The best earplugs for snoring: a guide for bed partners

The best earplugs for snoring are the ones that seal your ear canal well and that you can wear comfortably all night. For most people that means starting with soft foam plugs, then trying moldable wax or silicone, or custom plugs, if foam doesn't suit you. Earplugs work well as a stopgap, and they work best alongside changes the snorer makes.

Do earplugs actually help you sleep through snoring?

Earplugs do help many people sleep through noise, and the NHS suggests them directly: if your snoring affects your partner's sleep, consider asking them to use earplugs. You'd be in large company. In a 2021 American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) survey of 2,006 US adults, nearly 70% of people who share a bed said their partner snores.

The most useful recent study comes from a sleep lab at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2026, researchers had 25 healthy adults sleep while the lab played 93 environmental noise events, from jets and helicopters to road and rail traffic, peaking at 45 to 65 decibels. On different nights, participants slept with pink noise in the background, with foam earplugs, or with both. Pink noise reduced the arousals and awakenings caused by aircraft noise, and more pink noise worked better, but foam earplugs did better still. The authors concluded that earplugs were the more effective option.

That study used environmental noise, not snoring, and nobody has run the same test with a snoring partner. Still, it's the best direct evidence that a simple foam plug can protect sleep from intermittent noise, which is what snoring is.

What types of earplugs work for snoring?

Earplugs for sleep come in four broad types, and they differ mostly in how they seal and how they feel after hours on a pillow. The table below compares them.

Foam earplugs

Foam plugs are formable: you roll them into a thin cylinder, slide them in, and they expand to fill the canal. In the 2026 lab study above, foam plugs were the earplugs tested, and they beat pink noise. They're also the type that real-world fit research treats most kindly, as the next section explains.

Wax and silicone earplugs

Moldable wax and silicone plugs sit over the opening of the ear canal rather than deep inside it. If you dislike the feel of something deep in your ear, they're worth a try. We couldn't find a study comparing them with foam for sleep, so treat them as a comfort option to test for yourself.

Custom earplugs

Custom plugs are shaped from an impression of your own ears. They cost more than off-the-shelf plugs. There's no sleep research comparing them with off-the-shelf plugs.

Sleep earbuds

Sleep earbuds combine a physical plug with masking sound, such as white or pink noise. The 2026 study does suggest both parts of that idea can help on their own. We couldn't find any published study of sleep earbuds and snoring, though, so there's no evidence yet that they beat a pair of foam plugs. Our guide to white noise for sleep covers the background-sound side.

What does the noise reduction rating (NRR) mean?

The Noise Reduction Rating is the decibel number printed on earplug packs sold in the US, and it is set by federal rules. EPA labeling rules require the primary label to state the NRR in decibels and to add that the range for existing hearing protectors is roughly 0 to 30, with higher numbers meaning greater effectiveness. The label must also include the phrase "When used as directed".

That last phrase matters. A 2022 paper by NIOSH researchers in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America explains that the NRR is measured in a lab, where an experimenter fits the protector on each test subject. In other words, the label reflects an optimized fit, not the fit most people get at home in the dark.

How NIOSH and OSHA adjust the number

Because of that gap, the US agencies suggest "derating" the label to estimate real-world protection. According to the 2022 paper:

• NIOSH knocks 25% off the NRR for earmuffs, 50% for formable earplugs like foam, and 70% for all other earplugs.
• OSHA's method subtracts 7 from the NRR and then halves it.

As a worked example, a foam plug labeled NRR 30 comes out at about 15 decibels with the NIOSH adjustment, or 11.5 with OSHA's. These methods were built for workplace hearing protection, not sleep, but they give a fair sense of how much a number on a box can shrink in real life.

Why fit matters more than the label

The same paper explains why formable earplugs are derated less than premolded ones: premolded plugs are more likely to leave an incomplete seal against the walls of the ear canal. And when the authors looked at four real-world studies, individual training in how to fit earplugs dramatically improved the protection people actually got. They also found that derating formulas failed to predict most people's results, which is why fit testing is now used at work.

