I spend a lot of time reviewing products for WIRED that are supposed to help you hear more. But there are plenty of times when what I really need is to hear less.
I’ve long been a fan of Belgium-based Loop Earplugs, largely because its earplugs fit my ears so well and because, thanks to the namesake loop, they always stay in place. And, yes, they look great. But Loop now sells at least nine different styles of earplugs, each designed with a different level of noise reduction or suggested use—sleeping, concerts, deep focus, and more. Choosing the right one can be complicated, and if you have multiple pairs of earplugs for different environments, keeping them straight can be difficult because they all look roughly the same.
The original Loop Switch solved this conundrum. It’s three earplugs in one, each corresponding to a different decibel cut level. Now Loop is back with a new version, the Switch 2, which offers “major improvements in comfort, design, and performance,” at least according to the company.
Like its forebear, the Switch 2 adjusts thanks to an ingenious mechanism built into the loop portion of the earplug. By rotating the loop forward, you reduce the decibel (dB) cut. Dial it backward and you block out more sound by engaging additional internal noise-dampening features, which variously include a membrane, mesh filter, and acoustic channel.
Photograph: Christopher Null
There are three volume options: Quiet mode (a 26-dB cut) is the highest level of noise reduction, while Experience mode (a 23-dB cut) filters noise but is designed to “preserve rich sound.” Engage mode (a 20-dB cut) is intended to temper ambient audio but preserve your ability to understand speech. All of these dB cut levels are improvements over those on the original Switch (25, 21, and 17 dB, respectively).
