Biker with Ear Problem

[gspod]

My ears are different to each other due to years of playing rugby. I use a medical grade putty silicone and hardener eg Otoform - available on the Internet.
I use a grape sized amount of silicone, add the hardener and kneed until it’s a uniform colour. Then I shape it into a cone, press gently into my ears and mould it with my finger. Leave to set for 10 - 15 mins and you’re ready to go. They are washable and last for ages although I usually make a new set every couple of months leaving the old set as spares - the pot will last for years.

[Bart1]

I too have similar problems to the OP and have different size ear canals. My current solution is to use different sizes of disposable plugs for each ear and also to apply a very small amount of antiseptic cream to the outer ear canal to act as lubrication to aid insertion....no jokes please..

[7800]

Hi Everyone,

I have had tinnitus for many years and it is getting louder. I had a pair of ear plugs made for me at "The Ear Institute" in Cape Town that were brilliant but I have lost them. Does anyone know if there is somewhere in the UK that does them.

I would advise everybody to wear ear protection before its too late

[PatC]

I have a good friend who's suffered with tinitus, caused by biking, for years. Seeing how he's suffered, I won't ride without ear protection. I used to use the disposable foam type but now have a set of custom made ones with filters, also from Mercury. Had them done at Motorcycle Live at the NEC a couple of years back and have to say they have been fantastic. I can still hear the engine and enough traffic noise to know what's going on around me but wind roar has been virtually eliminated. My mate got a pair done at the same time, lost them a while later and, as was said above, Mercury made up another set from the same original. Great product and service.

[MackenzieHailey]

Hi Noobrider,

I noticed you also live in SC. I'm half an hour away from Columbia, you wanna ride with me some time? It seems like you also know about Big Ear from Blythewood. Talked to them earlier, had a great conversation with the owner and scheduled to get me fitted on Monday.

If you want to know more about them try to watch them on Youtube. They have some good videos there explaining their products.

Here's a link to one.

[Elmer J Fudd]

Game Fair season is approaching, so get along to one, there are always hearing protection stands as plugs / muffs are a must for shooting. Have a day out and get some advice from the experts.

Food stands are usually excellent too, but thats off topic.....

[Brewers Whoop]

Do any of the users of custom moulded plugs with filters, such as the Mercury Custom linked above, use them with in-helmet speakers? If so, how audible are gps directions? I'm not bothered about music quality, but do want to hear navigation instructions.

[catcitrus]

I use the silicone Hush Plugz--these are sort of disposable and work by gently pressing a warm ball of mouldable silicone into the outer ear area so that it forms a complete seal. They do not go into the the actual canal. It seems that they offer the benefit of a custom moulded pair at a fraction of the cost. I use them for long trips, otherwise they are too fiddly to get formed correctly and I resort to the disposable foam ones which are still pretty good. My hearing isn't great after a lifetime of biking but still good enough. My main problem seems to be (and always has been) in crowds where it gets overloaded and all I get is mush. On my own out in the countryside it seems pretty sharp. If its in the workshop I have a set of 3M noise cancelling headphones--now these allow conversations almost as normal and also have built in radio and facility for an ipod or similar--brilliant with the compressor running and other tools working--much less tiresome.

[hotbulb]

I've never got on with foam plugs.....they just fall out! I have a set of custom plugs which fit well (although they're a good few years old and should probably be replaced). Day-to-day I tend to use the "fir tree" type plugs (Alpine, and a couple of other makes) which seem to stay in my oddly-shaped ear canals pretty well.
Speaking personally, I found the Pinlock ones useless and pricey ..... very soft material and wouldn't stay in place .... and I wasn't convinced they filtered much sound out.