Are reusable earplugs actually better for the environment than foam?

Yes — a single pair of Happy Ears replaces hundreds of disposable foam earplugs.

What are Happy Ears Ocean Plastics made from?

Post-consumer plastic recovered from the North Atlantic. Processed and moulded in Sweden.

Are the earplugs themselves biodegradable?

The earplugs are not biodegradable — they last for hundreds of uses. The packaging, however, is fully compostable and biodegradable.

How do Ocean Plastics compare to foam earplugs for noise reduction?

CE-certified at 27 dB SNR — the highest noise reduction of any reusable earplug.

Do they work for sleeping, swimming and concerts?

Yes. Ocean Plastics at 27 dB SNR are our best earplugs for sleeping and swimming.

Ocean Plastics — Ohrstöpsel aus Recyclingplastik

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The problem we set out to solve

Over one billion single-use foam earplugs are thrown away every year. Most are made from polyurethane — a petroleum plastic that takes centuries to break down.

Happy Ears was founded in Sweden in 2010 with one goal: a genuinely better alternative. Not just reusable, but built from materials that close the loop on plastic waste entirely. Ten years and one million pairs later, we went further — creating the earplug industry's first product made from post-consumer ocean plastic.

The scale of the problem

1 billion+

single-use foam earplugs discarded globally every year

13.3%

of plastic packaging in the US is actually recycled (US Plastics Pact, 2024)

365×

disposable foam earplugs replaced per year by one reusable pair

1M+

pairs of Happy Ears sold since 2010

Launched in 2021

Made from recovered ocean plastic

After selling over one million pairs of our Original earplugs, we asked the obvious question: could the earplug itself be the recycled material?

Happy Ears Ocean Plastics is sourced from post-consumer plastic recovered from the North Atlantic — material that has been collected from coastal and marine environments before it could break down into microplastics. The recovered plastic is processed, compounded and moulded into earplugs in Sweden.

The result is an earplug with the same fit, same comfort, and the highest CE-certified noise reduction rating of any reusable earplug on the market — 27 dB SNR.

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Packaging that goes back in the ground

An industry first for earplugs. Only 13.3% of plastic packaging in the US is actually recycled — so we redesigned ours from scratch.