Sennheiser SoundProtex Plus Hearing Protection Earplugs Review – What’d You Say?

The Sennheiser SoundProtex Plus offer flexible, effective hearing protection in a variety of environments, but at a price. Reusable and hence environmentally friendly.

I thank Sennheiser for providing the SoundProtex Plus for my review.

Introduction

City life can be noisy. You may be exposed to your neighbours’ leaf blowers in the summer, or need protection from your own lawn mower or chainsaw. Your partner may blur the TV, your kids may not stop screaming. In these cases you may want to completely block these noises out. But when you are awaiting a phone call, let’s say, from your dentist or accountant (essentially the same ;)), or are at an AC/DC concert, you need some of your hearing to be still available.

These situations may chance constantly. The Sennheiser SoundProtex Plus come to your rescue in all of them. Many people sleep with earplugs and may have done so for decades. They typically order a bucket of disposable ear plugs such as the Mack’s ThermaFit every so often, as each pair only lasts for 3-5 uses, and one size has to fit all.

The environmentally inclined user opts for the reusable alternative, and that’s where the SoundProtex Plus score (though there is a 4-year expiry date on the box).

The SoundProtex Plus offer maximum flexibility: they come in 3 sizes (included) to cover all ear canals. The level of noise attenuation can be scaled by three exchangeable acoustic filters, and a fourth one aims to cut out all noise.

Physicals

The earplugs are made of non-allergenic soft rubber-like material…the exact composition is not published. As you see in the image, there is a little tongue for pulling these out of your ear canals…which means they are sitting very deep and are barely visible. The filters are firmly anchored in the earplugs so that there is no danger of losing them.

For optimal results, you have to follow the insertion procedure as described in the manual. Once in, they are in, you have to find that tongue when pulling them out again…which can be initially somewhat challenging.

These earplugs can be washed and re-used (almost) endlessly, and stored in the included bag.

Specifications Sennheiser SoundProtex Plus Hearing Protection Earplugs

I became interested in the SoundProtex Plus because of the acoustic filters labeled “Low”, “Medium”, and “High”. Naively, I was in the belief that the labels referred to the frequencies to be attenuated. I was in dire need of eliminating the low-frequency drone of my neighbours’ air conditioner from my daily life.

BUT, that’s not the case. These labels relate to the amount of noise the filters can attenuate. The noise attenuation for each is approximately even across the frequency spectrum…and the numbers vary slightly depending on the evaluation protocol used.

Sennheiser give you meticulously all numbers in tables. You may have to work your way through the jungle yourself. If nothing else helps, you have to try these filters out.

And if you need all available measurements, including the ear tips [S (5-10 mm), M (6-11 mm), L (7-12 mm)], you need to download the specs sheet.

Do they work?

Yes, but it requires some fiddling with the filters (judging the attenuation needed) and the eartips (as they are relatively small and go in relatively deep), but the learning curve is fast. Just start with the “Full Block” for a good night’s sleep. One of the SoundProtex’s achievement is that they don’t muddle sound…they just attenuate it. Clear remains clear, the external sound quality is not altered by the filters.

As mentioned, the SoundProtex Pus sit deep in our ear canals. This means you can sleep on the side with them — and they are basically invisible when interacting with other people.

Comfort levels may vary between users. I find the ear tips quite comfortable in my ears but initially panicked when I didn’t find the tongues to pull them out. I tend to align the tongue parallel to the “Antitragus” (that thingie getting hairy in old guys and frequently being pierced in young people).

Difference between SoundProtex Plus and SoundProtex

The “Plus” have more accessories (at twice the price). The “regular” SoundProtex only have the “Mid Filter” and the “Full Block” filter but lack the “Low” and “High” filters.

Criticism

The SoundProtex Plus are simply expensive considering you pay for two sets of unused earpieces (they ones that don’t fit). This could be circumvented if the non-fitting earpieces can be used by some other person…but then you will have to wrestle with them for the filter types.

On the other hand, the additional two acoustic filters you get in the Plus version (compared to the regular version) double the price. $40 more for four small pieces of rubber (which you actually need to fully exploit the ear tips) just to be more flexible?

Sennheiser could offer versions of these sets for “small”, “medium”, and “large” ear canals, but would likely be flooded with returns from users who can’t judge their size…or produce disgruntled customers when these returns are not accepted for hygenic reasons.

On another note, that little storage bag may look adorable (says my wife), but is hard to clean – another issue of hygiene. A plastic case would be handier.

Concluding Remarks

Summing up, Sennheiser Hearing SoundProtex Plus do well what they promise, but this comes at a price. Since they are reusable in contrast to most other popular effective ear plugs, you may even save money back in the long run…and I’m sure Sennheiser put this into their price calculation.

They may be a bit finicky for job sites, but work well at concerts, at home, and around the house when the neighbour deploys his annoying leaf blower…again.

Until next time…keep on listening…or rather avoiding it!