Recently I spent two weeks testing the Loop Dream. The Dream came out a couple of years ago and is promoted as Loop Earplugs’ dedicated sleeping earplug. It’s a beautiful earplug to look at. However at the sky high price of $79.95 NZD we’re left disappointed by its performance, especially when much more effective reusable sleeping earplugs are available for nearly half the price. The fit of the Dream is cumbersome and unreliable, meaning sound-blocking qualities are diminished and sleep more difficult to come by when dealing with loud disturbances. We’re also feel like some obvious quality of life features are missing especially in terms of the travel case, making us hard pressed to recommend the Loop Dream over its most notable (and considerably less expensive) competitor, the Alpine Sleepdeep.
UNBOXING:
Like all Loop Earplugs, the Dream comes in an attractive cardboard box, with a minimalist typeface that’s easy on the eyes. The first thing I unnoticed when unboxing the ear plugs themselves is that the carry case of the Dream is quite a bit larger than the regular Loop Earplugs case. The second thing I noticed is that it was lacking a cord or hole in the case that would facilitate attaching it to a keychain. This was a surprise to me, as portability and ease of access of earplugs is high on my list of requirements, especially as personally speaking, I need sleeping ear plugs the most when I’m travelling or on the move. New environments is where I often encounter noisy distractions (think airbnbs, hotels or even friend’s houses) and being a little neurodivergent, I like to be able to make otherwise unfamiliar and unpredictable place quiet and calm for myself.
DESIGN:
Unlike previous Loop Earplugs models, the tips of the Dream have been engineered to combine a soft silicone outer layer with an inner layer of foam. Foam is high-sound blocking, presuming you can make an airtight The tips come in four different sizes. This is our favourite aspect of the Dream from a functioning point of view, as four different size tips (XS through to L) should ensure most people will find the right fit. At least in theory. In practice, actually fitting the Dream, even when the right sized tips in place is not nearly as straightforward as we’d expected. This is because the tips on the Dream are surprisingly wide and puffy, with a diameter unusually long for this sort of ear plug. Even with a little squishing, it was oftentimes a struggle to create a tight seal within the ear canal.
FIT:
While it’s never ideal to have to struggle to get your ear plugs to fit right, especially when you’re otherwise winding down for what will hopefully be a restful nights sleep, where this is an even bigger problem is when you wake up suddenly during the night due to an unexpected noisy distraction, such as a barking dog or neighbours deciding to have a 2am after party. Or when you routinely wake up due a scheduled distraction, like birds chirping in the early morning. In these situations its imperative you can fit your sleeping earplugs quickly, otherwise you risk leaving the dopey mental state that facilitates falling back to sleep. That or you simply ignore the ear plugs altogether until the loud noise has sufficiently woken you up. Neither of these situations are ideal, which is why at Earjobs we place a high price on ease of insertion when it comes to sleeping ear plugs. The more pointed, double-flanged design of the Alpine Sleepdeep really stands out in this department. There’s something about the cone-like shape that makes it so easy to get the earplug into the ear canal and ‘set and forget’.
PERFORMANCE:
Beyond the fitting issue, what did I think of the Dream to sleep with? Fine. Just fine. The noise reduction doesn’t seem to compare with the SleepDeep. We suspect this is due to the design decision to not glue the soft silicone outer to the foam inner (something which makes me more than a little nervous it’ll break apart within my ear). Or maybe it’s simply that a lot of the time, my Dreams had lost their airtight fit due to their wide-base design. Either way, this is quite clearly not the earplug you want for loud noises such as high volume snoring, traffic, noise neighbours etc. Unless you’re dealing with only the very lightest distractions we’d recommend foam, silicone putty or a more heavy duty sleeping ear plug like the Alpine Sleepdeep. On the comfort front, I found the Dream was okay, though I was frustrated by the difficulty of fitting the earplug, especially in the middle of the night. At first, I thought the circle silicone tab on the outside of the ear plug would add unnecessary bulk and press against my outer ear however while I did occasionally notice a little discomfort across my two weeks of testing, this wasn’t nearly as much of an issue as I expected it to be. However, I’d trade down on the comfort factor in a heartbeat if it meant I could actually get these in my ear canals quickly and without hassle.
CONCLUSION:
The Loop Dream is not a terrible earplug. But at the mighty high price Loop are charging, we expect way more in terms of performance and quality. Sure, it’s looks lovely, but unlike their music ear plug range, this is hardly a big benefit. We found the Dream difficult to fit and surprisingly poor in terms of quality and construction. All in all, if you’re after a reusable sleeping ear plug to deal with noise at night, go for the Alpine Sleepdeep, which is not only significantly less expensive but an all round more effective earplug to boot.
