Ear plugs

[MotorcycleTourer]

My consistency with earplugs has always been a bit hit and miss, so over the last 12 months or so I’ve been making a conscious effort to remember them.

 

A bit of impromptu Googling this morning had me stumble across some custom ones that cost in excess of £300!

 

And this got me thinking. Do you wear earplugs? And if so, are you content with the squidgy ones? Do you have mid-range branded ones? Or have you gone all out with custom plugs?

[Stu]

I have questioned this many many times on here! I have worn earplugs for that last 15 years at least and I found the 3M neons excellent but I always wondered if the custom ones was as good as people say! 

 

My trouble was they are a lot of money just to try them! 

 

A few years ago I bit the bullet and got some moulds done for me and the wife at the NEC show and ordered some earplugs there and then! 

 

I still had concerns after I had ordered them and was worried they wouldn't be as good

 

It is the one thing I don't regret doing they are so comfortable and cause no ear pain if you get them wrong as 99.9% of the time they are spot on. I would recommend then to everyone. 

 

I would also recommend everyone wears ear protection when on a bike 

[S-Westerly]

I've tried umpteen  different types of disposable ones as well as the auritech reusable. They all worked to a degree but they all have a tendency to work their way out over a ride and sometimes quite quickly meaning I have to stop etc. As I have ear issues anyway I'm trying to protect the hearing I have left. So I've just had moulds taken of my ears almost two weeks ago and am waiting the end product. I'm getting them from Ultimate and I hope they'll be what I'm expecting.

One other thing - I never ride without ear protection these days as I have significant hearing damage partly from biking but also from industrial noises and firearms in my youth.

[Bender]

I got a set of auritech and think they are really crap.

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

TLDR- get them.

 

Two sets of custom plugs before taking the plunge on the custom earbuds with filters and built in earphones (with 2 dynamic drivers). Very very good but imo extremely overpriced for what they are. I suppose the proof of the pudding is would I by another pair if these broke and yes I would.

 

I have 'mercury earplugs' and my husband has 'custom fit guards' (the two main companies you'll come across at shows) both are so similar theres not a lot in it. Both companies take far far longer to deliver than they say they will.

 

I didn't go for the bluetooth version as they seem to have had some issues and personally Im fed up with wireless stuff with poor connectivity. On this front the custom fit guards have the edge as you can pay for removable wires and as they are so thin its good to easily be able to replace them. My other half had them just one week before I heard a shriek as he zipped the wire into his jacket   Somehow though the tiny wire was fine.

Custom fit guards will also come to you to do the mould.

 

Moulded plugs take a bit of getting used to. Cheaper less effective plugs are more comfortable. Depends if you think fully protecting your hearing is worth it. I would if ordering them ask that they make them as low profile as possible because before asking for this I had a pair that stuck out too far and hurt my ears.

 

Another deafy here so have experienced the frustrations that comes with deafness and would say for most people its a creeping degeneration that by the time you notice its too late to reverse so its worth looking after what you've got.

 

 

 

[keith1200rs]

A decent hearing aid place should be able to do custom earplus for £100. I prefer Starkey ones because the material is softer but the cost a big more. Get some and save your hearing. My ear canal is an awkward shape so foam plugs never worked well. 

[Bender]

@Slowlycatchymonkey did you get filters to alow non damaging noise through? 

[husoi]

I've used earphones for a couple years mostly for satnav instructions but frequently they would come out and either I would have to stop to place them again or just give up.

A few years ago, before the intercoms, I bought a pair of headphones and adapt them to the helmet. A bit of foam cutting and passing the cable to the back of the helmet and it worked very well. The main issue was some times I would forget to unplug and would stress the cable. Then I added a plug nearer the helmet but that didn't work as I thought, the wind would make it bounce to the helmet and would heave a woodpecker in my head as soon I would get to 40mph.

 

The intercoms solved the problem completely. Bluetooth connection stopped the cables issues and a touch of a button connects to any of my gadgets.

I used to ride with a group where one of them had bespoke plugs with incorporated earphones and he always loved it. Downside is that they need replaced after a couple years max, depending on how many rides you do a year. At the time it would cost him £150 the pair.

I've seen several diy clips and everyone say that costs as much as 1 tube of silicone and the earphones you want. With new earphones working on bluetooth you can make it work with just one cable connecting the earpieces.

[fastbob]

Washable , comfortable , easy to remove , effective and cheap as chips . 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I use Senner silicon plugs with a filter. Comfortable and come in a handy container. The filter works well for me. I can hear traffic noise but not wind. I like to be able to hear what is going on around me.

[S-Westerly]

1 hour ago, fastbob said:

Washable , comfortable , easy to remove , effective and cheap as chips . 

I tried these and they didn't work for me, sadly. 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

1 hour ago, Bender said:

@Slowlycatchymonkey did you get filters to alow non damaging noise through? 

I did and a second set of filters for shooting and another set of plain plugs. You can pop out one type of filter and put in another in. I used the plain plugs when showering in places with potentially parasitic water.
The first set of customs I had from the hospital were solid and blocked out too much noise, I didn’t even hear an ambulance behind me until it was waaay too close so I definitely got filters the next time, lesson learned. 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

2 hours ago, keith1200rs said:

A decent hearing aid place should be able to do custom earplus for £100. I prefer Starkey ones because the material is softer but the cost a big more. Get some and save your hearing. My ear canal is an awkward shape so foam plugs never worked well. 

