High Quality Custom Fit Earplugs - Worth it?

[peckhart]

I am seriously considering getting some custom fit earplugs like these

http://www.sensaphonics.com/prod_erseries_customs.html

or the Westone labs equivalent.

 

Anyone here have these and if so, are they worth the investment over your typical $15 pair of Hearos?

 

I use the Hearos at rehearsal, but have not felt comfortable that I can hear the frequency spectrum evenly enough to pick up on nuances I want to hear when playing live. Therefore I subject my poor little eardrums to a 3 hour rock and roll pounding on gigs and it f'n hurts. I don't want to do it any more.

[B Money]

I just got some of the custom fit Westones yesterday. I opted for the 15 db filters, but as you know they are interchangable if you want more/less attenuation.

I was like you and used the "hearos" brand foamies for years, but recently stopped using them because they sound so bad. I finally decided to bite the bullet and pony up the dough for some custom fit plugs.

It took about 10 days from the time I got the molds made until they came back from the lab. Cost was $180 including the filters.

They fit quite well and are comfortable. They are a little tough to insert initially, it's going to take some practice to get it down. One thing I noticed immediately is that they feel lighter than the foamies. It's easy to forget that I'm wearing them because they are so light and the sound is perfectly natural, just quieter

I haven't had a chance to put them to the band test, but I did mow the lawn and run the hedge trimmer yesterday while wearing them and they really work great.

They really do work as advertised, everything sounds the same but lower in volume.

Expensive, yes, but how valuable is your hearing? My tinnitus is bad enough, I don't want it to get any worse! For me, the price was worth it.

[peckhart]

Hey B Money. Thanks for the feedback. So the earplugs were $180....did you have an additional audiologist fee for the visit and/or making the impressions?

The place I set up an appointment said it is $60 per ear, but I am not sure if some of that covers the cost of the actual earplugs or if that is $120 I have to figure in addition to the 180 for the plugs.

Either way I am going to pony up and do it...just can't afford not to. Plus the new band I am in is bringing in some decent cash and gigging pretty regularly. Thanks!

[space cred]

YES! I just got mine yesterday. They sound really really good. (er-15's)

[Robben Trower]

I spent $180 on custom plugs and I don't like them as much as my $12 etymotics. Her'es why:

 

1) Custom plugs are made from hard plastic and fill your entire ear. They can get uncomfortable even though they are contoured for your own ear. I have to take them out after a half hour. $12 etymotics plugs are soft rubber and don't have that 'ear full' feeling that starts to bother you after a while. They can also be adjusted, pulled out to suit acoustic taste.

2) Once you buy customs, you better be sure you have the right db reduction. I started with 15's, went to 25's as a free adjustment, found that too much reduction, then it was too late to do anything about it. They are $180 plugs I now don't use. If I wanted to get custom 15's, it would cost me another $180. With etymotics, you can try various db reductions and not break the bank since they are so cheap.

[peckhart]

 

I spent $180 on custom plugs and I don't like them as much as my $12 etymotics. Her'es why: 1) Custom plugs are made from hard plastic and fill your entire ear. They can get uncomfortable even though they are contoured for your own ear. I have to take them out after a half hour. $12 etymotics plugs are soft rubber and don't have that 'ear full' feeling that starts to bother you after a while. They can also be adjusted, pulled out to suit acoustic taste. 2) Once you buy customs, you better be sure you have the right db reduction. I started with 15's, went to 25's as a free adjustment, found that too much reduction, then it was too late to do anything about it. They are $180 plugs I now don't use. If I wanted to get custom 15's, it would cost me another $180. With etymotics, you can try various db reductions and not break the bank since they are so cheap.

 

The Sensaphonic and Westone both have swappable filters ( 9, 15 and 25db).

Hard plastic? I think these are a soft silicon? What brand are yours?

[succubus]

Under "How to order" it says.

Have your hearing checked, and have your ear impressions taken. The cost of this procedure varies, and is not included in the price of Sensaphonics products.

[B Money]

 

The Sensaphonic and Westone both have swappable filters ( 9, 15 and 25db). Hard plastic? I think these are a soft silicon? What brand are yours?

 

 

the Westones I got are a soft silicone type material. They have the interchangable filters.

The $180 I paid included all fees, molds, filters, etc..

[moleman]

yes, find one of the authorized dealers through their webpage, and the fitting should be included in the price.

 

I got the etymotics, and found an audiologist through their webpage that was local to me. Cost me about $180 and that included the visit for the fitting. I like them, but got the ER-15s and think maybe I should go with the 9s instead. Replacement filters run about $80 per pair.

[ctoddrun]

I bought a pair a few years ago with every intension of using them religiously.

 

A) They hurt my ears after only a few minutes. The right ear especially. (I might have been able to get them fitted again if I had jumped on it, but from the time I got them till the time I used them in practice it was more than a month... snooze and lose sort of thing.

 

B) They totally disconnected me from the band and even my own playing. Take a giant wet towel and jam it way into your ear and see how well you can play...

 

They sit and collect dust these days.

 

I'm all for hearing protection, the idea at least. They just didnt work for me.

[supahd]

I've had a pair of westones for probably over 5 years, they are awesome. Initially uncomfortable but once broken in they are perfectly fine. The noise reduction is natural as well across all frequencies as far as I can tell.

