Loop Dream Earplugs Review | POPSUGAR Health

Living in a street-facing, first floor apartment by a hospital in a popular Brooklyn neighborhood, I know a thing or two about losing sleep. On top of living in a pretty loud area, I’ve always had trouble sleeping — both falling asleep and staying asleep. I have done everything I could to fix the problem, too. I’ve run the gamut of sleep hacks: night mask, mattress topper, cool temperature in the bedroom. Nothing has worked. It turns out what I was missing was something to filter out the noise from my environment. That’s where the Loop Dream earplugs ($50) come in.

As an avid concert-goer, I’ve been using earplugs for years to preserve my hearing. For the last year and a half, over which I’ve been to over 20 concerts, I’ve been using the Experience earplugs by Loop. These plugs have greatly improved my concert-going experiences, allowing me to continue enjoying live music while also protecting my delicate ear canals. So when I found out that Loop was dropping their first ever earplugs specifically made for sleeping, the Loop Dream, I knew I had to try them out.

Ahead, here’s how the Loop Dream earplugs changed my sleep experience for the better — and why I’m recommending them to all troubled sleepers.

What I Like About Loop Dream Earplugs

Loop Dream earplugs feature Loop’s signature closed-loop shape, but unlike their other models, these are made with soft silicone to reduce pressure on the ear. Loop Dream promises to reduce noise by 27 decibels–the highest noise reduction of any of their products–and is designed to stay in your ears all night long. I can confidently say, the Loop Dream delivers on that promise.

For starters, these earplugs are extremely comfortable and I have small ears. For context, I use the smallest tip on my Airpod Pros and they still come out sometimes and one time, a piercer told me I might not be able to get an industrial piercing because my ear is so tiny. In other words, my ears are small small. As a result, finding comfortable earplugs that stay in, especially when sleeping, has been really difficult. But because Loop Dream comes with four different tip size options, I have been able to customize them to ensure a good fit. With the small ear tip, the Loop Dream earplugs fit my ears perfectly and have not come out once. I also have a daith piercing in one ear and a tragus piercing in the other so my small ears are already crowded and the loops fit around them with no problem. The foam tip molded perfectly around my piercings and the soft silicone body folded in the canal — so once secured, I couldn’t feel a thing.

Perhaps the least important thing about these earplugs, but still a plus for me, is that they’re aesthetically pleasing. I have them in peach, a light pastel orange-slash-coral shade. They also come in a little non-slip carrying case that’s perfect for keeping on a nightstand.

What’s Worth Noting About Loop Dream Earplugs

Loop Dream earplugs do not drown out every single sound — but I consider that a good thing. Loop Dream earplugs drastically reduced the sound of construction outside of my apartment and the sound of my friend’s snoring when we shared a hotel bed recently. However, I was still able to hear my alarm go off in the morning and a cat I’ve been cat-sitting meowing for her breakfast. Essentially, the Dream plugs filter out unnecessary background noise, but still ensure that important and higher decibel sounds come through.

The one true downside to these earplugs is the carrying case. While the case helps keep the two plugs together, because the case is super small and does not have any carrying straps, it’s easy to misplace. If you are traveling with them, the case may particularly be hard to keep track of or locate in a full bag.

Are the Loop Dream Earplugs Worth It?

I’d say so. From my experience, I’d recommend these plugs to anyone who needs near complete silence when they sleep. If you’re like me and have roommates who wake up earlier than you do, these are great for drowning out any noises they make in shared spaces. These are also great for those with a partner (or pet) that snores, or who live in a livelier area where the outside world brings a lot of noise into your bedroom.

Additional Details About Loop Dream Earplugs

Annie Harrigan is the editorial coordinator for Vox Media’s lifestyle pod, comprising Eater, Punch, POPSUGAR, and Thrillist. Prior to working at Vox Media, Annie was an undergraduate student at Harvard University, where she studied the many intersections between popular culture, social impact, race, gender, and sexuality. In addition to PS, you can find her work in Eater, The Harvard Crimson, and Thrillist.