Specsavers have started doing them, apparently prices start at £60. No idea if they’re any good though.

[geofferz]

4 hours ago, fastbob said:

Washable , comfortable , easy to remove , effective and cheap as chips . 

Best me to it ya bast*rd. These, all day every day. Cannot even begin to imagine anything more effective, let alone at 1000% uplift at cost. 

 

Just try these first. If they don't work go nuts with custom stuff. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by geofferz

[Jerry1111]

Having ran out of 3M orange ones, I'm now on Laserlite yellow/pink.

Works well, doesn't fall out and is "single use" - so no drama with chucking these into the bin.

Is it "comfort factor" or "loudness factor" that some of you lot choose to almost go bankrupt on the custom ones?

 

[Slowlycatchymonkey]

21 minutes ago, Jerry1111 said:

Having ran out of 3M orange ones, I'm now on Laserlite yellow/pink.

Works well, doesn't fall out and is "single use" - so no drama with chucking these into the bin.

Is it "comfort factor" or "loudness factor" that some of you lot choose to almost go bankrupt on the custom ones?

 

It’s a future deafness factor. 
Have a read up on what your cheap comfy plugs actually block out. 
Bankrupt wise I can’t argue, they’re punishing on the wallet, just not on the ears, the thing you need to look after for your entire lifespan. 

[S-Westerly]

As I said I've tried most of the disposable ones on the market including ones we use at work. Anything I stick in my ears so far has a tendency to fall out even when wearing a helmet. At work I just use over the ear muffs which work although they get horribly sweaty in the tropics. 

Hence my going for moulded custom jobs with filters which if I want can be connected to my phone. Supposed to block 31db of noise.

[Stu]

1 hour ago, Jerry1111 said:

Is it "comfort factor" or "loudness factor" that some of you lot choose to almost go bankrupt on the custom ones?

 

Both! 

 

I was always worried the custom ones wouldn't be good enough for what I was used to and while they wasn't as good they was more than good enough 

 

When going on long all day rides after about 6 hours in the saddle foam earplugs started to cause me issues and be very uncomfortable due the constant pressure pushing outwards and if I was touring or more than a few days riding it really could take its toll 

[manxie49]

I use these by ear peace, Different inserts, depending on how much noise you want to block out, you get three in the pack, one spare, all in a small metal container with clip.  These, for me anyway, are the most comfortable and most effective ear plugs I've ever used, not cheap but no where near as expensive as custom made.  I've always worn ear plugs out on the bike but found a lot of the ones I used didn't do the job or actually gave me ear ache, these ones are 1st rate. https://www.earpeace.co.uk/products/motorcycle-ear-plugs

 

[Pie man]

Been using the foam type plugs for years, but the longer they were in my ear the more uncomfortable they became. Now moved on to custom plugs, started with the Auritech Custom fit then moved on to Custom Fit Guards, both have passive filters in them - enable me to listen to music/take calls etc through my headset. If I recall the CFG were about £90.  

[geofferz]

1 hour ago, manxie49 said:

I use these by ear peace, Different inserts, depending on how much noise you want to block out, you get three in the pack, one spare, all in a small metal container with clip.  These, for me anyway, are the most comfortable and most effective ear plugs I've ever used, not cheap but no where near as expensive as custom made.  I've always worn ear plugs out on the bike but found a lot of the ones I used didn't do the job or actually gave me ear ache, these ones are 1st rate. https://www.earpeace.co.uk/products/motorcycle-ear-plugs

 

20 quid hmm. Have you tried mine and fastbob's recommendation? 

[S-Westerly]

2 hours ago, manxie49 said:

I use these by ear peace, Different inserts, depending on how much noise you want to block out, you get three in the pack, one spare, all in a small metal container with clip.  These, for me anyway, are the most comfortable and most effective ear plugs I've ever used, not cheap but no where near as expensive as custom made.  I've always worn ear plugs out on the bike but found a lot of the ones I used didn't do the job or actually gave me ear ache, these ones are 1st rate. https://www.earpeace.co.uk/products/motorcycle-ear-plugs

 

Tried them too and they were the best of the ones I have tried but still had a habit of falling out and the three became two etc.

[manxie49]

1 hour ago, geofferz said:

20 quid hmm. Have you tried mine and fastbob's recommendation? 

Yes tried them, they were ok but still not brilliant for me, ear peace one’s, for me anyway, were money well spent

[manxie49]

19 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

Tried them too and they were the best of the ones I have tried but still had a habit of falling out and the three became two etc.

Yes that’s the only issue I found, they have a tendency to fall out when you take your helmet off .... haven’t lost any yet though

[Jerry1111]

1 minute ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

It’s a future deafness factor. 
Have a read up on what your cheap comfy plugs actually block out. 

That's exactly what I'm trying to understand. When seated properly these single use plugs make the whole world go significantly quiet. I think 36 or 37dB attenuation, to the extent that volume on Packtalk has to be max - or I can't hear anything.