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I am a big fan of ear plugs. I do a bit of work travel and use them for helping me sleep on planes and in hotels and the like.
I have only ever used dispoasbles, & found that the [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/40-x-HOWARD-LEIGHT-LASER-LITE-Ear-Plugs-FREE-UK-P-P-20-Pairs-Wrapped-/151383375055? ]Howard Leight Laser[/url] ones to be quite good and you can hardly feel them in your ears when sleeping.
I tend to reuse 2-3 times and then they lose their squish ability and need replacing.
So is it worth going for some posh ones. I have seen some lumps of metal with rubber caps, I wonder how comfy these are for sleeping? Especially if you sleep on your ear like I often do.
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At 6p per use, if you like the ones you already use, I wouldn't bother changing if I were you.
I have some clear rubber (soft plastic?) ones from a previous job in manufacturing that were custom moulded to the shape of my ear. They are comfortable and great at shutting out noise but not that good if lying on your ear for sleeping!
Wax for the win.
I buy one of these boxes every couple of years:
http://www.earplugshop.com/spark-plugs-pack-of-200-pairs.html
Again, can get two or three night's wear out of the plugs before binning.
Posh ones are better for when you need to reduce your exposure without degrading the sound (sound engineers and the like) for purely blocking out noise disposables are plenty good enough
Laser are the ones to go for. 3M yellow are pretty good as well, but Lasers are comfier.
Yeah the lasers are dead comfy. OK I'll take the collected wisdom and stick with my lasers. Murky buckets for your time.
It must be getting on for 10 years ago when I had some custom plugs made (professionally mounded to my ears) for motorcycle use. if I recall correctly they were about £45. I'm still using them for over an hour a day. They're still as good as they were. And that's cheaper than disposables.
They don't block out as much noise as disposables but they're a lot more comfortable and easier to put in.
I used the Laser ones, change them every week.
I have some posh musician ones for gigs where you can change the insert to control the attenuation.
I've tried loads of different types for the motorbike. I must have weird shaped earholes or something. The only type which work for me are the very cheapest foam type, just cylinder shaped, no taper.
Edit: E-A-R classic. About 10p/pair
Noted for future reference.
I have two pairs of Utimate Ears custom molded earplugs; one pair as headphones.
Totally and absolutely comfortable. I have regularly worn them all day long on the motorbike and even for sleeping in noisy environments.
To me, worth every penny
Rachel
I find the foam ones no good at all, don't blcok out sounds and fall out of my ear (I have narrow ear canals). Have just got some silicone ones and they are great, warm them up, squidge them in and they stay all night with good sound blocking. Think they were £9 for 3 pairs but re-usabe and washable
I've used the foam ones, still do for sleeping during the warmer weather when I have my window open, or if camping, but I do find they irritate my ears a bit.
For gigs I prefer the triple-flanged silicon ones, they sit well into the ear, and are easily washed.
You can get them from Amazon and the like with filters that block specific frequencies but allow conversation, cost about £15 I think.
I've just got a couple of pairs from Massdrop, cost $11 a pair, but I'm yet to try them in an 'aggressive environment'!
I'd like custom ones, but I also want custom eartips for my Meeaudio canalphones, which are going to cost at least £120, so I'll use the cheap option for the foreseeable.
There's a whole bunch here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ear-Plugs-Hearing-Protection/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n%3A340837031%2Ck%3AEar%20Plugs%20Hearing%20Protection
Mine are Rooth ones, they do full custom as well, but I can't justify the cost for the amount I'll use them, compared to how much I use my earphones.