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Earplugs and Helmets

redruM said:
these were reco'd in another earplug thread... been working great so far - near-custom fit for $13

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Been wearing the EP3 for a few years now. Love the fit. The inside plug works if you want it to be even quieter. Otherwise, leave 'em open and you can even walk around while wearing them and can have conversation and hear the surroundings just fine, with noise being muted a bit.

I even wear them when not riding now and then if I want some quiet time. I have worn them at work, a few hours at a time... comfortable.

Clean them up with rubbing alcohol, they can last for quite a while per pair.

It's reasonable at $13/pair. If you want to save some, organize a group buy. Even if you don't buy a whole pack, you can save some on the shipping.
 
airrix said:
I'm interested in the subject.

Can someone with custom earplugs comment on comfort and fit? Are they worth it?

Also, how do people prevent misplacement issues? I also seem to forget we're I place my keys. It would suck to misplace my $100 ear plugs.
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I got a set of FitEar earspeakers and sprung an extra $50 at the motorcycle show to get some of the custom goo squirted in my ears.
Personally I think hearo's do a better job of blocking the sound, but the custom ones I can wear for hours and hours.

Unless you're going to have them in for hours and hours and hours, the foamies are the best.

I could lose a car in the driveway and I havent forgotten my earplugs yet. It would be like misplacing my helmet. I just don't ride without them.
 
Problem with foam plugs is that you have to pinch and roll them with your fingers, which introduces bacteria and other nasty shit deep into your ear canal as soon as you shove it in your ear.

I've used custom molded earplugs that cost $40, and they feel and work great, but for $13, you can't beat the Surefire EP4. They fit almost just as well, and if you lose them, you won't get as butthurt as when you lose expensive custom plugs. The bonus of reusable plugs is that the part that goes in your ear stays cleaner (if you keep them in the case). Surefire did come out with the EP5, which is $1 less if you don't need the removable stoppers and gives you 2dB more protection.

I have the older style, without the silly lanyard that keeps them together. You can always just cut them off on the new ones. The plus side of having the EP4s is that you can pull the stoppers out and use them while spectating at the track and still be able to hear people talking at a normal volume.
 
lowes, 14$ i tried a lot of plugs and my right ear never seats them right, except these.

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i just use regular earplugs(for music) to cancel some noise. ever since i started riding with them, i cannot ride without them! too noisy! ;D

i use this:
41oxFY5dkLL._AA300_.jpg
 
Inner Nerd said:
Problem with foam plugs is that you have to pinch and roll them with your fingers, which introduces bacteria and other nasty shit deep into your ear canal as soon as you shove it in your ear.
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What nasty stuff are you doing with your fingers?

Srsly though, I wouldn't worry about it. At least it's not a good reason to avoid foam plugs.
 
airrix said:
I'm interested in the subject.

Can someone with custom earplugs comment on comfort and fit? Are they worth it?

Also, how do people prevent misplacement issues? I also seem to forget we're I place my keys. It would suck to misplace my $100 ear plugs.
Click to expand...

I had a set of custom plugs made for me by Big Ear at the San Mateo show about 3 years ago because I simply could not get any foam plugs to fit right, no matter how much I tried. The custom plugs fit great, are way easier to put in, and are super comfortable even for long hours in the saddle. I have never ONCE thought of going back to foam plugs and, since the custom plugs are expensive and hard to replace I am always super aware of where they are and have managed to not lose them (which is a minor miracle for me!).

That being said, not all custom plugs are made are made equal. A friend had some made for her by a company other than Big Ear (at the BARF Bash last year) that were made with too much material on the outside of the ear canal which turned out to be uncomfortable under a helmet.
 
So the bottom line is wear plugs. It might take some time to find some you like but there are plenty of options. Don't give up because one type feels weird. Try more stuff out. As you can see there are lots of differing opinions.
 
CurveSurfer said:
Deafness isn't the only concern: you'll likely develop tinnitus first, a constant ringing that can be life-altering. Some folks learn to ignore it, for others it can lead to trouble sleeping, depression and even suicide.

