Sometimes people will say using ear plugs causes them to get ear infections, but do ear plugs actually cause infections? Short answer, no. Dirty hands putting them in, that can cause an infection, but not the plugs themselves.

Most foam ear plugs are single-use and should not be reused, meaning worn, taken out and then put back in again. To check the effectiveness of reusing ear plugs I did hearing tests while wearing brand new and worn ear plugs and the results confirmed it, disposable ear plugs should only be worn once.