Frequently asked questions

Straight answers about sizing, care, shipping and returns. Pick a topic below, or contact us if your question is not here. We reply within one business day.

A woman with long blonde hair wearing BOLLSEN Earplugs Hearing Protection, gazing out a window.

We dispatch within 24 hours of your payment clearing. US orders ship from our fulfillment center in the United States, so there is no international leg and no customs paperwork. The carrier is fixed; the speed is yours to choose at checkout. If an item turns out to be unavailable, we email you straight away with an alternative or a refund.

Free shipping on US orders over $39 takes 3 to 5 business days. Standard tracked shipping is $6.95 and takes 2 to 4 business days. Need it faster? 2-Day Guaranteed is $19 and Next Business Day is $55; order before 11 AM EST on a weekday for both. Delivery times are our carriers’ targets, not guarantees. Full table at Shipping.

Yes, with one condition in the US: your order needs to be over $39, and it then arrives in 3 to 5 business days. Canada, Australia and New Zealand are free over $35 (5 to 10 and 7 to 30 business days respectively). For the rest of the world, standard shipping costs $4.97. Shopping from the UK or Europe? Order from our UK & EU store for local delivery.

Yes. In the US, 2-Day Guaranteed costs $19 and Next Business Day $55; order before 11 AM EST on a weekday and we dispatch the same day. PO Box addresses have their own expedited rates, shown at checkout. To Canada, DHL Express delivers next day for $19. Australia and New Zealand have a $59 expedited option, and the rest of the world a $22.72 priority service.

Not for deliveries within the United States, which ship from our US fulfillment center. If you order from anywhere else, your parcel may attract import duties or taxes on arrival. These are set by your country’s customs office and are not included in our prices, so we cannot calculate them for you. If you need exact figures, check with your local customs office before you order.

We email you as soon as your order is dispatched. Only the paid services are tracked: Standard, 2-Day Guaranteed and Next Business Day come with a tracking link; the free option does not. Check where your order stands at Check order status, entering your order number as it appears in your confirmation, for example US-36285. If nothing has arrived within the estimated delivery time, email hello@mybollsen.com.

We email your order confirmation, with the contract text, as soon as your order goes through. Your order number (in the form US-36285) is in the subject line. If it has not arrived, check your spam or junk folder first, then check that the email address you typed at checkout is correct. Still nothing? Email hello@mybollsen.com with your name and the order date and we will confirm your purchase.

Email hello@mybollsen.com with your order number as soon as you can. We dispatch within 24 hours of payment clearing, so we can only change products, quantities or the address before your order leaves the warehouse. Once it has shipped you can still return it: you have 14 days from delivery under our return policy, extended to 40 days from purchase by our money-back guarantee. See Returns & Refunds.

Credit or debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Klarna. Klarna lets you pay over time, subject to approval; only borrow what you can afford. All payments are made in US dollars, and your total is confirmed at checkout. Details at Payment types.

Not satisfied? For up to 40 days from the purchase date we refund the purchase price, in full or in part. Ask hello@mybollsen.com for a return authorization within those 40 days, put the order number in the package and send the product to the address we give. Return postage and transit risk are the customer’s. Opened sealed hygiene products are excluded; unauthorized returns may be refused.

Email hello@mybollsen.com with your order number before you ship anything: within 40 days of purchase under the money-back guarantee, or within 14 days of delivery under our return policy. We confirm the return address (for US customers, our warehouse in Levittown, Pennsylvania). Put the order number in the package, use a tracked service and email us the tracking number, and we process the refund in 1 to 2 business days.

Refunds go back to the original payment method. Email us the tracking number of the return, or reply to the order confirmation, and we process the refund within 1 to 2 business days of the package arriving. Any shipping fee you paid on the original order is not refunded. How soon the money shows in your account depends on your bank or card issuer.

Email hello@mybollsen.com with your order number, a short description and a photo. We replace damaged or defective items, or refund them under the 40-day money-back guarantee if you prefer. Report visible transport damage to the carrier as well. Registered earplugs also carry a free lifetime warranty against defects in materials or workmanship: register here.

The standard pair is our medium size, which fits most adult ears, so for most people there is nothing to choose. Kidz+ comes in one smaller size for children aged 3 to 12. If your ears are unusually small or large, or you want to be sure of the seal, add AR KI TECH to your order: you upload two photos of your ears and we send the pair in the size that fits you, small or medium.

Start with what you will use them for. Life+ is made for sleeping, Music SoundPRO for concerts and shows, Moto+ for riding, Watersafe+ for swimming, WorkPRO for noisy work and Kidz+ for children. Each line has its own filter and shape for that setting. Not sure which size you are? Use AR KI TECH and we will recommend one from two ear photos.

Hypoallergenic silicone that is free of BPA, PVC, latex and cadmium. The body is our patented conical shape with two lamellae, the soft rings that seal the ear canal. It stays soft and comfortable through repeated use, unlike foam, which is made for one wear.

Wash your hands first. Hold the earplug by its small removal tab, pull the top of your ear gently up and back to straighten the ear canal, then push the plug in with a slight twist until both lamellae (the two soft rings) sit inside and seal. Snug, not painful. The tab stays outside for removal. Care tips at our earplug tips page.

Rinse your earplugs with warm water after each use and add a little gentle soap if needed. Avoid hot water, alcohol and strong cleaners, which can damage the silicone. Let them dry fully, then store them in the BOLLSEN case, away from heat. Cared for this way, each pair lasts up to 100 uses. Full care guide at our earplug tips page.

