MO Tested: Earos One Earplug Review
Great earplugs with a killer feature
For almost a decade, I rode with musician’s earplugs because I liked their flat frequency response. I could hear the sounds around me the way I always do – only quieter – without the muffled, muddied sound associated with lower-tech earplugs. Now, this type of earplug is all the rage in the motorsports world, and the manufacturers are looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the rest of the earplugs out there. Earos, with their Earos One acoustic filters (what the manufacturer calls them), have found a feature that, in my testing, makes an attractive option for motorcyclists that are interested in being able to hear their surroundings and protect their hearing at the same time. The feature is that the shape of the outer body of the earplug actually holds the earplugs in place in your ear while you wear them.
Earos One, when properly inserted in your ear canal, offers 17dB+ (NRR rated) noise protection without muffling the frequency response. This allows you to hear the world around you as you normally would, just at a lower intensity. Foam plugs, the staple of motorcyclists for generations, tend to muffle the sound, making it more difficult to hear the sounds you want to hear while you ride. Earos use patented passive filtering technology to deliver the full spectrum of sound that you typically hear.
Included in the box are one set of Earos and two sets of flanged ear inserts. Earos claims that approximately 90% of people’s ears will be properly fit with one of the two sizes of inserts. While my right ear seals perfectly with the large insert, my left ear canal proved, as it has with many earplugs, to be a problem. With some wiggling, I am usually able to get the Earos’ flanges to seat, but it feels uncomfortably far in my ear canal. Since the flanges seem a tad longer than other earplugs I own, I decided to experiment by cutting off the flange at the narrow tip of the insert, the thought being that it would allow me to get the wider portion of the insert further in my left ear without discomfort. The result was…success! The left earplug no longer causes me discomfort, while still offering the same level of attenuation and security in my ear.
When fully seated in my ear canals, the Earos One plugs attenuate the sound with a nearly identical amount, with the same frequency response as other musician’s earplugs I have used in the past and continue to use. However, as I said earlier in this review, the killer feature of the Earos One is the way the outer body locked them in my ears – even when sliding a helmet on or off. Additionally, the outer body makes it easier to remove the earplugs after a ride. Never once did I need to resort to using a key to nudge the earplug into a position such that I could then remove it with my fingers, as with a couple of other brands of musician’s earplugs I have tried. With good noise attenuation, a comfortable fit that stays in place, and easy removal, Earos Ones check all the boxes. You can order a set for $40.
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Like most of the best happenings in his life, Evans stumbled into his motojournalism career. While on his way to a planned life in academia, he applied for a job at a motorcycle magazine, thinking he’d get the opportunity to write some freelance articles. Instead, he was offered a full-time job in which he discovered he could actually get paid to ride other people’s motorcycles – and he’s never looked back. Over the 25 years he’s been in the motorcycle industry, Evans has written two books, 101 Sportbike Performance Projects and How to Modify Your Metric Cruiser, and has ridden just about every production motorcycle manufactured. Evans has a deep love of motorcycles and believes they are a force for good in the world.
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17db is next to useless, unless you ride an electric motorcycle.
You should try No Noise earplugs- they make a motorsports version that lacks the end that locks it in, but has better DB protection.
I also use their music version for playing the drums- work great-reduces DB evenly across frequencies. The motorsports version are filtered for wind noice frequencies specifically.