An open-plan office in operation sits at 60 to 70 dB, snippets of conversation from three desks away included. The home office is often quieter, until the building site opposite starts or the children come home from school. None of these levels damages hearing. But each of them costs concentration, because the brain cannot filter out speech even when you want it to.
Two routes: earmuffs or plugs
The Work+ earmuffs attenuate SNR 33 dB to EN 352-1:2020. Of 65 dB of office noise that leaves, in theory, a faint hiss of around 32 dB; conversation snippets are no longer intelligible. They go on and off in a second, which matters in the office because someone is always asking something. The Strong+ earplugs with SNR 23 dB are the lighter option: less visible, no pressure on glasses, but speech from close by remains intelligible. For focused blocks of one to two hours many take the Work+, for the whole day in the background the Strong+. The comparison SNR 23 or SNR 33? helps place the values.
Hearing protection or noise-cancelling headphones?
Both have their place. Active noise cancelling (ANC) generates anti-sound and is strong against steady, low-frequency noise: ventilation, aircraft, train. Against speech, keyboard clatter and slamming doors, exactly the office sounds, the effect is much smaller because these sounds are irregular and higher in frequency. Passive hearing protection attenuates across all frequencies, speech included. On top: no battery, no Bluetooth pairing, no 300 euros, and you cannot accidentally use it as a music player and distract yourself. If you want to listen to music while working, go for ANC. If you want quiet, go for hearing protection.
Comfort over hours
With earmuffs the cushion sits around the ear, not on it. Glasses wearers run the arms as thin and straight as possible under the cushion. Take them off every 60 to 90 minutes and air briefly. With earplugs: insert properly (pull the outer ear up and back, insert with a slight twist) and nothing presses. Rinse and dry after the working day; guide in the article Cleaning and caring for earplugs.
Take them off for calls
With hearing protection you unconsciously speak louder because you hear your own voice muffled. So take them off for calls and conversations at the desk; with earmuffs that is one movement. Forget it and you will stand out in the open-plan office, and not in a good way.
What the SNR value means
SNR states in decibels by how much a hearing protector lowers the level on average. More in the guide What is SNR? and the comparison Earmuffs or earplugs?.
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