Loop Earplugs

Peace for the overstimulated peach.

I live right by the highway, and while I absolutely love working on my creative projects out on the balcony, there’s always the constant sound of cars flying by. It’s literally the only thing I don’t love about my apartment. Sometimes, the bombardment of it all is distracting to my creative process.

I’ve used my Loop Quiet earplugs for the obviously loud things: concerts, sporting events, you know. But it never occurred to me to use them in my everyday life. Until one day, I popped them in to really test them for this review and realized just how much they minimized the impact of the noise.

The cacophony of highway sounds transformed in real time—from an onslaught of sound to something closer to ocean waves. It was actually, dare I say it, soothing. Like when someone tells you to hold a shell up to your ear and you’ll hear the ocean, but it’s really just the fluid in your cochlea or something? Idk lol, but you get the point.

Loop earplugs disrupted the way that noise disrupts me.

Some sound is welcomed, like a familiar playlist, so I turned one on. But I couldn’t really hear the music from my laptop while wearing the Quiet Loops.

When I decided I did want to hear a little music but still take the edge off the bustle of I-20, I switched to my Loop Experience earplugs. The highway was noticeably louder, which makes sense, since the Experience version is designed to let more sound through. But again, Loop earplugs aren’t about silencing the world, they’re about making the environment more manageable.

Once I got into my creative groove and stopped focusing on the background noise for the sake of this review, it all started to fade into background waves, just like it did with the Quiet version. Except this time, I could still enjoy my music. I could still hear the city, but it didn’t disrupt my flow. Game changer.

Now, if you’re looking for something that completely shuts out sound, this isn’t that. Loop is a noise dampener, not a noise blocker. There’s a difference, and let me explain.

With noise dampening, sound is softened, not silenced like with traditional foam earplugs. It reduces the intensity of what’s around you, like turning the volume down instead of hitting mute. You’ll still hear the world, but it won’t feel as intrusive. Loop earplugs don’t promise silence—and that’s kind of the point. They reshape how sound reaches you so that you can stay engaged and involved, without the overstimulation. They give you control over the noise, not isolation from it.

When the Peach is out in the city, she needs a noise dampener, okay? I want to hear the breeze in the trees and the trickle of water in a pond. What I don’t want to hear is a bunch of people’s conversations behind me, voices amplified and detracting from my experience! I’d also like to hear if somebody’s running up on me in these streets!

As a woman who’s easily distracted by noise, I’d love to walk around with my music blasting through my noise-canceling AirPods… but realistically, that’s just not safe. With Loop, I can control the noise level and stay aware of my environment.

They’re also particularly helpful for solo travel. I can explore, and stay present and alert in an unfamiliar place without being overwhelmed by the noise.

When I’m making it through airport security to get back to the city, I’d like to hear the TSA agent’s directions, but I don’t want to be screamed at.

I’m really about to start using them everywhere. On my balcony. At the Hawks game. At the botanical garden. Here, there, everywhere. Seriously, they’re that good.

The only “downside” I’ve noticed, if you can even call it that, is how sensitive I am to noise after taking them out. I hear everything, and it can feel intense. I’ve also caught myself talking softer than usual while wearing them. Neither of these things are the fault of Loop; it might actually just be proof that the product is working. They create such a noticeable difference in my sound environment that I literally have to readjust.

I’ve learned that if something isn’t pretty, I don’t want anything to do with it. That’s part of what drew me to Loop: the aesthetics. The earplugs come in a cute little circular case with a finish that matches the earplugs, and they’re light enough (and useful enough) to clip onto your keyring.

They sit snugly in my ears thanks to the three different tip sizes, though I’ll admit I struggled to get the tips on at first and ended up on YouTube for tricks. But once they were on, that was it. I haven’t thought about it since.

There’s a variety of colors to choose from depending on which style you’re going for. Usually, with something this practical, I’m just hoping to find a color that isn’t ugly. But with Loop, I actually had a hard time choosing because I liked so many. I went with pink simply because I’m a pink girly, can’t go wrong with pink.

Would I buy it again? This is a one-and-done purchase, but knowing how the earplugs perform, of course I would purchase them again.

Loop has since released a second iteration of their earplugs with even better noise reduction. But the ones I have work great for me, so I’m sticking with what I’ve got.

Style, utility, and calm. Loop earplugs bring it all. If you love experiencing the world but hate being overwhelmed by it, just like me, this is for you.

I said “sound” and “noise” so many times in this review, I might make it a drinking game.