Designed in Sweden. Loved in Australia.

Founding story

Founded in 2010, Happy Ears was born from its founder’s loss of hearing (in one ear) after a surfing accident in Bali and a subsequent ear infection. Fortunately his hearing returned, but for one year he was forced to wear a bright orange earplug in one ear and a blue one in the other. He grew to hate these earplugs and vowed to create something better. After two years of design and development, Happy Ears were launched into hundreds of retail pharmacies in Sweden.

Since our launch, Happy Ears has been fortunate to be the official partner of SXSW, Lollapalooza, Reeperbahn, Red Bull and many more. Happy Ears has also been recognized by the likes of Wired, Forbes, Vogue Japan, Cool Hunting, The Times UK, Women’s Health, The Strategist and more.

After many years selling at some of the world’s largest retailers (Boots UK, MoMA, Nordstoms, Loft Tokyo, Selfridges, Colette Paris, etc) Happy Ears are now sold exclusively online @Happyearsearplugs. This decision was necessary to transition the company as we launched our first eco-friendly earplugs in 2020. A product retailers simply were not ready for as they remain reliant on selling single use foam and wax earplugs.

What we make and why it matters

Since 2010 our focus has been one thing: a high-quality reusable alternative to the throwaway earplug. Happy Ears come in three sizes — small, medium and large — with a unique oval shape and short soft stem designed to follow the natural curve of the ear canal. Made in Sweden from FDA-approved medical-grade plastic.

Used daily, one pair lasts most customers about a year. Used occasionally — for concerts, swimming or mowing the lawn — they’ll last several years.

Why we kept going after Original

In 2020 we launched Happy Ears Recycled — our first eco-friendly earplug, made from 100% recycled plastic upcycled from our own production waste.

Yes, we make earplugs and they’re plastic. But the global earplug industry produces over a billion single-use products every year — most of them foam, all of them landfill. If every earplug user switched to Happy Ears, industry waste would drop by 90%.

We could have stopped at Original and greenwashed our way through. We didn’t. Why accept any waste when you can design it out?

Then we went further — Ocean Plastics

In 2021 we launched Happy Ears Ocean Plastics — the world’s first earplug made from post-consumer ocean plastic. Another industry first.

The raw material is sourced from post-consumer plastic recovered from the North Pacific and North Atlantic — plastic that would otherwise have remained in the ocean or broken down into microplastics. Same oval shape, same comfort, same fit as our Original. CE-certified at 27 dB — the highest rating of any reusable earplug available.

Named “Best Eco-Friendly Earplugs” by Rolling Stone 2026 and Wired 2023.

Where we stand

Every other reusable earplug brand is competing on gimmicky filters, volume controls and bling. We’re competing on sustainability. No earplug company has done more to reduce waste in this industry — and we’re genuinely proud of that.