Customer Reviews

Etymotic Research ER20 High-Fidelity Earplugs (White with Blue Stem)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These hearing protection plugs are marketed as offering 20 dB sound reduction at all frequencies. I tested them with measurement grade microphones on a HATS (Head and Torso Simulator - artificial head) and found they meet or exceed this specification overall. Most hearing protection devices attenuate the higher frequencies more than the lower frequencies making speech and other sounds muffled. These offer fairly equal broadband attenuation which is more like simply turning the volume down. I was considering a "musicians" ear which is a custom set of earplugs with filter to attenuate broadband sound, but cost much more. The only disadvantage is that they stick out somewhat from the ear. Come with a nice case and string to keep them together as a pair.

I am a musician and music enthusiast and I think that these earplugs do exactly what they claim to do. Without actually testing the attenuation over the frequency spectrum (which i am less concerned about), I will say that I tried them in a variety of real world situations and i was very pleased. I will outline below.

In a relatively loud bar setting with live music playing:
I was able to hear the music clearly and at a more reasonable level, which i really appreciated because as a musician, hearing the band accurately and without pain makes the experience much more pleasurable. I did find it a little bit hard to hear a conversation across the table, but they were speaking at a normal volume.

In a dance club, aka very loud music atmosphere:
Out with friends last weekend in Chicago, i tried these out in a club atmosphere and I walked out of the bar after several hours and did not have the typical muffled hearing and ringing in my ears, which made me feel a lot better about actually spending time in that loud of a location.

At work with normal distracting office noise:
I manage an accounting department at a small freight company, and i get easily distracted when there is an abundance of office noise and conversations happening around me, which makes it hard to concentrate and be productive. I have used foam earplugs to alleviate this, but they work almost too well in that i cannot hear people come up behind me or start talking behind me at normal voice levels. With the etymotics, i could hear people speaking pretty clearly, but it took out a lot of the low level white noise that can be fatiguing after long periods of time. I was quite pleased, and i didnt have to take them out if someone did need to speak to me.

I think the "stalks" are a little long, but i am sure it was engineered this way to be the most effective. I wore them at a club in a dark environment and nobody commented on them, so i must assume that they are not THAT noticeable. Regardless, i was not losing my hearing and they were, so that is enough to get over the cosmetics. I would like to try these at a rock concert but i havent had the opportunity yet.

Overall, i think this is another great product from Etymotic. I also have some of their lower level in-ear monitors, which i like/liked pretty well.

These are excellent earplugs for those situations where you want to hear well - but softer.
I've been wearing them for several years playing in symphonic ensembles - I can hear myself better with than without them - and I can hear everything around me well without any distortion (no changes in pitch, etc.)
I also wear them in noisy auditoriums and at the movies (they are too loud these days also!).
I bought a pair for my wife (not a musician) and she loves them also-

I purchased these because my doctor recommended using musician plugs. They are known as musician plugs because they are supposed to allow you to listen to everything as you normally would, with the exception that if will be way lower, thus protecting your hearing. In my job, which requires me to try to listen to things while surrounded by a LOT of noise, these are essential. As per this product, they worked fine, but not great as I still could hear a lot of the outside noise. If you don't have the extreme requirements I do, they might do the trick for you.

Proper placement of these ear plugs is sometimes quick and painless, other times painful and time consuming. If you need to take these in and out over the course of a night, I do not recommend them. If you can put them in and just leave them there, they mostly work well enough. My only other complaint is that they do not block as much sound as other earplugs and sometimes are not strong enough.
I thought these were great when I first got them, but after trying to use them for a weekend and experiencing a great deal of pain by not having time to properly replace them every time I needed to make a phone call, I do not consider them worth the trouble. I still carry them with me, but have not used them in months because the hassle always seems to be too much.

They are great. Plain and simple. They're easy to clean, great for still hearing the details in the noise. I used them as a musician and at concerts and noisy events. I value my hearing and saving money! Best price!

Okay, no one looks good in ear plugs. Just the way it works, more Marvin the Martian than rock star, but they work pretty well for their cost.

I keep mine in my gig bag so they are always with me. Have had occasion to break them out mid-set when the band just gets louder.

They cut out the piercing highs and you can hear everything going on, just without the pain.
An annoying by-product is that you can 'hear' your buccal (mouth) cavity noises, like your tongue smacking and your teeth chomping. They help you hear your voice when singing and that helps me with pitch.

I bought these based on the recommendations posted on a bass forum and have to agree, for the price there is nothing better.

As often as my doc used to tell to wear ear plugs, I just couldn't do it. They either fit weird in my ear or blocked out too much/not enough sound. A friend suggested these and though pricey for me, I invested in them.

Wow. I use them to go to clubs and stuff and I'm able to adjust how much sound I let in by either pushing the plugs all the way in, or gradually pulling them out - the style of the 3 layers of insulated rubber lend itself to this very thing. Even all the way in I can still carry on a conversation with little effort.

Seriously, spend the $12. It's worth it.

I play in a band 3 nights a week. These really reduce the strain on your ears and you can hear the music fairly decently. Sound is not as muffled as with regular earplugs. Just took a little getting used to.

Being a music photographer and musician, being able to hear the music of the bands I shoot is really important to me, but so is my hearing. While there are lots of cheaper earplug alternatives, none have allowed me to really experience and enjoy the music like these have. I was really surprised the first time I used these at a concert. I could hear the music clearly, it was just as if someone had just turned the volume down. They are moderately comfortable and the supplied lanyard comes in really handy. The only problem is because the lanyard attaches to the earplugs using a rubber cup that you push onto the end of the earplug, it cuts some of the higher frequencies so the earplugs don't have the same clarity as they do without. A different way to attach the lanyard to the earplugs would really make this a 5-star product.