Excessive exposure to loud sounds can cause irreversible hearing loss. This is why protecting your child's ears from a young age is not just smart, but down right essential. Spending quality family time at concerts, festivals, firework displays or even just down the pub, may require some ear protection. So it's worth investing in a pair of ear defenders for your little one.
We've scoured the internet to bring you the top 10 best ear defenders for babies, toddlers and kids of all ages, including ear defenders for autism. Available in the UK from Amazon, Argos and eBay, we're here to help you select a reliable pair to make sure your children's ears stay safe in noisy environments.
Quick List - Top Ear Defenders for Kids and Babies
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Because your kid's ears deserve the best defenders in the business, this buying guide is here to steer you toward the pick of the litter. By looking into the defining factors, such as age, sound attenuation, headband and weight, you'll be able to hone in on the perfect protecting pair for your child.
Before delving too deeply into the defining aspects of a particular pair of ear defenders, you'll first want to make sure they're intended for your child's ears and head size. The best way to do this by checking the recommended age. This age recommendation is related to the ear defender size, as well as how extendable the headband is.
You'll find a few brands offer pairs suitable for a wide range of ages from 3 to 16 years. This usually means that their headbands are extendable, whilst the earmuffs will sit firm against any child's ears. Although, they may come up a bit big on toddlers.
Ear defenders for babies are a little more niche and are often only recommended for children up to 3 years at a maximum. Other popular age brackets include 3 - 7 years and 3 - 10 years, which are likely to be a tighter fit for toddlers when compared to the larger bracketed ages.
The sound attenuation of ear defenders is a crucial element to consider. This refers to the reduction of sound in decibels, and while the terminology of the rating may differ between brands from the US, Europe and the UK, the idea remains the same - and that's to reduce sound levels!
Look for market-leading brands which have been approved for use by the regulatory governing bodies of their place of origin. Some of the most protective defenders for kids are known to reduce noise levels by 28 dB, whereas other less rigorous defenders can offer as little as 15 dB.
Where you're headed to, and how much sound you want your child to hear, play important roles in the decibel cancelling equation. A good guide is that any sound over 85 - 90 dB can be considered harmful for kids' ears, and a loud rock concert can hit the 120 dB mark. Making a heavy duty pair necessary for you to rock out safely with your kids in toe.
Ear defender headbands can be divided into two distinct groupings that, for the most part, are best suited to different age groups. This is a super important part of the whole ear defending game, as an ill-suited headband could spell a terrific temper tantrum, that'll see defenders flying and children crying as a result.
For babies, elasticated headbands are common as they are more comfortable and safe. These help to eliminate any potential pressure from heavy defenders resting on your baby's soft, still forming head. Although there's certainly no shortage of padded clam options for babies either as they're known to offer a more supportive fit.
Padded clam headbands are the most recognisable style of defender. Instead of wrapping around the fore and back of your child's head, they're connected by an adjustable, hardened plastic band that sits across the top of their head. But don't worry, this plastic connector almost always features a piece of foam for comfort and protection.
While an included carry case isn't the norm for ear defenders, it's certainly welcomed when it is. A carry case can extend the life of your child's ear defenders by giving them a perfectly sized hard shell, which ensures a good level of security when not in use.
Look for carry cases made of hard plastic that can zip up to best minimise damage. Otherwise, any kind of soft travel bag will be good for keeping defenders safe from catching on unidentified objects and snapping within your bag when out and about.
Obviously, you can always find your own travel bag to slip the defenders into, but if you enjoy simplifying your life and keeping things in order, then a dedicated carry case has surely got your number!
Nothing ends a child's desire to wear ear defenders quicker than an overly weighted pair. With ear defenders needing to stay put on their heads for extended periods of time, the weight, or hopefully lack there of it, is a crucial element to look out for.
Typically, premium ear defenders with elasticated headbands are the lightest, which is another reason why they suit babies so well. These ear defenders rarely reach over 140 g in weight, which is very impressive and perfectly purposes them to protect your baby's innocent little ears.
Clam headband defenders for children pack a little more weight, but should still not exceed 200 g. The clunkiest of kids' ear defenders, although often cheaper, will start to put unnecessary amounts of pressure and weight onto your kid's head over time, making them despise the occasions when the ear defenders are whipped out.
Products | Image | Click to purchase | Key features | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alpine Muffy Kids Ear Defenders | ![]() | Defending Your Kid's Ears for Years | |
2 | Ems for Kids Baby Ear Defenders | ![]() | Pressure Dispersing Headband for the Softest Of Heads | |
3 | Alpine Muffy Baby Ear Defenders | ![]() | Premium Elasticated Defenders for Babies | |
4 | Banz Ear Defenders With Case | ![]() | Includes Hard Carry Case to Be Whisked Away and Kept Safe | |
5 | EciPeci Fabric Ear Defenders | ![]() | Patterned Fabric Headband Bringing the Fun to Funky | |
6 | BBTKCARE Baby Ear Defenders | ![]() | Purple Padded Headband Defenders for Babies | |
7 | Sensory Direct Autism Ear Defenders | ![]() | Specially Designed Defenders for Autism | |
8 | Edz Kidz Ear Defenders | ![]() | Lightweight Defenders for Toddlers to Teens | |
9 | Hilka Child Ear Defenders | ![]() | Pretty Pink Defenders for Children Under 7 | |
10 | Snug Safe n Sound Ear Defenders | ![]() | Inexpensive Defenders With an Impressive 5 Year Guarantee |
Alpine's Muffy series defenders for kids had to be number one thanks to their incredibly good looking and sharp design, that's also poised to protect. Weighing in at 175 g, these are the lightest padded clam ear defenders on this list, and possibly the internet.
