Wearing earplugs might seem trivial to the seasoned concertgoer, but if you want to avoid hearing damage this festival season, hear us out.

“Once it’s done, there isn’t anything that you can do to reverse it,” UNLV Health senior audiologist Jennifer Cornejo says.

Loud noise exposure can cause hearing loss, the ringing repercussions of tinnitus, and hyperacusis—which makes ordinary noises painful—sometimes causing this damage overnight. Cornejo says ringing, buzzing or hissing that goes away is considered a temporary threshold shift, but with more exposure, it becomes permanent.

“OSHA standards [say] anything over 85 decibels for longer than eight hours, you are at risk for ear damage,” she says. “What happens above that, though, is exponential. If you even go up a simple 10 dB up to 95, you’re only safe for four hours.”

Indoor concerts, which range from 95 to 110 decibels, are louder than festivals, where “the sound is escaping up,” Cornejo says. The audiologist recommends downloading a sound level meter on your phone to determine the safest place to stand.

Pulsar Presents promoter Patrick Trout passes out earplugs at his shows to help protect peoples’ hearing. “With how heavy my calendar skews and how loud the bands I book are, I felt like it was a basic courtesy,” he says. “There’s a lot of times where people walk in and don’t think they’re going to need them, and then they realize a couple songs in, ‘Yeah, maybe I should grab some.’ Having that peace of mind is great.”

As for which kind of earplugs to get, that’s up to you. Cheap foam earplugs can reduce 20-30 decibels, but sound quality will suffer. You might consider investing a bit more in custom plugs with decibel filters, or in one of the sets reviewed here, because they aren’t just handy for concerts. Sporting events and loud movie theaters are loud enough to cause hearing damage. Looking at you, Dune: Part 2.

Etymotic ETY Plugs High Fidelity Earplugs

Noise reduction: 20 dB

Price: $14-$19

These cone-shaped plugs, while less discreet, fit snugly into the ear canal, reducing unwanted noise by 20 decibels across all frequencies. I stood near the front of a Sleater-Kinney concert at Brooklyn Bowl and could detect the crisp licks of Carrie Brownstein’s guitar without drowning out Corin Tucker’s vocals. These plugs also took the sting out of a thundering metal show I enjoyed at the Dive Bar. –Amber Sampson

Loop Experience

Noise reduction: 18 dB

Price: $35

These trendy plugs have a tight profile—few are likely to spot you wearing them—and have looped handles that make them easy to put in and take out, even in dark, busy environments. They come with a handy storage case and four interchangeable ear tip sizes, and they’ll handily turn down the volume on concerts, festivals and large events. –Shannon Miller

Minuendo Lossless Adjustable Earplugs

Noise reduction: 7-25 dB

Price: $133

Inside Minuendo’s durable yet lightweight earplugs is a membrane—the company describes it as a “second eardrum”—that can be adjusted, via small levers on each plug, to reduce sound levels by 7 to 25dB while preserving important sonic details. I tested mine at Discopussy, where I clearly discerned the high-end sounds that might otherwise have been lost in London Elektricity’s bass-heavy set, and again a few weeks later at Bruce Springsteen’s T-Mobile Arena show, where they took the edge off the crowd roar. These things are the real boss. –Geoff Carter

Eargasm Earplugs

Noise reduction: 21 dB

Price: $44

My idea of hearing protection extended to two extremes: cheap foam plugs that muffled the loudest amps or expensive in-ear sets that were only used by professional musicians. Eargasm’s High Fidelity earplugs changed that. After standing speaker side at a Dive Bar blues show, I was surprised at the authentic sound coming through, and completely satisfied with the comfort. –Gabriela Rodriguez

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