Custom ear protection
We take an impression of your ear and the piece is made in our own workshop. This is not the yellow foam from the chemist: it is a plug that fits your ear canal and no other.
- Made
- In our own workshop
- Made from
- An impression of your ear
- Appointment
- Required
The trouble with yellow foam
A foam plug attenuates a lot, and badly. It eats the high frequencies in particular, which is where the consonants live, so with one in you hear a low rumble and understand nobody. Anyone who has worked in them knows what follows: it comes out to talk, and it does not go back in.
A custom plug does something else. Because it seals properly and is the right length for your canal, a filter can be built into it that brings the noise down more evenly across the frequencies. You carry on hearing the conversation, and the noise loses its edge.
How it is made
First we look into the canal with the camera: if there is wax, that gets dealt with first, because an impression taken over a wax plug is no use. Then a small cotton dam goes in, the silicone is injected and we wait for it to cure. It does not hurt. You feel pressure and a muffled sort of quiet, and that is it.
The impression goes to our workshop and the piece comes back from there. We tell you at the time when to come and collect it and try it on: if it presses anywhere, it is corrected here rather than posted back to an outside laboratory.
Who it makes sense for
Noise-induced hearing loss settles in slowly, starts with the high frequencies and does not come back on its own. Nobody finishes a shift feeling that they lost hearing that day. It shows up ten years later.
- Machine work: building sites, workshops, joinery, bars with loud music
- Shooting and stalking, where the damage is not continuous but one very short, very loud impact
- Musicians and anyone near a stage, with filters that keep the balance of the sound
- Motorcycling, where the noise is not the engine but the wind above a certain speed
- Sleeping, if you share a bed with someone who snores
- Anyone who already has a loss and would rather not add to the exposure
If you also wear hearing aids
They are not incompatible, but they do not combine any old how either. A hearing aid in a very noisy place is not protection: it amplifies and limits, which is a different thing. If you work or shoot and wear aids, say so when you come and we sort it out in the same visit.
Common questions
Will I hear anything with them in?
With a filter, yes: that is the difference from foam. It brings the overall level down and still lets you follow a conversation or hear a warning. Without a filter the seal is maximal and so is the isolation, which is what you want for sleeping or for water.
How long do they last?
A good while, if you wash them and keep them dry in their case. What changes over the years is your ear: the canal alters shape and eventually a plug stops sealing properly. When it works loose or stops isolating, it needs remaking.
Does the impression hurt?
No. You feel pressure and a muffled quiet while the silicone is in, for a few minutes. We look in the ear with the camera first, and if there is anything that should not be there, the impression waits.
Are the ones from the chemist any good?
For occasional use they are fine. For daily use they are not, because they seal differently each time you put them in, attenuate unevenly and end up irritating. If you are going to wear something every day, the custom piece changes the experience.
My employer requires protection. Does this count?
Custom plugs are made with a marking and with their attenuation figures. Bring us whatever your safety officer has specified and we check it before taking the impression.
The information on this site is for general guidance and does not replace a professional consultation. If you have symptoms, please see your optometrist, hearing aid audiologist or doctor.