For sleep, the lesson is that technique counts. In one of the studies the paper re-examined, the training was a brief one-on-one demonstration of how to roll and properly insert a foam earplug. If snoring still gets through, practice your insertion before you go looking for a plug with a bigger number.

Is it safe to wear earplugs every night?

Wearing earplugs every night is common, and the main risks are to the ear canal itself: earwax build-up and irritation or infection.

Earwax impaction

A StatPearls review on removing impacted earwax says impaction affects up to 6% of the general population and more than 30% of older adults, and that it is often seen in people who routinely wear hearing aids or earplugs. If your hearing feels muffled, your ears feel full, or the plugs suddenly seem to fit differently, it's worth having your ears checked rather than pushing on.

Ear irritation and infection

The evidence on infection is thinner. A small 2025 case-control study from West China Hospital patch-tested earphone tips and earplugs in people with ear symptoms. Among people with otitis externa, an infection or inflammation of the outer ear canal, 28.9% reacted to at least one sample, compared with 2.7% of people without it. People who reacted reported using earplugs more often each week. The authors noted the small sample and self-reported data, so this is an early signal rather than proof.

Practical steps follow from both points. Keep reusable plugs clean and dry, replace disposable foam plugs often, and stop and see a doctor if your ears itch, hurt or discharge.

What can you try instead of earplugs?

Earplugs aren't the only option, and they mask the noise rather than change it.

• Background sound. In the 2026 study, pink noise reduced sleep disruption from aircraft noise, though less than earplugs. Some people combine the two.
• A different room some nights. In a 2025 AASM survey, 31% of US adults said they had slept apart from a partner to accommodate them. Our article on sleeping apart because of snoring looks at the research.
• Changes the snorer makes. This is where the lasting gains are. The NHS suggests snorers sleep on their side, lose weight if they're overweight, avoid smoking and too much alcohol, and skip sleeping pills, which can sometimes cause snoring.

Our guide to sleeping next to a snorer covers how to raise the subject, and how to stop snoring goes through the snorer's options in more detail.

What can the snorer do so you need earplugs less?

The snorer can often cut the noise at the source, and simple tools can help depending on where the snoring comes from. If their nose is often blocked, a nasal strip is an easy first step. In a 2000 randomized, placebo-controlled study of 12 non-obese people with chronic rhinitis and no sleep apnea, external nasal strips lowered snoring frequency from about 258 to 173 snores an hour, though they didn't change how loud the snoring was.

If their mouth falls open at night and their nose is clear, mouth tape is another simple thing to try. In a 2022 study of 20 mouth breathers with mild sleep apnea, the median snoring index fell by about 47% after a week of taping. It's a small study, but the result is encouraging for open-mouth snoring. The nose test is a quick check before the first night, and mouth tape for couples covers how to try it together. We don't recommend mouth tape for children.

When should the snorer see a doctor?

Earplugs protect your sleep, but they can also hide a problem. The AASM says snoring paired with choking or gasping is a reliable indicator of sleep apnea, and lists daytime fatigue as another warning sign. The NHS advises seeing a GP if lifestyle changes aren't helping, if snoring has a big impact on either of your lives, or if the snorer feels sleepy in the day, stops and starts breathing in their sleep, or makes gasping or choking noises.

If you've heard your partner stop breathing and then gasp, tell them, and see sleep apnea warning signs for what to look out for.

Our pick (paid partner): Titan Sleep System

If your partner wants to try the nose-and-mouth approach above, our pick is the Titan Sleep System. We haven't tested or ranked these products ourselves; this is our recommendation.

Titan says the system pairs TitanAir Nasal Strips, drug-free strips with flexible spring-loaded bands, with Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape as one nightly routine. Titan says every batch is third-party tested and certified PFAS-free, and that its 30-night guarantee refunds you if sleep isn't better after 30 nights. It won't replace your earplugs on night one, but it gives the snorer something practical to try.

Read next

• How to sleep next to someone who snores
• White noise for sleep
• Should you wake someone who is snoring?

* This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your health.