Ear Plugs

RacerBoy75 said:

I have had custom molded earplugs that fit perfectly

 

 

I, too, use custom molded earplugs.  Both ear muffs and foam ear plugs give me headaches.

I use them 100% in the metal shop at work, at home with anything that makes any noise at all - even mowing the lawn.

My Locost Super 7 is 119dB of wind noise at 55mph, so I wear them every drive.

SkinnyG said:

RacerBoy75 said:

I have had custom molded earplugs that fit perfectly

 

 

I, too, use custom molded earplugs.  Both ear muffs and foam ear plugs give me headaches.

I use them 100% in the metal shop at work, at home with anything that makes any noise at all - even mowing the lawn.

My Locost Super 7 is 119dB of wind noise at 55mph, so I wear them every drive.

I had a set of custom molded ear plugs made when I was doing a lot of longer distance riding years ago. Nothing else compares. I've lost track of them and have been using Howard Leight foam disposables for years. I mount the big box on the wall and toss a handful in each car. I tried a set of the band type for shooting but didn't like them. I do like the suggestion to use them in the garage when my hands are already dirty - gonna have to dig up a pair and try that. 

I think a big lesson from this discussion: keep some ear plugs where you’re likely going to need them. (Back to my key chain, personally.)

In reply to David S. Wallens :

In reply to Oapfu :

Great to see another Paranoia RPG fan, unless you're a commie mutant traitor!

I use these 32 NRR  ear plugs , I like the flare on the top as they seem to seal better

californiamilleghia said:

I use these 32 NRR  ear plugs , I like the flare on the top as they seem to seal better

Always use a flared base. 

The custom molded ear plugs are far and above the best for comfort but they're not all made equal. You can get them at sporting goods stores with the shooting gear. A cursory search was unable to find the ones I used to use. 

The cheaper foam plugs tend to expand and become uncomfortable after 30 minutes, but the Stanley plugs with the pink(?) stripes are comfortable enough I forget I'm wearing them sometimes. 

They would be a pain to get a helmet over, but I usually wear ISO Tunes in the shop so I can listen to music. I really wish they would offer a custom molded option like in-ear monitors used by stage musicians.

I worked in loud industry for many years and tried everything. Only one ear plug worked well for me and the place I worked didn't have them so one of the supervisors would order them in for me. 

Last night I went to see an excellent local funk band play, but I forgot my earplugs. They did sell some cheap foams at the bar, so I bought a pair. It was a good reminder that for me, the money was well spent on the custom molded plugs. The plugs I got at the bar barely cut the noise level down. My ears surprisingly weren't ringing after the show, but the dB levels were definitely much higher with the cheap disposables.

In reply to Peabody :

That's funny, those are my least-favorite ear plugs, but only because I have such a hard time getting them to expand once I smush them down to fit in my ear. Is that a thing? Do you ever get duds? Once they're in, if they take, then they're excellent.

I think it's odd that I think this... they're 3M, which I usually regard as the benchmark for safety.

For a race, I personally wear headphones meant for when you go shooting. More specifically, these.

One, I don't like things in my ears, so over the ear headphones are my preference. I also love that these have a dial on the side that lets you choose volume and are almost totally noise canceling when I need it. Plus, if you want to talk to someone, they pick up on voices but still dull the background noise thanks to the built in speakers and microphone. They are perfect if you're up close to the action.

There is even a audio jack if you want to plug into a radio or anything. 

In reply to confuZion3 :

I hate those with a passion. Squishing them is tough and half the time they press themselves out of my ear canals as they expand. You have to have super clean hands or you're putting nasty plugs in your ears. It makes taking them in and out a chore if you need to hear someone. 

I'm a big fan of Howard Leight Laser Lite earplugs. Very comfortable to wear overnight in case your significant other snores.

If I'm using power tools or mowing the grass, I like to use ear muffs - I have a set of 3M Work Tunes Bluetooth ear muffs taht work well

Years ago I cam across a bunch of brand new hearing protection stuff at a Habitat store.  I bought 4 pairs of headphones that I don't remember the brand name of and 2 boxes of Howard Leight foam earplugs.  They all live in the garage, though the foam ones really only get used for trips to the track or concerts.

I've got 3M orange disposables/squishees in the shop (and a few in my race bag for when I'm too-loud cars).  When I'm racing I have a set of those squishees with a hearing aid tranducer that I bought from (GRM SPONSER ALERT) SafeRacer years ago, which allow me to hear the crew over the radio regardless of car volume.  

For yard work and the like, I love my 3M WorkTunes.  

The foam ones that you roll between your fingers and push in till they hurt - hurt all the time, I can only wear them for an hour or less. I use some silicone plugs I get at Walmart - those I can keep in for several hours - the wind noise in a Mini (along with all the other noises!) is pretty loud, so for trips over an hour on the hiway ear plugs are required. 

I tired wearing my HF ear muffs - which work fine in the shop, especially when cutting metal - but whenever I would turn my head the sound would change, it was disconcerting at best.

confuZion3 said:

In reply to Peabody :

That's funny, those are my least-favorite ear plugs, but only because I have such a hard time getting them to expand once I smush them down to fit in my ear.
 

Do you ever get duds? 

No, never. I've used these ones for years. The bullet shaped ones do almost nothing for me. Maybe my ears are bigger?

The last place I worked supplied the custom molded silicone ones. They were good for noise but I found them difficult to get in properly and very uncomfortable after a while.

Peabody said:

I worked in loud industry for many years and tried everything. Only one ear plug worked well for me and the place I worked didn't have them so one of the supervisors would order them in for me. 

These were the ones that were free while in the military in the 80's and 90's. I rarely used a pair more than a single day. I always thought a great side benefit was that the earwax stuck to them and kept my ears clean(er).

I had a set of custom molded ear plugs made when I went to an Audio Engineering Society conference years ago. They had the House Ear Institute truck on-site doing hearing screenings, and the folks doing custom molded ear plugs right next to it for when you found out how bad your hearing response was. Ordered a pair on the spot in bright colors - red and blue - so I could find them easily and didn't have to think about which ear they went into...

David S. Wallens said:

I keep a pair of EarPeace earplugs on my keychain. 

I ordered a set of the Music Pro with the -20dB filters this week. We have a couple concerts coming up and I want to be prepared. We went to a concert a couple of months ago and unfortunately my ears are still ringing. I should have known better. 

I currently wear some 3m triple flange reusable earplugs in the car that work pretty well under the helmet.

I would like to find something so I can hear the corner workers when on track.

Has anyone used the Fuze custom molded earbuds??  They seem fairly inexpensive for custom earbuds.

I used whatever we had at work.  Surprisingly they gladly suggested we use them at home.  Some were the cheap old foal ones you rolled up and stuck into the ear.  Better ones had a line connecting them.  Another set had tabs in them that your held to just jam them in.  I liked them, but they would start hurting after a while.  

I used whatever we had at work.  Surprisingly they gladly suggested we use them at home.  Some were the cheap old foal ones you rolled up and stuck into the ear.  Better ones had a line connecting them.  Another set had tabs in them that your held to just jam them in.  I liked them, but they would start hurting after a while.  

Oapfu said:

In reply to David S. Wallens :

Exactly. Be Prepared and all that stuff.