[peckhart]

 

I bought a pair a few years ago with every intension of using them religiously. A) They hurt my ears after only a few minutes. The right ear especially. (I might have been able to get them fitted again if I had jumped on it, but from the time I got them till the time I used them in practice it was more than a month... snooze and lose sort of thing. B) They totally disconnected me from the band and even my own playing. Take a giant wet towel and jam it way into your ear and see how well you can play... They sit and collect dust these days. I'm all for hearing protection, the idea at least. They just didnt work for me.

 

 

On your point B...sounds like you do not find that they lower volume evenly across the frequency spectrum?

That is my biggest concern and seems like opinions vary.

[ctoddrun]

Cant say for certain if they do or do not lower the volume across the frequency spectrum...

 

I know that they caused me the disconnected feeling, but to point a finger on exactly what it was that did that, I'd be hard pressed to do.

[Outrider]

Call around to different audiologists. The quoted prices varied, and I ended up getting mine for $100. I opted for the 15db plugs, but if I had tried them beforehand in a band setting, I would probably have gone with the 9's. That would be plenty to eliminate the pressure waves and frequencies that cause damage while not causing too much muffle.

 

PROS:

- Mine fit very well. All-day comfortable.

- Better spectrum representation than foamies.

- Also work great for motorcycling. Prolonged wind noise is extremely damaging.

- You hear all the parts being played very distinctly, without the Loud Band Effect covering it up.

- No ringing ears. They really work.

- Mostly invisible...You won't have silly orange/pink/flesh sponges poking out of your ears.

 

CONS:

- They sound better than foamies, but my 15db filters don't sound *miraculously* ($100) better.

- when I smile big, the shape of my ear canal changes, and they leak! Only for a moment, then they seal back up. Kinda funny, actually.

- You hear every clam and timing problem very distinctly. You can finish up a show with a distinctly different impression than your bandmates of how well it went.

- You must set guitar tones during sound check and then have faith that they are actually there. They don't sound the same under plugs.

- You will inadvertently become an Earplug Snob, telling everybody how great they are. Your friends will shun you.

 

 

Conclusion...if they fit good and don't hurt, I feel they're worth a one-time $100 hit. Probably not $180. I'd try the 9db's.

[gtrjones]

I've had a pair of westones for a little more than 6 months. We've been playing about twice a week since January, and I love them. I wouldn't trade them for anything. They're very comfortable (there was about a 6 hour break-in period where they were 'noticeable' but not painful), and sometimes I forget they're in. I've 'adjusted' to the fact that things sound different, but not in a bad way. I can certainly hear across all frequencies well, and standing next to the drummer, the cymbal splash no longer drowns-out everything else. I used cheap foam inserts before, and these are MUCH better.

[peckhart]

You guys have me wondering now what filters I should get. Perhaps I don't understand the math and science involved, but let me set up a scenario and perhaps folks can comment.

 

A friend of mine has a sound pressure meter. Out of curiosity we stuck it in front of my amp one time when the volume was set to where I would normally have it to play with the band. This was years ago, but I am recalling we saw 120db. If this is true, with the full band and jamming at what seems to be even higher levels than that....I must be sitting at 130db or even more.

So if I have earplugs that reduce noise with filters rating 25db is that to say it cuts what would be 130db w/out them down to 105db with them? In reality that seems like it still isn't enough and it was that logic that had me thinking 25db is the way to go to even be close to a safe zone. It probably isn't that cut and dry though.

[J Kylez]

These custom fitted earplugs are indespensible. I never go to a practice, gig, or concert without them. I have the 15dB filters. I wish I had the 9dB too for a few lower volume situations. The cost for me was about $120 with the molds and audiologist visit.

 

The custom mold down into the ear allows singing without the barrel effect. Remove the filters and they are soap and water washable.

 

For those that complain about discomfort you probably need new molds down. Sometimes they don't take right or they were down too fast and didn't form right.

 

Worth every penny and then some!

[Outrider]

 

So if I have earplugs that reduce noise with filters rating 25db is that to say it cuts what would be 130db w/out them down to 105db with them? In reality that seems like it still isn't enough and it was that logic that had me thinking 25db is the way to go to even be close to a safe zone. It probably isn't that cut and dry though.

 

 

The real damage (initially...first stages of loss/damage) is caused by unchecked sound pressure waves in the higher frequency range. Chronic short term exposure damages the nerve sensor "hairs" that respond to those freqs (that's why residual "ring" and eventual tinnitus is usually a high-pitched noise.) After long-term abuse, these "hairs" actually flatten out, making them less and less responsive to vibrations, which equals hearing loss in those freqs.

 

Just having a good seal over the ear canal, checking the pressure of those waves, will go a long way toward helping avoid the damage. The varying decibel ratings will just kill off progressive amounts of the overall volume, making it sound more muffled and giving you more of a "disconnected" feeling as the numbers get higher.

 

IMHO, unless you lay in an ear-splitting wallonoise band, choosing the 9's would do a good job of damage prevention while still allowing the best filtered tone. I need to get some to replace my 15's because my band volume is usually pretty reasonable.

 

It's one of those sliding scales of safety. More protection is good, but not hearing your music is no fun. I'd like to hear from somebody who has tried the different filters and can compare them. Anyone?