And the ringing probably won't go away if you finally do lose your hearing, because it's only the perception of ringing, you're not actually hearing anything.

I developed a mild/moderate case about a year ago, and for awhile it was all I thought about. Hard to sleep, hard to imagine never having a silent moment again. I've learned to mostly tune it out, but it's definitely something to be avoided.
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Yup. I've got this as well. Comes and goes. I've learned to live with it. Only on rare occasions does it get bad enough to bother me.

I'm actually on my way to pick up my custom plugs in about an hour. Small ear canals make regular plugs very uncomfortable and I found myself starting to not wear them. Which is not good.
 
I had some custom made ones but one got lost. so I bought a huge bag of disposable ones (hi viz yellow!). I open a new pair every couple weeks.

I used to hear ringing all night. drove me crazy. luckily I started wearing plugs soon after.
 
Good news is that I just picked up my custom ear plugs and I love them. Bad news is that one of you aholes had to remind me I have tinnitus and now I've been sitting here noticing the ringing in my ears the last two hours. :twofinger
 
This thread inspired me to get some Howard Leight Max-1s from Amazon. At $.20 per pair shipped it's a great investment for your ear holes
 
KnifeySpoony said:
What nasty stuff are you doing with your fingers?

Srsly though, I wouldn't worry about it. At least it's not a good reason to avoid foam plugs.
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Shopping cart handles and gas pumps? I've dropped my earplugs on the floor before. I also go shooting with earplugs and your hands get covered in all sorts of crap. It's a really minor risk, and people getting ear infections from plugs are pretty rare. Manufacturers do recommend you throw out foam plugs after using them.

I rather just use washable silicone ones and avoid touching the part that actually goes into my ear. You're right though, foam ear plugs are better than no ear plugs.
 
metricHalfPint said:
I was considering getting custom plugs, but then I found several older threads here where there seemed to be a lot of people who had gone back to disposables due to better noise reduction. I may have to get custom plugs eventually anyway, because the others just don't stay put in my ears for some reason.
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I have some customs from Westone. If you are halfway serious, call the CS people at Westone. There are several folks there that ride and if you let them know you are a rider, they'll give you good advice, but... their typical (probably legally required) advice is to go about 15db attenuation, but if you ask them what they use, they'll tell you exactly what to order. If you want me to, I can dig up the recommendation from a few years ago.

The best customs tend to attenuate about 26db, which is less than the best foam earplugs. Any responsible audiologist should be honest with you about that. I think mine were about $90 from a local audiologist who was also a Westone dealer. More expensive than foamies, but I've been happy with them. They are super comfy and won't come out until you take them out. I've used them in airplanes and hotels as well.

TrplGrl said:
That being said, not all custom plugs are made are made equal. A friend had some made for her by a company other than Big Ear (at the BARF Bash last year) that were made with too much material on the outside of the ear canal which turned out to be uncomfortable under a helmet.
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I've found that helmet fit is a pretty big deal too. My earplugs are super low profile. They sit below the surface of the ear, but some helmets push on your ear in weird ways that can break the seal. My Suomy helmet works great with the customs, but the Shark helmet pushes just so on my right ear and it causes the seal to break on occasion.
 
rsrider said:
Leight SUPER Leights, 33 db rating............they're pretty much everywhere, reasonably priced, and they work for me.
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I buy mine in the 200 pack boxes for about $25.
I reuse them for weeks, and if I leave them in the pocket of my jacket when I wash it, they're as good as new after they come out of the dryer.

They're comfortable, and they work, I have no interest in wasting the money for custom fit.
 
Inner Nerd said:
Shopping cart handles and gas pumps? I've dropped my earplugs on the floor before. I also go shooting with earplugs and your hands get covered in all sorts of crap. It's a really minor risk, and people getting ear infections from plugs are pretty rare. Manufacturers do recommend you throw out foam plugs after using them.

I rather just use washable silicone ones and avoid touching the part that actually goes into my ear. You're right though, foam ear plugs are better than no ear plugs.
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Risk of ear infection from dirtyish plugs is very minimal. Less than from a clean Q tip, anyways.
 
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