How Muted Kids Earmuffs Saved My Family’s Social Life

When my daughter was 5, my husband and I—looking for an inexpensive excuse to get out of the house—took her to a sparsely attended basketball game in the dead of winter. We felt pretty certain that she was old enough to stay entertained throughout; what we didn’t anticipate was that she’d be bothered by the noise. We ended up leaving before halftime, and I spent the rest of the afternoon researching how to prevent that from happening again.

That’s when I sprung for a pair of Muted Earmuffs in the child size (which is for ages 2 to 13; they also come in an infant size for kids 0 to 36 months). That was more than five years ago; since then, they’ve saved us from making early exits not just at obviously loud events like Fourth of July fireworks and outdoor concerts, but also movies, street festivals, overly boisterous family gatherings, and a kid’s birthday party at an especially crowded bowling alley.

Even though my daughter has no known auditory or sensory issues, she sometimes gets distressed by rowdy, roaring environments. The Muted Earmuffs offer her near-instant relief and, because they’re soft and cushy, getting her to put them on is never a hassle. (In our guide to the best earplugs for concerts, headphones expert and senior staff writer Lauren Dragan noted that Muted Earmuffs are snug yet comfortable, with a headband adjustable enough to fit your kid through their preteen years, which I have found to be the case so far.)

Sometimes just breaking out the earmuffs and suggesting my daughter pop them on is enough to, as my husband calls it, “flip the reset switch” when she’s on the verge of a bad mood or dramatic episode. They’ve served on several occasions as her Pavlovian-like security blanket, an external signal to take a moment to chill.

Muted Earmuffs come in several colors and patterns; my little one loves the look of her aero gray pair, which I think she’d describe as cute but not cutesy. Each pair also comes with a white, drawstring carrying pouch emblazoned with the Muted logo (although I do wish it instead matched the fun pattern of the headphones themselves).

My daughter’s pair could live in my everyday mom tote—when folded up, they’re roughly the size, shape, and weight of a softball—but I like to store them in our car so we don’t have to remember to pack them before an outing. In fact, when our car’s air conditioning went bust several summers ago, earmuffs did a great job blocking the harsh rushing sound from the open windows. (Donning regular headphones to watch a movie on her Kindle wasn’t an option for my motion-sickness-prone daughter.) And so far, the Muted Earmuffs show no signs of wear despite getting knocked around our car’s backseat and trunk quite a bit.

With her 11th birthday on the horizon, my daughter’s days of needing her Muted Earmuffs seem mostly behind us. For now, I’m happy to keep them stashed in the car in case of emergency. Like other cherished mementos from her childhood that are still in good shape, one day I’ll pass them along to someone else’s kid while silently thanking them for their service. And I’ll also give myself a little pat on the back for one of the smartest parenting purchases I’ve ever made.

This article was edited by Alex Aciman and Catherine Kast.