The Importance of Custom Ear Plugs for Ear Protection
Prevent Hearing Loss
Listen up! Don't take your ears for granted! Hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the US, and it can drastically affect the quality of your life. About 48 million Americans have lost some hearing, with musicians being one of the highest-risk groups for developing early onset hearing issues.
Historically, the most affordable solution that has been available to musicians to protect their hearing is cheap foam ear plugs. While these do offer some isolation and ear protection, they also muddy up the sound. The biggest issue with foam ear plugs is that they are made to completely block your ear canal in order to lower the decibel level of the sound that reaches your ear drum. Unfortunately, this also hurts the quality of sound because not all frequencies are reduced the same amount. Tonal quality is depleted and sound becomes very muddy and muffled.
Noises that Cause Hearing Loss
Sound |
Decibel Level |
|
| Jet engine (near) | 140 (immediate risk to hearing) |
|
| Shotgun blast, fireworks | 130 (risk to hearing after 1 minute) |
|
| Threshold of pain | 125 |
|
| Rock concert, jackhammer | 120 (risk to hearing in 7.5 minutes) |
|
| Professional football game | 115 (risk to hearing in 15 minutes) |
|
| Helicopter, car horn | 110 (risk to hearing in 30 minutes) |
|
| Chainsaw, airport | 100 (risk to hearing in 1 hour) |
|
| Hair dryer, motorcycle | 90 (risk to hearing in 8 hours) |
|
| Beginning of OSHA regulations | 85 |
|
| Vacuum cleaner | 80 |
|
| Conversation | 60 |
|
| Raindrop | 40 |
|
| Whisper | 30 |
|
| Rustling leaves | 20 |
|
| Ticking watch | 10 |
|
Protect Your Ears with Our Custom Ear Plugs
Custom ear plugs not only give you the opportunity to protect your ears while maintaining high audio fidelity, but also provide a level of comfort that only silicone custom-molded to your ears can provide.
Filtered ear plugs use a filter with a special membrane, which blocks out sound with a flatter frequency response than foam earplugs, isolating a similar amount across all frequencies to preserve sound quality. This neutral effect on sound is one of the best features of a higher-end ear plug as it makes you much more likely to actually use your ear plugs.
Our high fidelity custom molded ear plugs also utilize filters that are removable and interchangeable, so you can select the exact amount of sound reduction you need. If you have a few different filters, the filter pretty much becomes a volume knob where you can select the level of noise reduction without losing any sound quality. This makes them the best earplugs for musicians because you can still hear everything on stage clearly, but at a safer volume.
Custom earplugs should really be a no-brainer for musicians - start using ear protection now while you still have a chance to save your hearing!
Additional Information
Check out our custom earplugs. Additional filters are also available separately.
Featured collection
Design Your Own: Custom M6 Pro In-Ear Monitors
This post is part of an educational series on custom-fit products. Visit our Knowledge Base for more articles.