When I first heard about Loop earplugs, I didn’t think much of them. My friends had always stressed the importance of protecting your hearing as we went to more festivals and concerts, often forcing me to buy or wear foam earplugs. But every gig ended the same way: they’d fall out, or I’d take them out because they muffled the sound too much. I felt like I was missing out on the euphoria of loud live music. It wasn’t until I attended the Melbourne Grand Prix in March and wore Loops for the first time that I realised you could protect your hearing without dulling your senses.

Since then, I’ve been living, laughing, looping on the tube, on planes, and at countless gigs – from Lorde’s Ultrasound Tour to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. And I’m not the only one. At many of these shows, you’ll spot young people with gold and silver Loops glinting in their ears and their Loop cases clipped to their belts or keys.

​Below, we speak to Maarten Bodewes, co-founder of Loop, about living in an increasingly loud world, Gen Z’s growing interest in earwear, and how the brand is supporting a wider shift towards sensory wellbeing.

What do you think is driving the growing adoption of earplugs among younger audiences at concerts, festivals, and nightlife events?

​Maarten Bodewes: Let’s be honest, the world’s just getting louder. From constant noise to pure overstimulation, people are finally feeling how that messes with their well-being. Gen Z is the first to actually do something about it. They talk about burnout, boundaries, and sensory overload as if they're part of self-care. They’re not waiting for hearing loss; they’re protecting their peace now. You can see it in the numbers. Loop’s sold over 20 million earplugs globally, and our biggest crowd is between 18 and 45. That’s not niche, it's part of everyday life. Earplugs aren’t a backstage secret anymore; they’ve become something people wear because they want to, not because they have to. 

That’s basically how Loop started. Dimitri and I both got tinnitus from nights out, and those orange foam plugs just weren’t it. They killed the sound and the vibe. So we built something that didn’t: earplugs that filter sound, not fun. Great music, full energy, just with control. And they actually look good; design was never an afterthought for us. What’s cool is seeing how it’s grown. People are sharing their stories on socials, bringing Loop into nightlife, classrooms, and everyday moments. It’s not about muting life, it’s about tuning it to what you need. That’s the real shift we’re seeing, people taking control of how they want to hear the world.

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Loop has become increasingly visible at major cultural moments like Coachella. What do you think sparked that shift into the mainstream?

​Maarten Bodewes: No one thought hearing protection could look good, until Loop. We made the circular shape feel intentional, something you’d want to wear. At festivals like Coachella or Tomorrowland, everything people wear is thought through; every detail says something. If you’re putting something in your ears all day, it has to fit your look and your vibe. Once you noticed Loop in the ears of the people dancing next to you, it took off. Seeing it out there made it feel natural; that’s what helped it reach more people.

​Dimitri and I have always been into loud experiences: motorsport, festivals, live shows. That’s why we’ve worked with Coachella, Tomorrowland and McLaren Racing. We share the same mindset: protecting your hearing shouldn’t mean holding back. It’s about being in the moment, feeling everything, and not missing a beat.

​Loop’s design has played a major role in destigmatising earplugs. How important is aesthetics when it comes to encouraging everyday use?

​Maarten Bodewes: Aesthetics are everything to us. You can’t expect people to change their habits if what they’re wearing still looks clinical. If it feels like a compromise, it’ll be treated as one. At Loop, design sits where tech, fashion, and function meet. Our teams take cues from jewellery, wearable tech, and accessories to make protection feel elevated and personal. The circular shape became iconic because it’s minimal, recognisable, and fits naturally in the ear, a design that makes sense technically but also emotionally.

Colour brings that to life. From timeless neutrals to bold limited drops, we treat Loop like something you’d style, not store away. Our new Swarovski collaboration takes that thinking further, earplugs reimagined as jewellery, hand-finished with Swarovski crystals. It’s proof that protection can live in the same world as style, and that’s exactly where we want to be.

As Gen Z becomes more health-conscious, do you see hearing protection becoming a normalised part of self-care in the years ahead?

​Maarten Bodewes: You can feel that change already. What used to be seen as overprotective is starting to look smart. Gen Z doesn’t wait for damage; they prevent it. They treat well-being as something you build into daily life, not something you fix later. For a long time, earplugs were for musicians or your dad at a DIY gig. Now they’re just practical, like sunglasses for your ears. That’s the shift. Once something looks good and makes sense, people stop questioning it. Sound will be the next frontier of self-care, and we’re just getting started.