I recently reviewed the Loop Engage Plus Earplugs and love them as my everyday, go-to earplugs.

I wasn’t sure if I really needed the Loop Experience Plus (Loop official website / Amazon) since the earplugs I had before trying Loop were already great for concerts. But I decided to try them anyway and I’m glad I did!

Take a look at the Loop Engage Pro with me

The Experience earplugs are promoted to be more for concerts and other loud events where you would want the protection of earplugs, while still being able to hear and appreciate the music. I find Loop Experience earplugs do a good job of lowering the overall volume of my surroundings while not muffling it to the point of losing out on the quality and variety of sounds.

Even before becoming a professional podcaster and editor, I found wearing earplugs to concerts and other live events to be extremely comfortable. Additionally, I liked not having the awful ringing in my ears that sometimes happens after long periods of listening to loud music or even the next morning after a concert.

Initially, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do much testing on them since I don’t have any concerts lined up for a while. But I found a few instances outside of concerts where I was glad I had them!

One night after an extra long day of errands, parenting a sick kid, and general busyness, I couldn’t wait to relax by listening to music and doing some yoga on our back porch after the kids went to bed. It was spring break and the weather was warm for April and I had Foghat’s “Slow Ride” in my head as the perfect song to cap off this particularly overwhelming day.

But when I finally could, I got outside and was distracted by the loud car and truck noises coming from the nearby highway. Normally it doesn’t bother me, but I must have gone outside at the peak time for all the tractor-trailers to be making their nightly runs because that was all I could hear.

Read my review of the Loop Switch earplugs

I thought about getting my headphones, but I had been wearing them a lot for editing work and I wanted a break. I remembered the Experience Plus earplugs and gave them a try. As soon as I put them in, the whirring noises from the traffic and exhaust sounds were essentially eliminated!

And, I could hear Foghat just fine while I relaxed into my yoga poses.

Something I wasn’t expecting from Loop Experience was I noticed the sound of my breath in my head more. I first noticed this while doing yoga and found others talked about this in their reviews. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to hear themselves chewing or breathing, you may want to take that into consideration when looking at these.

That said, since I was doing yoga, wearing these helped me stay more focused on my breath, which worked out well in this case!

Another time I used them was in the car. As I mentioned in my review of the Loop Engage Plus, depending on where you drive, it may be illegal to use headphones, headsets, earbuds, etc. as it can distract from hearing the sounds of the road. But I find sometimes driving with just one in can help cut back on some of the extra noise from the kids in the car.

On one particularly warm spring day, I was driving with the windows down. My kids were watching something in the backseat, and the radio station I was listening to was fading in and out. I was stopped behind a line of cars waiting for a traffic cop to direct us through some road construction and as I was inching my car closer, the road work got louder and louder. I closed my window, but that didn’t block out the loudness of the jackhammer.

I remembered my Loop Experience Plus in my bag and popped one in the ear closest to the jackhammering. The effect was immediate. My shoulders dropped from where they had previously been, which was up by my ears, my forehead softened, and I released my jaw I had been clenching. I hadn’t noticed I had been so affected until that very moment.

And remember how I mentioned being able to hear myself breathe more? I realized when I put the earplug in that I had been shallow breathing as the noises and audio stimulation had been mounting.

Because I only had one in, I was still able to hear my kids talking to me from the backseat and enough noise from outside the car to feel like I could safely drive with just the one in and not miss anything.

I found another unintended benefit when we went to the Burger King drive-thru with the piercingly loud speaker that will wake any and all sleeping kids in the car with its blare of, “WELCOME TO BURGER KING, WHERE YOU RULE!” I was so stoked to have the Loop in when I pulled up and, for once, didn’t have to cover my ears or keep the window rolled up while the automated message played.

When I first got my Loop earplugs and wanted to review them, I knew I would have plenty of use cases to test the Engage Plus, but was worried I wouldn't have enough Experience (see what I did there?) to write a comprehensive review of the Experience Plus.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found yet another use for these in particular — sports games! Specifically, the NHL playoffs that we watched in our house recently. My husband is a lifelong New York Rangers fan and he can be incredibly loud during games. His reactions when they score or miss are equally ear-shattering. The Experience Plus earplugs were perfect for this! I could happily (and more peacefully) watch the game next to my husband and his thunderous enthusiasm didn't make me jolt out of my seat every time.

The Differences Between the Loop Engage and the Loop Experience

If you’re wondering if I could tell the difference between the Loop Experience and the Engage, I really could! The Engage is said to lower the volume by 16 decibels as opposed to the Experience which lowers it by 18 decibels. (Note the packaging has graphics indicating -16db and -18db.) PHOTO

I was initially worried the only difference would be the -2 decibels, to be honest. I wasn’t a stranger to getting duped by buying stuff online, unfortunately. But as I read about the two different earplug varieties, the audio science made sense and my curiosity got the better of me and called it a little birthday splurge to get both with the Loop Mute accessories.

What’s interesting to my audio-editing brain is the difference in frequencies that are filtered through each. I can tell the high- and mid-range frequencies for voice are easier to distinguish with the Engage. If you really want to get podcast-editor-geeky with me, I can tell you it’s almost like it gives people’s voices a real-life High Pass Filter.

With the Loop Experience Plus, it sounded more like traditional earplugs that lowered overall loudness, but whatever filter the smart folks at Loop are using still allows for the quality of the music to come through.

While I tend to use the Loop Engage on a day-to-day basis, I’ve kept my Loop Experience earplugs in my purse and they’ve replaced the earplugs I used to keep in there for concerts and loud events.

Another instance I got to test these out was at a wedding. Our table was situated right next to the DJ’s speakers and once I realized I had left my earplugs in my other purse, I went back to our hotel to get them and, boy, was I glad I did! As soon as I put them in, I was able to hear the people at our table talking just fine with the music blaring behind us. While the Engage would have been fine for this, I was glad to have the Experience for the extra -2db. I forgot just how loud the music can get at weddings!

Final Thoughts

Note: I didn’t use or test the extra -5db Loop Mute pieces on these since I wasn’t in situations where I needed the extra coverage. The -18db was actually pretty solid! I could see myself using these at some of the louder band shows I used to go to in my 20s, though.

That said, if I were to buy these again, I would only spend the extra money on the Loop Mutes for ONE set instead of both. It didn’t even occur to me that if I had bought just one with the Mutes, I could use them on both. I could see myself using them more with the Experience, so if I were to order again, I would get the Engage (regular) and the Experience Plus.

Another note about both of the Loop earplugs is something you’ll see on a lot of the reviews: the travel container they come with is fairly small and the clasp isn’t very strong. I haven’t personally had a problem with it opening on its own, but I didn’t want to risk it so I’ve been keeping my Loops in the container, as well as their original boxes. This also makes it easier to find them, as opposed to searching for the tiny case.

When it comes to my ADHD, I’ve always found earplugs helpful to help reduce overall stimulation and the subsequent anxiety that usually comes with it. While those skills in noise sensitivity prove useful and even a highly sought-after skill in podcast editing, sometimes it can make everyday life overwhelming and seem like way too much.

I’m glad to have tried Loop earplugs and would love to hear if you’ve tried them or found relief from earplugs too!

WHAT TO READ NEXT …

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