Do you have a small ear canal and find most earplugs impossible to put in and be comfortable?
I have been asked quite a few times to recommend earplugs that suit people with small and/or short ear canals, so I decided to take out my calipers and start measuring them.
In this review, I have included small earplugs that I have come across through my own prior testing, earplugs advertised for people with small ears, and suggestions from readers and other reviewers.
I have tested all candidates for ease of insertion, subjective noise blocking effectiveness against pink noise, and eight-hour wearing comfort.
Contents
What you need to know about earplugs if you have a small ear canal
If you have read earplug reviews on online retailers, you will most likely have noticed very conflicting reviews, in particular when it comes to “small earplugs.”
I think this is because even among people with small ear canals there is quite a variety of different shapes and sizes:
wide first and then quite narrow
narrow all the way
shorter vs longer
crooked with several bents
Because foam earplugs are first compressed by rolling them up and then expand in the ear, good standard-sized earplugs fit a large variety of different ear canals.
They just need to expand more or less to achieve their objective: sealing the canal.
Bothered by noise, we look for the earplugs with the highest noise reduction rating (i.e., NRR 33) in the hope of getting the most relief possible, which typically means larger earplugs with a higher foam-density.
If you have a small ear canal, this “highest-NRR hunting” is a mistake: you might have a hard time compressing standard-sized earplugs and even smaller high-density foam earplugs enough to insert them properly. And if you can insert them, they might start hurting after a short while.
My aim with this review is to help you select a few smaller-sized earplugs (perhaps two or three) and try them yourself.
Having found at least two earplug types that work for you, you can alternate between them and avoid pressure points and discomfort.
To get an idea of available earplug sizes, take a look at the following image:
From left: Pura-Fit 6800 (full-sized), EAR Classic small (short & narrow), EAR Classic (short), Pura-Fit 7700 (Europe, small), Hearos Sleep Pretty in Pink (small), Mack’s Slim Fit (very small), Flents Protechs Sleep earplugs (the smallest earplugs in this review), and Flents Quiet Contour (larger brother of Protechs Sleep).
Note: The flanking green earplugs are full-sized rather than small, and are included for size comparison.
Rolling them up the first time takes time; at first, they appear harder than other plugs and require more finger strength
Insertion is easy
They are made of a low density PVC foam, so if you can get them in, chances are they will be very comfortable
Excellent low frequency noise reduction; in the author’s ears better against traffic rumble, footfalls, and bass noise than all other earplugs mentioned here
Good overall noise blockers, on par with Slim Fit, but not quite as effective as Pretty in Pink
After a few nights, they are easy to roll up, but then they also block less noise
Like EAR Classic but smaller diameter of 0.50 inches (vs 0.54 inches for the Classic regular)
Both the EAR Classic and the EAR Classic Small are industrial earplugs, which means they are primarily sold in large quantities
The regular Classic fit a large range of ears and are typically available in smaller quantities than the Classic Small
For this reason, I recommend you try the regular Classic first
Small moldable silicone putty and wax earplugs
Silicone putty and wax earplugs are very decent at blocking mid- and high-frequency noise and very comfortable. Because they are moldable they are a good alternative for people with small ear canals.
For blocking snoring or bass noise, however, I find them not up to the task.
Their main advantages:
They don’t create any pressure inside the ear because they merely seal the canal entrance.
When used properly, there is very little risk of pushing ear wax (cerumen) further down the ear canal.
Unlike foam and triple-flange earplugs, never insert silicone putty or wax earplugs into your ear canal. Instead, shape them into a ball and flatten them over your ear opening.
If a particular wax or silicone earplug is too small to fit safely over your ear opening, use a larger size.
Mack’s Kid Size soft moldable silicone (NRR 22)
The image shows the white adult-size pillow soft and the orange kid’s-size pillow soft earplugs.
If you have a small ear canal, I recommend you try both Mack’s Slim Fit and Hearos Sleep Pretty in Pink earplugs. This should give you a good idea as to which size you actually need/prefer.
Slim Fit are even smaller earplugs than the already small Hearos, but while being surprisingly good at blocking bass noise, the Hearos are overall the more effective noise blockers.
Both earplugs are easy to roll up and insert. Hearos stand out because their memory foam expands very slowly, allowing you plenty of time to insert them.
If you are in Europe, the Moldex Pura-Fit 7700 are an excellent alternative to the Hearos. They have about the same length but are a tad thicker. Personally, I find them even more comfortable than the Hearos.
Note that the 7700 have no NRR and Moldex doesn’t market them as a hearing protector in the US. The US Pura-Fit (6800) are substantially longer and not small earplugs!
If you have a small ear canal and a hard time with tapered foam earplugs, i.e., you find even small tapered foam earplugs uncomfortable or they keep falling out, I recommend you try Flents Protechs Sleep earplugs.
Due to their unique bulb-like shape, they are the smallest earplugs I have been able to find.
They are very comfortable and easy to insert.
They are a bit less effective at blocking noise than the other foam earplugs described here, but still very respectable. An NRR of 28 is pretty high actually, so don’t let that deter you from trying these excellent earplugs.
If you have a short but not necessarily narrow ear canal, I recommend the cylindrical 3M EAR Classic.
