Flare Audio Calmer vs. Loop Quiet
I’ve been experimenting with earplugs. The two I’ve tried are the Calmer earplugs made by Flare Audio, and the Quiet earplugs made by Loop. For the record, no one paid me for this - I got the Calmer earplugs as a gift, and bought the Quiet with my own money, so this is entirely my own opinion.
Before I get into the comparison, just to give an overview of me/my needs/what I was looking for and prioritizing:
I’m a family law attorney, who was diagnosed with autism a couple months ago. The majority of the time, the biggest presentation of my autism is sensory; relevantly, I have a lot of issues with loud (and especially sudden loud) noises, which often make me feel physically ill for a few minutes afterwards
I'm easily startled by sudden increases in volume; I struggle quite a bit to regain focus when I’m startled.
Stress (like working in family law) makes my sensory issues noticeably worse.
Because I’m part of a firm, rather than a solo practitioner, it’s helpful for me to be able to understand someone speaking to me even before I can get my earplugs out, because I don't always notice someone walking in my office door.
I also have a social circle that occasionally results in me winding up in places I wouldn’t necessarily go on my own, such as arcades or children's event centers.
At my new workplace, I share a wall with a mediator (not a member of my firm) whose mediation style involves a lot of yelling. Spending 8 hours a day, 5 days a week trying to cope with this has made my noise sensitivity quite a bit worse, both at work and away from the office.
The most immediate, best thing I can say about the Calmer earplugs is that they are the most comfortable earplugs I've ever worn. I regularly forget I have these in when I'm wearing them.
These also don't impede conversation at all; that's likely due to their open design, because they don't really quiet much noise at all - they just make otherwise-exasperating noises a little more tolerable. I suspect that their design also prevents any occlusion effects; I don't hear
As far as sudden loud noises go, they still startle me, but not as bad. When the mediator next door starts shouting, I find that it's easier for me to get back on task, and the effect it has on my mood is far shorter-lived.
I find that this is my earplug of choice for most restaurants as well, because they lower my noise-related stress levels without interfering with me listening to the conversation at my table. The other unexpected benefit is that these do stop me from getting as distracted by "white noise" sources, like fans or appliances - which helps when I'm trying to order at the cafeteria in my office building. I can't quite pinpoint what exactly they're doing here, because I can still hear those noises, I just focus on people's voices a little more readily.
The downside, of course, is that they don't quiet much noise at all. For louder settings (like arcades), I find that they don't quite cut it - they might stop me from having a complete meltdown, but I'm not "comfortable" with the noise level by any stretch.
The other thing that I run into with these is that, after several hours of wear, these make my ear canals itchy. I can usually deal with the itchiness by just taking them out, wiping them off, and flushing out my ears with a little bit of cold water, so it's not day-ruining by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a thing. I also find that they trap a little bit of earwax on the inside, which can be a pain to clean.
Also, Flare sells little keychain capsules to hold these. That's great and all, but I should warn you that the capsule is made entirely of metal except for a little rubber o-ring. If the sound of metal on metal makes your skin crawl, maybe look elsewhere for a case.
Ooooh man, these make things quiet, alright. If I have these in, the mediator can yell as much as he wants and it's not going to startle or disrupt me. I can barely hear myself type when I'm wearing these. They're perfect for when I've already reached the point of overstimulation and I just need the world to shut up for five seconds.
They're not exactly earplugs I would hold a conversation in, personally - I have trouble regulating my own volume when I have them in. But, I can usually make out the words of people talking directly to me before I take them out, which saves me from having to ask anyone to repeat themselves.
They're also pretty comfy; I definitely notice I have them in, but they don't make my ears itch the way the Calmer earplugs do. They're a bit harder to clean because they're two pieces (the tips come off of the base), but they also don't appear to attract as much ear wax as the Calmer earplugs.
I'm also a fan of the case - it's plastic, not metal, which is good for my particular noise preferences, and it stays closed reasonably well for being a snap closure instead of a screw-top.
For louder environments, these are the BOMB. I took them to an arcade recently and was able to quiet things down enough to zen out at one of the machines. It also made hearing people who were talking to me easier, as they muffled the noise from the machines so that the voices were easier to pick out.
The only real downside to these earplugs is the occlusion effect. For me, personally, it's not too bad if I'm just sitting still and working, but it is somewhat distracting if I'm eating or moving around (even just walking).
Somewhat predictably, these are two very different earplugs for two very different situations, and personally, it helps me to have both in my arsenal. Right now, I have both of them clipped onto the same keyring as my AirPod Pros, and I switch between them throughout the day as needed.
I've ordered a set of Loop Experience earplugs; my hope is that they'll provide a middle ground between the two, but we'll see how that goes.
