For ear protection at concerts? Or in-ears for listening to music.

I have custom molded from the audiologist. Cost about 200$, totally worth it. Before those I had 20$ musicians earplugs and felt like I was missing out at concerts. The custom ones aren’t perfect, you can hear more without them, but good enough that I wear them at shows and even loud movies and don’t feel left out of the experience.

My GF has ‘down beats’ which she likes. Those are cheap but she says they do well.

The foam earplugs are good for protection but they ruin the music IMO.

If you find that ear plugs bother you, another great option is construction headphones. They are usually pretty light and durable, and some come with noise canceling that allows you to still hear if someone is shouting at you.

I use Honeywell Laser Lite earplugs for everyday noise reduction (autistic sensory sensitivity) and I chose them because they are the go-to for construction comrades, who gave me my first sets to try out. You can buy a large box online. They can be reused several times. I keep them in a pill bottle between uses to keep them clean, and I throw them out when they start to lose their ability to expand well enough to seal in the ear canal.

I tried silicone earplugs but they were too firm and caused irritation, and constantly lost their seal when I moved.

I get the cheap foam guys you crush and let expand in your canal from the dollar tree in the way to the range, and they feel better than any over the ear guys I’ve ever used while also still allowing some proprioception with the sensitive hairs around my ear.

Eargasm and EarPeace are two brands I’ve heard of that people are happy with. Helps when your ear protection doesn’t totally change the sonic character of what you’re listening to

usually just get these or some equivalent

Howard Leight Bilsom 303L are my go-to. I cannot at all sleep without earplugs and have tried numerous types, but always come back to these.

They are both soft and firm enough to actually block the sound of my partners cpap machine and not make my ears sore. I buy them in packs of 200 pairs meant for industrial use so they don’t cost much. I’ve found that most others tend to press and hurt or come out of my ears easily. Have used these in concerts and loud venues as well and they are great for that too.

Laser Lites, or Howard Leight Super Leight 33db NRR for truly opressive noise environments like shooting or running loud engines in confined spaces level loud where normal ear pro are overwhelmed

I have the loop experience, they’re a little pricey but I feel like it’s perfect for concerts.

Silicone wax is my favorite the more protection you need the more wax you use

I like the silicone ones that are attached by a string, available at your local hardware store. I have a pair of etymotic plugs that follow the same form factor. The etymotics have a special design that gives a flat frequency response to reduce volume without muffling the high end. I use them at concerts. They’re a tad less comfortable due to the rigid inner core but I’m glad I have them.

I like Alpine brand ones. They’ve been super comfortable at concerts and other loud events. They’re expensive but durable and very comfortable and have never fallen out. I don’t like the foam ones at all. They never seem to stay in properly especially if I’m moving around or talking.