General topics » Earplugs

Some time ago, I asked for advice on various earplugs, including Earpeace plugs. I have very narrow, convoluted ear canals and though I'd been told foam plugs are the best way to go for noise attenuation, all attempts to use them had failed...I just could not get them in.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago. I gave the foam plugs another try (using Mack's "Slim Fit" soft foam plugs). The first few attempts were so frustrating I thought of giving up. I just could not find the right insertion technique. Then my wife intervened by showing up during one of my attempts with a couple of "Q-tips". "Put these in your ear, gently, while pulling up on the ear as you would during a foam plug insertion. See what the Q-tip shaft shows as the angle of insertion." I tried it and...I was trying to force the foamies in at the wrong angle. The Q-tips gave me an idea: I put a drop of earmold lube on the tip of a Q-tip and lubricated the entry to my ear canal, then tried inserting a foam plug after rolling it thin, and inserting at the angle suggested by the experiment my wife suggested. Success!!

Subsequent foam plug insertions got progressively easier as I became familiar with how to do it. This was a revelation!. For the past 13 years, I've made do with custom earplugs, but the foam plugs blow them out of the water. What really surprised me was the amount of attenuation...it was remarkable. One day I was taking a break in the mountains, by a stream. I got ready to leave and put in the first foam plug. When I put in the second one, as it expanded the sound of the stream got quieter and quieter, until I ceased to hear it. It was like an auditory hallucination, the feeling of the world going silent.

What absolute joy to have eliminated years of wind noise aggravation that no helmet or windscreen could eliminate.

For those who recommended foam plugs...thank you. It took a while, but good things are worth waiting - and struggling - for.

Attached photo is from that ride described above.

A side tip….

I had an issue with earplugs and earbuds irritating my ear canals on multi day rides. Someone suggested swabbing the canal with triple antibiotic ointment and always using new plugs/daily clean of earbuds, and it made all the difference.

For me, just as important as fitting foam protectors, is my thin snood over my ears. I use the snood like a bank robber covering his face and let the crash helmet push the snood down, final pull to clear my face. The amount of noise you reduce with earplugs and a snood really helps as it now too noisey for me without using both. It could also be due to reduced wind noise coming into the bottom of my helmet.

I use a water-soluble lubricant called "Oto-ease". The reason is that it will rinse out of the ear easily in the shower. A triple antibiotic such as Neosporin won't do that, so I'd worry about an accumulation in the ear leading to excessive wax. Because of my narrow ear canals, I have to go once a year to an ENT guy, who uses a special tool to vacuum accumulated wax out of my ears...very effective, especially because ear wax treatments (i.e., Debrox) don't work for me.

Not sure what a "snood" is, but I use a balaclava for the reasons described...it cuts down noise. The secondary benefit is it keeps the interior of my helmet clean (I just wash the balaclava periodically). With the foamies I use, I estimate around 30db of attenuation and while I can hear sounds, the wind noise is virtually non-existent...that is a "miracle" to me, having lived with custom plugs providing only around 22db of noise reduction.

Zitat von BEARR im Beitrag #5

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Not sure what a "snood" is, but I use a balaclava for the reasons described...it cuts down noise.

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OK, I'll admit that you sent me on a web search to find out what a snood was...