The 3M EAR Classic are one of my personal favorites: they are among the best earplugs against low frequency noise such as traffic rumble, footfalls, and music bass.
They are a bit harder to roll up and initially appear a bit coarser than most other foam earplugs, but once they are in the ears, they exert very little pressure.
There is also a version for narrower ear canals, the EAR Classic Small. The Classic Small is typically only available in large quantities. I’d say try the regular Classic first.
If you can’t have anything in your ear canal,silicone putty and wax earplugs are good options if you need to block moderate noise.
Noise reduction ratings for small earplugs
Earmuffs
NRR
125 Hz
250 Hz
500 Hz
1000 HZ
2000 Hz
3150 Hz
4000 Hz
6300 Hz
8000 Hz
3M Yellow Neons
33
38.4 (4.8)
40.3 (4.8)
43.2 (5.0)
41.8 (4.0)
38.6 (2.6)
45.0 (3.3)
45.7 (3.3)
49.6 (4.0)
47.3 (3.5)
Hearos Sleep Pretty in Pink
32
35.3 (3.9)
33.4 (2.9)
38.7 (3.5)
37.7 (2.4)
39.7 (3.1)
44.2 (4.5)
45 (4.0)
48.2 (3.6)
48.2 (3.1)
Mack's Dreamgirl
30
33.2 (4.1)
36.6 (5.2)
38.8 (4.8)
36.6 (3.3)
37.5 (3.2)
41.2 (2.5)
42.0 (3.7)
47.7 (3.4)
49.1 (4.2)
Mack's Slim Fit
29
34.4 (3.4)
35.0 (4.2)
36.2 (3.8)
35.9 (3.0)
36.4 (2.9)
38.9 (3.0)
39.8 (3.2)
42.6 (4.2)
43.0 (4.1)
3M EAR Classic
29
37.4 (5.7)
40.9 (5.0)
44.8 (3.3)
43.8 (3.6)
36.3 (4.9)
41.9 (3.0)
42.6 (3.1)
46.1 (3.5)
47.3 (2.7)
Flents Protechs Sleep Earplugs
28
30.2 (5.0)
34.0 (5.0)
35.7 (4.2)
35.6 (3.5)
37.3 (3.1)
41.1 (5.6)
43.1 (5.5)
45.5 (5.3)
43.4 (4.4)
Mack's Soft Silicone Putty – Kids Size
22
23.7 (4.0)
23.3 (3.6)
25.0 (2.8)
27.3 (2.7)
34.3 (4.0)
39.2 (4.3)
38.9 (4.2)
38.2 (4.5)
37.4 (4.5)
Notes:
Noise reduction ratings and attenuation data as reported by the manufacturers. Standard deviation in parentheses.
2 thoughts on “The 5 Best Earplugs for Small Ears”
Hi Helmut,
Thanks so much for this article. My right ear canal is a bit narrow for my beloved Moldex Sparkplugs so I gave Mack’s Slim Fit a shot (I was lucky to find some in France!). Not only are they still too big for me, they also hurt much more especially when taking them out. That’s something I did not experience with the Sparkplugs… but I’m NEVER going back to wax earplugs. 🙂
Since you are getting along better with the Sparkplugs, I suspect it perhaps isn’t the size that’s the problem with the Slim Fit.
The Slim Fit are tiny compared to the Sparkplugs.
The problem may be more where they exert pressure in your ear canal. I have quite a few different earplugs that are on the smaller side yet still cause me pain.
Since you like the Sparkplugs but find them a bit too large for your right ear, you could give the Moldex Pura-Fit (6800) a try. They are somewhat smaller than the Sparkplugs and are made of a low-density foam. I have compared the two in this post; you can see them directly next to each other. (The Pura-FIt are, however, still larger than the Slim Fit).
If you want to try something smaller than the Slim Fit, the Moldex Contours Small should be available in Europe. (Note: The Contours come in two sizes. The normal ones are quite big.)
Alternatively, the Quiet Please (described in this post) are made of an entirely different material and may exert even less pressure.
Hi Helmut,
Thanks so much for this article. My right ear canal is a bit narrow for my beloved Moldex Sparkplugs so I gave Mack’s Slim Fit a shot (I was lucky to find some in France!). Not only are they still too big for me, they also hurt much more especially when taking them out. That’s something I did not experience with the Sparkplugs… but I’m NEVER going back to wax earplugs. 🙂
Have a nice day!
Lena
Hi Lena,
Thank you for stopping by.
Since you are getting along better with the Sparkplugs, I suspect it perhaps isn’t the size that’s the problem with the Slim Fit.
The Slim Fit are tiny compared to the Sparkplugs.
The problem may be more where they exert pressure in your ear canal. I have quite a few different earplugs that are on the smaller side yet still cause me pain.
Since you like the Sparkplugs but find them a bit too large for your right ear, you could give the Moldex Pura-Fit (6800) a try. They are somewhat smaller than the Sparkplugs and are made of a low-density foam. I have compared the two in this post; you can see them directly next to each other. (The Pura-FIt are, however, still larger than the Slim Fit).
If you want to try something smaller than the Slim Fit, the Moldex Contours Small should be available in Europe. (Note: The Contours come in two sizes. The normal ones are quite big.)
Alternatively, the Quiet Please (described in this post) are made of an entirely different material and may exert even less pressure.
All the best.