The lightweight construction means that the soft foam headband will feel incredibly comfortable for your child. And when paired with a captivating colour scheme, they may actually enjoy wearing their defenders when out and about in loud places!
First designed and launched in Australia in 2009, the Ems for Kids ear defenders seriously bring the wow factor! Their commitment to creating a headband that disperses pressure evenly over your child's head ensures that if your baby is adorning Ems, they're wearing some of the best.
With a high sound attenuation of 27 dB, a low weight of 118 g, and the reassurance of having been both tested and safety approved to comply with EU standards, these elastic headband defenders are the perfect fit for your baby.
Alpine's Muffy series of defenders are making big noise in the ear defending world! These are their premium baby ear defenders, especially made for babies under three years of age.
The weight is their most desirable aspect, and at 108 g, these are a seriously lightweight pair of defenders to help your baby rest sweet and easy through live events, air travel and more. They even come with an interchangeable headband, so you can pick between pink or grey.
Banz really have gone the extra mile for your child's hearing by offering 28 dB of sound attenuation, making these defenders the best noise-cancelling pair on this entire list! They even come with a sturdy, hard shell case!
This zip-able case makes these defenders great travelling companions, as well as prolonging their shelf-life by keeping them safe and sound when not in use. While the total weight, including the case comes in at 396 g, unfortunately the defenders' weight has been left out.
The flexible, elasticated fabric of this adorable defender pair comes in seven delightfully designed patterns. Suited for kids from six months up to eight years, the headband secures with a strip of velcro to ensure the perfect fit.
These are premium defenders that have been made using the highest-quality, certified materials produced and approved in Europe. The sound attenuation, while not the highest, is still well within the range that takes the harsher side away from those memory-making events that are best experienced with the whole family.
This padded pair is as cute as they get! From one of the only companies on the market making clam headband defenders for babies, these can be worn by infants from as young as three months up to two years old.
Knowing the importance of keeping things pressure-sensitive for babies heads, they've strived to create a zero-pressure soft foam padding for your precious bub's head. Unfortunately, no indication as to the sound attenuation has been included.
Established in 2005, Sensory Direct is a trusted UK seller of sensory toys and equipment for children with autism and special needs. Through their dedication to making autistic children's lives more comfortable, it seems only natural that they started produced ear defenders too.
They're designed for anyone from the age of three to gain confidence in environments where loud, and sometimes obtrusive sounds, can effect mood. With a sound attenuation of 27 dB, they should be very effective in fulfilling their mission statement. The only concern is the lack of info surrounding their weight.
Designed for toddlers, teens, and every kid in-between, these padded clam defenders are purposed to fit them all! Everything is in order in terms of weight and sound attenuation, and the choice of kid-happy colours means they're certainly popular!
Knowing your children could get years of good use out of them may seem like a great prospect, but it does make you question how well they'll fit younger ones. However, with adequate adjusting on the headband, maybe they really are as versatile as Edz Kidz say.
Recommended for young children from 3 to 7 years old, this pair of clam defenders by Hilka has got some very good things going for it. For a nice and even £10, this pretty in pink pair is packing good sound attenuation into its design, with noise blocking up to 27 dB.
The wider profile of the defenders are designed to cover more of a child's ear than standard pairs. The only hitch is that the weight is higher than you'd ideally like for your child. This is especially concerning when you consider they're purposefully made for young ones.
Snug's Safe n Sound ear defenders give you plenty to choose from with 17 bright, bold and ultimately fun colours and patterns. This scope on the colour spectrum ensures every kid should feel some pride wearing their own personalised Snug defenders.
These defenders also come with a five year guarantee on parts, which is a remarkable offering for the price. The only two drawbacks with this particular pair is the lack of information regarding sound attenuation, and the weight, which sits a little high at 240 g.
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Knowing your child's ears are accounted for when bringing them along to unavoidably loud places and events is a comfort that only a parent can know. We hope this article has found you a suitably fitting pair of defenders to give you that sweet satisfaction of napping babies and happy kids when the decibels are deafening!
Author: Connor Macanally
No. 1: Alpine|Muffy Kids Ear Defenders
No. 2: Ems for Kids|Baby Ear Defenders
No. 3: Alpine|Muffy Baby Ear Defenders
No. 4: Banz|Ear Defenders With Case
No. 5: EciPeci|Fabric Ear Defenders
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