We owned a pair of baby earmuffs – sound-reducing ear protectors – before we owned a cot. That’s what happens when you have a baby with a musician.

In all seriousness though, buying those baby earmuffs felt like a statement of intent. We were determined that having a baby wouldn’t stop us from doing the things we love, including going to gigs, and we knew that to have the baby girl along with us at noisy events, we needed some kit.

What to look for in baby earmuffs

The thing to look for when you’re buying baby earmuffs is the SNR value, which tells you how much sound they cut out. Most of the ones available for babies and children have an SNR value of around 26db – enough to stop their hearing from being damaged, while not totally cutting them off from what’s going on around them.

Baby earmuffs that fold up are more convenient and less likely to be accidentally damaged in your bag. The more comfortable they are, the more likely that your little one will keep them on. At least that’s the theory – the baby girl was perfectly happy to wear earmuffs when she was little, but started to object at around 12-months-old. These days we have to keep her constantly distracted while she’s wearing them or she’ll whip them off in a flash.

We started the baby girl on a pair of Ems for Bubs, which come with an adjustable elastic headband, making them suitable from birth. When she outgrew them, at 18 months old, we moved onto  be getting her a pair of Banz Bubzee earmuffs. Whichever style you go for, just make sure the ear muffs cover the ear completely and that no hair is in the way.

Multiple uses

We bought the baby girl’s earmuffs to use at gigs, but the first time she wore them was actually at a wedding of some friends of ours when she was two-weeks-old. The music wasn’t all that loud, but combined with the hubbub of conversation, it was all a bit overwhelming for her. We put on the baby earmuffs, she calmed down and we were able to relax and enjoy the party.

We took the baby girl to Glastonbury when she was 9 months old and kept her earmuffs on us at all times. She wore them at gigs, of course, but we also put them on at nap time, which was always spent on the move in the sling. That way we were free to explore the festival without having to wake her up to put on the ear defenders when we found ourselves in a noisy environment.