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Earplugs as fashion items? I gave Loop’s hit accessories a festival test

Various models promise to tone down decibels or help you focus on a friend. But the experience may not suit you

I tested these earbuds at Glastonbury, however: for music, fans, weird noises, hedonism, strangers, screaming, basically, for everything except vuvuzelas, it’s as challenging a zone as you’ll get. Well, tons of people, it turns out: the “Experience” Loops, designed for festivals and concerts, aren’t meant to cancel out the music, just shave off the excess that harms your ears. They draw you quite subtly into your direct aural environment, and you probably are a little less distractible, though I didn’t put them to the real test, which is whether you can focus on your friends when someone behind you drops a cutlery drawer.

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