If this sounds counterintuitive to you, then let me put you on. Yes, partygoers should be wearing earplugs. No, it doesn’t make music worse, but it protects your eardrums from potentially getting punctured somewhere down the line. The idea is not to lose any of the music, but to cut out the frequencies that may potential harm your ears. Recent findings have discovered that continuous exposure to sounds over 85 dB can permanently damage your ears.

So if you’re someone who enjoys going to parties, concerts, and raves, but want to take care of your ears and not risk jeopardizing your hearing, then you should invest in a good pair of earplugs. Here we’ve made a small selection of the most convenient earplugs for partygoers.

Etymotic ER20XS

These are the best for concerts. If you’ve ever woken up after a concert feeling ringing in your ears and wondered if it was tinnitus, then you need to get a pair of these earplugs. Wearing earplugs to live shows lowers your chances of getting tinnitus, and will save you from a lot of pain in the long run.

Many pairs of earplugs affect the quality of sound, but with the triple-flange tips attached, the Etymotic’s ER20XS are capable of maintaining sound fidelity while comfortably protecting your ears. They’re different from memory foam tips, but they don’t muffle sounds. Etymotic are capable of reducing the volume by 20 decibels which is more than enough to reduce the hash frequencies that impact your ears.

Buy the ER20XS from Etymotic for $25

NPR Music x Earpeace Pro

These NPR-endorsed earplugs have a compact aluminum carrying case and should fit your ears like a glove. They are incredibly comfortable and may effectively reduce noise levels by 13 dB—without removing all of the high end from the music.

Buy the Earpeace pro from earpiece for $39.95

Flare Calmer Pro

These fare better for people with sensitive ears, but are on the more expensive side of the scale.  The concha portion of your ear is bypassed by these tiny, funnel-shaped silicone tubes, which act as a waveguide to lessen resonance when sound enters your ear. Although Flare claims they can benefit everyone who experiences sound stress, they are intended to benefit persons with specific disorders including hyperacusis and autism.

They tend to make harsh sounds more subdued, and even though these have a specific target audience, they can be easily recommended to rave-goers due to their ability to make certain frequencies less stressful to the ears.

Buy the Calmer Pro from Flare Audio for $63

You should be wearing earplugs at every festival or concert. Yes, that means even when you go to Day N Vegas or Rolling Loud. Trust that you won’t look stupid—you’re preventing avoidable hearing loss.

Photos via Brands, NPR