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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want serious hearing protection that physically blocks loud noise, choose Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear; if you need everyday wired headphones for music, school and tablets with a built-in volume cap, choose Planet Buddies Kids Headphones.
• Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear — biggest strength: genuine passive noise reduction rated at 22 dB, the kind of attenuation you want at fireworks, races, parades and airports, plus a soft silicone-free build and a travel bag.
• Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear — biggest trade-off: it is sound isolation only. There is no audio, no mic and no cable, so your child cannot listen to anything through it.
• Planet Buddies Kids Headphones — biggest strength: a wired on-ear headset with a hard 85 dB volume cap, a built-in microphone, a multi-function button and a foldable, portable design for travel and school.
• Planet Buddies Kids Headphones — biggest trade-off: it does not really quiet a loud room. There is no noise control at all, so a concert or a race day will still be loud through the earpads.
• Pick Alpine if the goal is blocking dangerous noise for a sensory-sensitive or overwhelmed child.
• Pick Planet Buddies if the goal is safe listening, calls and schoolwork on a phone or tablet.
The Muffy Kids is a hearing protector first and last. Alpine rates it at 22 dB of acoustic attenuation, tested to US and EU regulations, and that is the whole point of the product. It is not a listening device — the noise control is sound isolation, nothing more. If your kid is standing near a starting line, a parade, a fireworks show or a loud event, this is the tool that lowers what actually reaches their ears. Alpine also positions it squarely for kids with autism or sensory issues, where reducing incoming sound can be the difference between coping and melting down.
The build supports that job. Alpine describes it as silicone-free, ultra soft and lightweight — the listed item weight is 174 g — with an adjustable headband that sits snugly around the ears. The material is rubber, it is easy to clean, and it ships with a bag so it can live in a backpack without getting grimy. Alpine leans on 25 years of R&D and Dutch design and manufacture, and the Muffy Kids picked up a 2021 Red Dot Design Award, which tells you the design was taken seriously rather than thrown together. The stated age range is 3 to 16 years, so it covers a long stretch of childhood.
Who should buy it: parents of noise-sensitive kids, families with concerts, races, flights or fireworks on the calendar, and anyone shopping for a sensory tool rather than a gadget. Who should skip it: if your child mainly wants to watch videos, take a class call or listen to music, this does nothing for them. There is no jack, no mic and no audio path. It blocks sound; it does not play sound.
The Planet Buddies set is the opposite kind of product — a wired on-ear headphone built for listening. It connects over a 3.5 mm jack with an auxiliary wired connection, so it works with phones, tablets, e-readers and laptops that still have a headphone port. Impedance is listed at 32 ohm, which is an easy load for typical mobile devices. The headline safety feature is the 85 dB volume limiter, the ceiling the World Health Organization recommends, and Planet Buddies frames it as safe for up to 8 hours of listening a day. For a kid who wants to use headphones the way headphones are normally used, that cap is the reason to buy this over a random pair.
There is more here than just sound. A built-in microphone and a multi-function button let your child play, pause, skip, mute and start or end calls without touching the device — genuinely useful for home learning and video calls. The headband is fully adjustable and the earpads are padded and soft, sitting on the ear rather than around it. It is also foldable and lightweight, with a woven nylon hemp travel pouch, so it packs small for car trips and flights. The eco angle is real in the spec sheet too: 50% recycled plastic in the build and fully recycled, recyclable packaging, with animal characters meant to start a conversation about endangered species. The stated age range starts at 3 and up.
Who should buy it: families who want one safe, portable headset for school, travel and tablet time. Who should skip it: anyone who needs actual noise blocking. The noise control field is listed as none, so loud environments still get through.
• Best for blocking loud noise → Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear. 22 dB of tested attenuation versus no noise control on the Planet Buddies.
• Best for listening to music, shows and audiobooks → Planet Buddies Kids Headphones. It is the only one of the two that actually plays audio.
• Best for sensory and autism support → Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear. It is explicitly designed for sensory overload and external triggers.
• Best for school and video calls → Planet Buddies Kids Headphones. The mic plus the multi-function button cover hands-free talking and playback control.
• Best for travel bulk → Planet Buddies Kids Headphones. It folds and comes with a travel pouch; the Alpine is lightweight at 174 g and comes with its own bag, but it does not fold.
• Best for a device without Bluetooth → Planet Buddies Kids Headphones. It is fully wired over 3.5 mm, so there is nothing to charge or pair.
• Best materials story → tie, for different reasons. Alpine uses silicone-free soft rubber and easy-clean surfaces; Planet Buddies uses 50% recycled plastic and recycled packaging.
• Best for a child who hates pressure on the ears → Planet Buddies Kids Headphones. On-ear soft padded cushions with an adjustable headband tend to feel lighter than a snug noise-blocking seal.
These two are not rivals so much as two different jobs, so I would not swap one for the other. If I had to buy one for a specific child, I would ask what the child actually needs it for. For a kid who is overwhelmed by noise — fireworks, races, crowded events, classrooms that get too loud — I would buy the Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear. The 22 dB attenuation, the sensory-first design and the soft, easy-clean build are exactly what that job requires, and nothing about the Planet Buddies can replace it.
For a kid who wants to watch, listen and talk on a tablet or phone without risking their ears, I would buy the Planet Buddies Kids Headphones. The 85 dB cap, the mic, the foldable frame and the travel pouch make it the more useful everyday object. In my opinion the honest answer is that many families end up needing both: one to shut the world out, one to let it in safely. If you can only pick one, pick the one that matches your loudest problem — and check the current price on Amazon before you decide, since that often settles it.
are on ear headphones good
On-ear headphones like the Planet Buddies rest against the ear rather than sealing around it, so they tend to feel lighter and pack smaller, but they block less outside sound. In this comparison that is exactly the trade-off: the Planet Buddies is on-ear with no noise control, while the Alpine Muffy Kids is a passive protector rated at 22 dB. If your priority is comfort and portability for everyday listening, on-ear is fine. If your priority is quieting a loud room, it is not the right shape.
what are the best open ear headphones
Neither of these is an open-ear design. The Planet Buddies is a wired on-ear headset with soft padded earpads, a 3.5 mm jack and an 85 dB volume limiter; the Alpine Muffy Kids is a closed passive ear muff with 22 dB attenuation and no audio at all. If you specifically want open-ear audio that leaves the ear canal uncovered, you would need to look at a different category entirely. Between these two, the Planet Buddies is the closer fit to a light, less-sealed listening experience.
which are the best over the ear headphones
Strictly speaking, both of these sit differently: the Planet Buddies is listed as on-ear with on-ear earpieces, and the Alpine Muffy Kids is a muff-style protector that surrounds the ear to seal out noise. If by "best" you mean the most protective for a child, the Alpine wins on the data — 22 dB of tested attenuation and a design aimed at sensory overload. If you mean the most usable for listening, the Planet Buddies wins, with the 85 dB cap, microphone and button controls.
what are the best over the ear headphones to buy
It comes down to what you want the headphones to do. Buy the Alpine Hearing Protection Muffy Kids Ear if you need to reduce noise reaching your child's ears — it is rated at 22 dB, fits ages 3 to 16, and is built for sensory-sensitive kids. Buy the Planet Buddies Kids Headphones if you need safe listening for music, school and calls, thanks to the 85 dB limiter, mic and foldable wired design. Neither replaces the other, so match the pick to your child's main use.
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