after switching down to the small ear canal inserts I feel like I could still go a step down, perhaps I have xs ear canals?
Yeah, similar issue here. I'm a long-time IEM user, so used to having soft earplug-type things in my ears; but for sleeping I've got 1 XS and 1 S size in.
I've never used the daytime ones; I'm intrigued, but at £25 a pop I can't be bothered to try it out and potentially find they're rubbish
I don't know if it's a personal thing that I am unable to process and differentiate the voices I want to hear from the other background noise.
I've had this for years too - TBH as far back as I can remember going out, I've had this issue in pubs/clubs etc. Smiling and nodding along and hoping I've not made a tit of myself (more than usual).
I use Alpine Musicsafe earplugs, about £18, and they help. Looking at Alpine's range their 'Silence' model might be more suitable for this use at the expense of being less discreet, if that matters.
https://www.alpinehearingprotection.co.uk/products/silence
Good quality ear plugs make that sort of situation easier to handle. I don't go out now without my earplugs, mainly because music will often be played so loudly that it will destroy your hearing in one evening and I'm convinced most people are deaf because of this. Foam earplugs protect your ears, but leave you locked in and not able to hear much. Decent earplugs mean you can follow conversations, the main issue being how to judge how loudly you answer back (your voice will seem very loud in your head, but no one else will hear you).
For cheaper earplugs, I really rate the eytmotic ones. They reduce the noise down to a sensible level but you can still hear fine when wearing them. I bought some loop earplugs for my teenage lad and he likes them because they look quite cool and are well presented and trendy. I don't know what they're like hearing wise, but they measure fine and will help protect him. I would say I'm not a huge fan of the design, the metal loop and plastic bit aren't solidly attached, meaning you can leave a bit stuck in your ears if you really jam them in too much.
30 quid is not a lot of spend on protecting your hearing and being happier on a night out. It's not unusual to be charged over 7 quid for a pint nowadays, only to be given some sour tasting grapefruit wannabe nonsense, so measured against that, a 30quid investment in earplugs seems a bargain.
Flare Audio have a sale on at the mo, with some similarly targeted products. I've got some of their earphones, and can vouch for the quality, though not what benefit the plugs will actually have.
Money back guarantee and all that though.
With a '100 day hassle free return', surely they are worth a punt?
I used them once when the rain outside was heavily hammering onto a covered veg trug and I did fal
People pay good money for that kind of sound to send them to sleep 😀
I use Alpine Musicsafe earplugs, about £18, and they help.
I've bought these but not used them yet, mostly for tinnitus but with a few to hearing voices better.
Might be an age thing, its almost exactly 10 years since a party when I did the nodding and smiling thing in a 1:1 conversation. After I don't know how long he said quite clearly "Can you hear a word I'm saying?". I hadn't actually realised I couldn't.
Thanks all.
With a '100 day hassle free return', surely they are worth a punt?
Missed this, defintely makes it worth a try.
Added to that they've just emailled with a 25% off black friday code so it's almost rude not to now.
PROMO-25VIP for anyone interested