Loop Engage Plus Earplugs – Low-Level Noise Reduction with Clear Speech – for Conversation, Social Gatherings, Noise Sensitivity and Parenting – 8 Ear Tips + Extra Accessories – SNR 16 dB - Green

This review is for the Loop Engage Plus (Amazon are notorious for luping reviews together, and there are different products within the Loop range. Since the pandemic, I work on a hybrid model. Like a lot of people, I find it far more difficult to concentrate now in the office since home is such a quiet working environment. The other week, I was at my wits end in the office, with four MS Teams meetings going on around me! A colleague showed me her Loop earplugs and I was dubious that they could work. They look cool, but a piece of plastic? How wrong I was! For me, they are a dream come true. With the additional inner ring, almost all noise is filtered out (which I love when I am on the train and no longer have to listen to other peoples' inane phone conversations at 6.30am nor the incessant loud ping of messages being delivered); in the office, I usually elect to not have the additional inner ring in place, since - for me - it filters out so much noise - that I don't always know if someone is talking to me. Despite the high price point - almost forty pounds - I have bought an additional set, so that I always have one set in the office. For me, this product has been a revelation and I am absolutely delighted with my purchases. My sister has just bought the Loop Sleep earplugs and I hope they work as well for her requirements as Loop Engage have for mine.

I bought these for a relatively quiet office and because of this I could hear the electric humming of units, fans on computers and other sounds in and out of the office would bug/distract me.They work really well to block the low-mid sounds and you can still hear voice but not so much at a distance. It is alright if people are a few feet to maybe 2-3 meters away from you, or talking louder than normal, but other than that you are alone with your thoughts (and your heart beat at times). [Some would find it relaxing others distracting]You cannot eat while wearing these - not unless you want carnage in your ears.Also don't try to talk over someone while they are talking to you as you likely won't hear them as well as you should, but is not all that bad either (it takes a bit to get used to).You can use the phone, as long as you can comfortably hold the handset where you need to for the optimum loudness from the speaker, but it drops in and out if you move it.I can certainly see why these would help people with sensory issues or sound issues and I have no doubt they would work wonders for most, but mileage may vary.Don't forget though to get the correct ones - you may even need the set depending on your requirements.I purchased the Engage Loops, which are to filter out and favour voice.As I understand it, the Loop Experience buds are for the likes of loud rooms and such that you need to concentrate on music and the like i.e. drown out people etc.. I can imagine they may work well in bars as well, or maybe the engage would - I don't know. I may end up getting these as the need arises.Then there are the Quiet Loops which are for almost silence. I can imagine these would be great for sleep/concentration but I would suggest being careful when using them - not being able to hear alarms or people as needed etc.. [My use case would be seeing if they help me sleep but only if my wife was there also, my current buds though might be enough for this - especially with the mutes in as well, to drown out the humms etc..]Again, your mileage may vary with these.I would say the only real issue overall with these is that if you cannot afford to reduce the actual level of sound [volume] in your area or use case then maybe they may not suit your needs. [Though that may be exactly what you need]As a side note, the medium tips didn't work out-of-the-box for me - they certainly were snug and it felt as much (a bit tender), so went down a size and seem to be perfect.You also may be of the notion that - for quiet/sound blocking, why not just normal silicone/foam buds. Well as I have found, the actual loop part helps to keep them in and solid AND they can only go so far in to accomplish the same goal; I've often had to plough standard plugins in at times to plug up correctly and they can come out as easy. [You also don't want actual moldable silicone buds to break off in your ear - that is fun if not potentially dangerous]

I really like these earplugs. I use them out and about in social situations and at home when I feel like there's a lot going on. They make it easier for me to focus on conversation and help me to avoid feeling overwhelmed.I also use these earplugs for sleep. I have used single-use earplugs (33db) for years as we have had noisy neighbours and I wasn't sure if these would do the job, considering they reduce by 21db with the mutes put in. The mutes are little silicone inserts that fit inside the actual loop part of the earplugs to provide an additional 5 dB of sound reduction.We currently have neighbours doing construction and these earplugs with the mutes in do the job rather well. I can definitely sleep right through it when they are working in the morning, which I didn't expect, as my disposable ones should be better but they're not.I do think that these earplugs take a bit of getting used to. It takes a bit of time to figure out how to talk at the right volume with them in. I found that I was talking too quiet a lot of the time at first, as people kept asking me to repeat myself, but over time you work it out and it's not so bad.It's worth mentioning that when you are talking it completely drowns out other people's voices, so it kind of makes you a better listener and makes you talk less in some situationsThe first time I wore these on a night out my girlfriend actually thought there was something wrong with me, because she had never seen me so calm. I really did feel calm. Usually when I'm out I feel really exposed and vulnerable. I know that nobody is looking at me but I feel like I'm standing out like a sore thumb. With the loops in all of that goes away. I almost feel like I'm in a little bubble. Once again, it takes some getting used to knowing how to adjust the volume of your voice so people can actually hear you.I do think that Loop really needs to work on their case. It's a good size, I like the loop for attaching to your keyring, and I like the opening mechanism. The thing I don't like is how flimsy it is. I've had it about a week and it's already broken and if I wanted to buy another one from Loop it would cost me £14!I have opted to buy and keyring pillbox from Amazon instead. I think they are designed to hold £1 coins or something. I got a pack of 4 for £8. No contest!I took 1 star off for the case, but really it would be more fair to give it 4.5 stars if I could.