What ear plugs do you use?

[Spanky Ham]

I think a lot of you use ear plugs, so I was curious which ones people are using. I have a lot of experience using the E-A-R Classic foam plugs, as these were standard issue when I was a Marine Corps Armorer. I prefer the foam over the other kinds. I notice E-A-R has a taper fit. I was thinking of giving these a try. So, what is your favorite?

I want to add that working the range, I found that using plugs with ear muffs made noise almost imperceptible.

[joecarrow]

I have some "high fidelity" ear plugs that I take to concerts. They're really great; they have a tiny metal can with a membrane to allow sound through. I guess the orifice and membrane material attenuate the sound evenly across most of the musical range, so tonal balance is preserved. They're rated for something like 20 db of attenuation, but they sound better than foam, and should greatly reduce your chances of hearing loss (or at least increase the time to damage) in a normal rock concert.

I wouldn't trust them around canons or anything, but I enjoyed them a lot when I last saw Foo Fighters, Weezer, and Hot Hot Heat.

[jkrutke]

I use Etymotic ER 20 plugs at loud amplified concerts. I've tried quite a few, and these have very good tonal balance. Nice wideband attenuation but not as much loss of the high end. I suspect if you want something better, you might have to go to custom fit style. (expensive)

I use 35dB foam plugs when mowing the lawn, operating the router, etc.

Joe: interested in the brand you use, I'm wondering if I tried those.

[---k---]

I use whatever is cheapest at the store.

(and more often than not, I use the a pair I took from a contractor at last construction site I was at.)

[jdybnis]

I used to use the Etymotic ER-20 plugs. I got custom ones made, which I use now. Clarity is excellent. I don't find them to have substantially better sound quality than the ER-20's but they are substantially more comfortable for me. I can wear them for an indefinite period of time without becoming uncomfortable.

[joecarrow]

Sorry, I'm in the middle of a move right now and they're probably buried in a box. I just gave googling for them and honest effort, and didn't see anything that looked familiar. I bought them at a local musical instrument store, so my best guess is that they're either an older model or an off-brand. If I can't find them, I'll give the Etymotics a chance.

[brent_s]

For power tools, yard work, and the like, I use tapered foam ear plugs made by AOSafety(?). They're actually shaped very much like those ER-20s. They're much more comfortable and effective than the squish 'em up bullet shaped foam things I used to use. I keep a couple of pairs scattered around the garages so I can always find them.

[cjd]

Flents if it's a plug. For noise. When using power tools it's a 30 or 35dB over-ear headset. If I'm at it for an extended period, it's plugs plus the headset.

C

[JonP]

Another happy user of these... they do sound nice! for $12 a pair, no reason not to have a pair for those loud bands.... They rate at 20dB, but as they say, they're more like a 25dB or more foam plug. I sometimes wear them when driving with the top down, it's kind of eerie (no pun intended) with the highs still clear, hearing how much wind noise various cars make, and other little differences you'd be oblivious to with foam plugs.

Not bad for trying to sleep on a long flight, either... something I have a hard time with.

Now, for the shop, I occasionally wear those, but usually a cheap pair of headphone like ear protectors. Got them at Harbor Freight. Actually attenuate pretty well, and are good for most things around the shop. Though like Chris, I might double things up if it's getting really noisy... long box trim cuts with the router, major roundovering work, etc...

I use Etymotic ER 20 plugs at loud amplified concerts. I've tried quite a few, and these have very good tonal balance. Nice wideband attenuation but not as much loss of the high end. I suspect if you want something better, you might have to go to custom fit style. (expensive)

I use 35dB foam plugs when mowing the lawn, operating the router, etc.

Joe: interested in the brand you use, I'm wondering if I tried those.

[Spanky Ham]

Wow, I thought I replied back to this thread.

I didn't even consider two different types of plugs. I don't go to loud concerts much anymore, but will look into these Etymotics.

I purchased a sampler pack of ear plugs from Ear Plug Superstore. I have done some inexact testing with these plugs. My test was to use my Grado headphones and test signals. I put different plugs into each ear and played the tones and increased the volume till I could hear it. In this test, the E-A-R Earsoft FX plugs seem to be slightly the best. The Taper Fit II plugs and similar design plugs were more comfortable. Any ideas on a better testing methodology? The sampler pack was only $15 for two sets of 29 pairs of plugs. For the price, it is a no-brainer to find the plugs you like.