Up to 100 uses. Wash them after each wear and store them in the case. Replace the pair when the lamellae lose their shape or no longer seal, which for nightly use is a little over three months. Foam plugs are single-use, so one BOLLSEN pair replaces around 100 of them.

One pair of earplugs and an aluminum keychain case, so they are always with you. The Music SoundPRO case has a rubber ring seal. The Life+ 10x Pack ships ten pairs in a tube instead of individual cases. The Life+ Pink Edition includes a small and a medium pair.

AR KI TECH sizes your earplugs from two photos. You upload one picture of each ear at our upload page, the AI reads your ear dimensions and tells us whether small or medium fits you, and that is the pair we ship. No molds, no clinic visit, no extra equipment. Read more on the AR KI TECH page.

No. We do not make molded earplugs. AR KI TECH picks the size that fits your ear, small or medium, from your two photos, so you receive a regular BOLLSEN earplug in the right size rather than a guess. That gives most people a snug seal without the cost and wait of a custom mold. If the recommended size still does not fit, contact us within the 40-day money-back period.

  • A size chosen from your own ear photos, not a guess.
  • A better seal, so the earplug stays in place and delivers the attenuation (noise reduction) it was tested for.
  • No impressions and no appointment. You upload two photos from your phone.
  • Fewer returns and exchanges, because the size is right the first time.

Life+

Not completely. No passive earplug does. Life+ reduces sound by around 24 dB, independently tested. That takes snoring from loud to background level rather than silence. You hear less of it. What remains is far easier to sleep through.

Yes. Life+ reduces sound by around 24 dB, independently tested, but it does not seal you off. An alarm, a crying baby or a smoke detector is loud enough to come through, only quieter. Snoring and traffic drop to a level you can sleep through. Test your alarm at its normal volume on the first night to be sure.

Music SoundPRO

Music SoundPRO is a passive earplug that reduces sound by around 24 dB, independently tested. It lowers the whole mix by about that amount, so you hear the music, just quieter, without the muffled feel of foam. It is not a flat filter: the highs drop a little more than the lows (about 24, 21 and 19 dB from high to low), so vocals and detail stay, at a safer level.

By around 24 dB, independently tested. Split by frequency, that is about 24 dB for high sounds, 21 dB for mid and 19 dB for low. A 105 dB stage drops to around 81 dB in your ear, closer to busy traffic than to a jet engine.

Moto+

Yes, only quieter. Moto+ is a passive plug, so it lowers everything by roughly the same 24 dB rather than picking out wind. Your engine, a horn behind you or a siren stays audible because those sounds are loud, not because a filter lets them through. With the wind roar cut back, an intercom at the same volume is easier to follow.

Yes. Moto+ sits entirely inside the ear canal with no stem, so a snug helmet or the cheek pads do not press on it. The conical body with two lamellae (soft rings) adapts to your canal, and the silicone is hypoallergenic. If your helmet is a tight fit, put the plugs in first and settle the helmet over them.

Watersafe+

Yes. Watersafe+ has a two-lamella silicone body (two soft flanges that press gently against the wall of the ear canal), and it seals the canal so water stays out while you swim. The seal holds through jumps, flip turns and open water. Fit decides everything. Push the plug in until both flanges sit inside the canal and nothing feels loose. Water getting in means it is not seated.

That is a question for your ENT or family doctor, not for us. Watersafe+ seals the ear canal and keeps water out while you swim, which is what a clinician usually means by keeping the ears dry. Whether you should swim at all, and how soon after surgery, depends on your case. Ask first. If you have been told to keep water out, that is what these earplugs do.

WorkPRO

WorkPRO reduces sound by around 24 dB, independently tested, with about 24 dB in the highs, 21 in the mids and 19 in the lows. The reduction is not even across the range: roughly 22 dB in the lows and mids, rising to 35 dB at 8 kHz. You will notice a grinder’s shriek cut more than an engine’s rumble.

As the plug under your earmuffs, yes. Gunfire is an impulse of 140 dB or more. Our 24 dB figure describes continuous noise, not a muzzle blast, so we do not quote it for shooting. WorkPRO sits flush in the canal, which is why range users double up: earplug in, earmuffs over the top. The same goes for police and military users.

Kidz+

Kidz+ is made for children aged 3 to 12. It comes in one size and one color, turquoise, with a smaller-diameter insert than our adult plugs and extra-soft silicone, so it sits in a small canal without pressing. It is not for babies or toddlers; for children under 3 an over-ear earmuff is the usual choice. Once your child outgrows it, move to the adult range.

Yes. Swimming is the main reason parents buy Kidz+. The silicone is water-repellent and the two soft lamellae (the flanges that make the seal) close the ear canal, so water stays out in the pool, the ocean or the bathtub. Fit is everything with a small ear. Push the plug in until both flanges sit inside the canal, then have your child shake their head to check it holds.

Because that is where BOLLSEN began. The company was founded in Munich in 2016, and AR KI TECH is still made in Germany. BOLLSEN is now run by ERTG d.o.o. from Ljubljana, Slovenia, which is why our legal notices and EU returns address are Slovenian. Your order ships from our fulfillment centers in the US, UK and EU.

Yes. The conical shape of BOLLSEN earplugs is a protected design in the US, the EU, the UK and other markets, and BOLLSEN, Life+ and AR KI TECH are registered trademarks. It is our own design, developed over three product generations, not a rebranded generic plug.