Earplugs for concerts and festivals

Festival earplugs should reduce sound by at least 15 dB, expressed as SNR, and have a flat music filter. That is how the Fourth Covenant on Preventing Hearing Damage from amplified music (2023, in Dutch) describes hearing protection. In the same covenant, the parties agree that music at their members' venues stays at an average of no more than 103 dB(A), measured over a quarter of an hour.

As a rough calculation, the sound level at the venue minus the SNR is about what reaches your ear. At 103 dB with a 16 dB filter, you end up at around 87 dB. According to the WHO rule of thumb, 80 dB is safe for 40 hours a week, and that time halves with every extra 3 dB. At 87 dB that is roughly 8 hours a week. With a DM 25 of 20 dB SNR you end up at around 83 dB, which is good for about 20 hours a week. If you spend a whole weekend at a festival or stand at the front near the speakers, the stronger filter gives you more margin.

Foam earplugs and simple earplugs with a tube filter mainly reduce the high tones. The bass still comes through, but vocals, hi-hats and guitars move to the background, as if the music is playing behind a door.

A membrane filter works differently. It reduces all tones by roughly the same amount. The music gets quieter, but the balance between low and high stays the same. The article on tube filters and membrane filters explains the difference in more detail.

At a concert or festival, protection is not the only thing that matters. These things matter too.

• Hearing the music in balance, with the vocals and the detail
• Understanding your friends between songs and at the bar
• Hearing yourself and your band as a musician, so you stay in tune
• Picking up instructions from staff and security.

So more protection is not automatically better. With a filter that is too strong, you are more likely to take your earplugs out. See also overprotection.

The standard Earplugs for music have a 16 dB SNR filter. That suits you if you go to a concert, club or party now and then. If you play yourself, work as a DJ or sound engineer, or listen closely to the sound, choose Music Premium with a DM filter. According to the manufacturer Dynamic Ear Company, the DM series is made for music and communication, with attenuation that is as flat as possible.

All variants and their attenuation are on the filter page and in custom earplug filters explained. The filter is interchangeable, so you can still switch later.

At a festival you wear your earplugs for hours while you dance, sweat and talk. Silicone is soft and flexible and often feels more comfortable when you wear it for a long time. Hard acrylic is firm, lasts a long time and is easy to clean, which is handy if you use them every weekend. Both are made from an ear impression, so they stay in when you jump or turn your head. Not sure? Read acrylic or silicone, which should you choose?

For festival-goers and concert-goers who go out more than a few times a year, for musicians in a band, orchestra or brass band, and for DJs and sound engineers. Do you work in hospitality or at events and want to equip a team? Then take a look at custom earplugs for hospitality and events. For children up to and including 13, the agreed maximum for music activities is 91 dB(A). For them there are custom earplugs for children.

Do you play in a band or stand behind the decks? In hearing protection for musicians, drummers and DJs you can read which filter suits your instrument.

Taking them on your motorbike or on your travels too? Read how to choose one pair for several situations.

• Vierde Convenant Preventie Gehoorschade versterkte muziek (2023, in Dutch)
• WHO, Global standard for safe listening venues and events (2022)
• WHO-ITU, Safe listening devices and systems
• NOS on the advice of the Health Council of the Netherlands, 30 November 2022 (in Dutch)
• ASHA on fireworks and hearing (2024)
• Acoustic specifications of the filters (H, M, L and SNR) from Dynamic Ear Company, as on our filter page.

Written by Thijs Worm. Last updated 5 October 2026.