For ages I have used the classic yellow Aearo foam ear plugs...



...but have been thinking about getting a pair of custom molded passive ear plugs.

In your experience:

Do the custom ones provide better hearing protection than the Aearo's or other basic foam plugs?

Which brands have you found to work the best and last the longest?

No. They are several dB worse.

They do not provide quite as high a level of protection as foam plugs, but I have been wearing a molded set for 19 years, and I love them. The comfort level is unreal. I absolutely forget I'm wearing them. It's my second set.

Stan,

Are they moulded “plugs” or ones with electronic inserts?

Keep Well

Parabola

IMHO custom molded earplugs are not worth the money. My wife & I have used the disposable foam plugs for years, both the yellow type & currently the Howard Leight pink version w a 30 DB rating.

Several years ago my wife wanted to try a set of custom molded ear plugs & I tried to talk her out of them but she insisted.

$$ later she wore the custom molded plugs (INSTAMOLD) about 2 rounds of sporting clays & went back to the disposable foam because of better noise reduction w/ the disposable foam.

I think the problem w/ the the custom molded plugs is that the material used is too dense & doesn't attenuate the noise as well as the less dense disposable type.

I use a combination of plugs and ear muffs. Hearing loss is cumulative and too gradual to notice. I lost too much in my youth but have not lost much in the last 25 years. My current ear muffs are electronic and do shutdown loud noises well. What gets past them is further reduced by the plugs. My kids also use a combo. Hearing is too important to take for granted just like sight.

As stated above, the NRR of the foam plugs is higher than the custom molded plugs.

I have 2 sets of custom molded plugs - one set made from relatively hard plastic (EAR) and the other from a softer/pliable silicone. The silicone plugs are very comfortable as Stan stated. When on the clays course, I typically wear a foam plug in my left ear (RH shooter) and a molded silicone in the other. The advantage of doing so is that I can easily crack open the silicone plug's seal in order to hear a conversation and then push it right back into place.

In an effort to better deal with the impulse noise from a shotgun blast, I selected the lead shot-filled silicone models from Northwest Hearing Center. Had my impressions made locally and then sent them to Northwest (very fine folks to deal with).

I found molded plugs to work too good . I could not hear others shooters at all. I now use custom molded electronic protection. Expensive but worth it. I have good protection and can still be part of the conversation and hear Pull. An added benefit of electronics is being able to hear the trap.

I have tried all kinds of plugs the only time I use the electronic type is in a stand in the woods. I prefer the foam plugs with a plastic string between them. I order them by the box and keep my shooting bag well stocked

I use the silicone molded plugs that you have to "screw" into your ears. They are molded in place. Granny made me my first set at a big NSCA tournament in '03. I can hear conversations just fine with them in, so I never felt the need for electronic ones.

Cabela's used to sell a kit with which you can make your own, with someone's help.

I suffered most of my hearing loss very young, due to a boil in one inner ear, then working in a fighter jet squadron in the Navy, and lastly from driving tractors without a cab for so many years. I do not believe I have suffered much hearing loss in the last 19 years since getting custom molded ear protection.

The best plug is the one you will actually use. Foam are fine for protection, especially with muffs over them if shooting in an indoor range or under a cover with rifles, For hunting, I always wear electronic molded plugs. Need to hear the game and the occasional rattlesnake. I have a set of passive molded plugs, but I have not worn them since I got electronic plugs.

Could someone please share the name of an outfit that makes custom molded ear plugs with electronic muzzle blast protection?
I really like my custom molded silicone ones but would like to hear more excluding muzzle blast.
Can’t wear ear muffs. They clunk on my gunstock.

My old electronic custom plugs are from Starkey (Starkey Magnum Ear). Starkey spun off at least part of their hearing protection business to a new company called SoundGear. I have ordered a new pair of SoundGears but I have not used them yet. On paper, there are lots of improvements, including the ability to stream phone calls and other audio from your cell phone without compromising the hearing protection. Some health insurance plans will provide partial coverage because these are considered (by some plans) as hearing aids if you already have a significant hearing deficit.

https://soundgear.com/

www.espamerica.com is one of several outfits that provide custom electronic plugs.

Thanks so much. Staying with foam and have a pack each of the 30 db and the 33 db Leight foam plugs on order.

I bought a set of the molded plugs back in 2014 when the dealer was present at a GSSF shoot at St. Augustine, FL. Friends that I shot indoor IDPA shoots swore by them for pistol shooting because the blast is much closer than with a shotgun. The vendor there was selling them for $65 and that was much less than what my friends had said they paid for theirs.
I was able to get the custom plugs made before I shot my entries in the shoot and was very happy with them(but not my shooting). I don't believe it would be worth the money to buy them for shotgun shooting although I use them often because my sonic plugs have a tendency to fall out

If something happened to the pair I have now, and I had to pay $65 for another set, I'd do so gladly ................ for shotgunning. JMOYMMV.

What ya say ?

While the foam type are very effective, but after an hour or so my ears ache from the constant pressure. I use the molded type. They work well.

Using muffs over plugs is a bad idea if you are in the company of others. I do a lot of shooting, high power and var. shotgun, and several times I have witnessed someone with plugs and muffs that could not hear range commands or cautions, and thereby created dangerous situations on the firing line.

Try plugs and muffs with amplified listening and activated sound canceling for loud noises.

Or possibly percussive ear plugs, either electronic or mechanical.

The solution to that is electronic muffs.

Me 2. Too distracting.

From the FWIW department. Decided to do a little unscientific experiment while at the range this morning. Shot 5 rounds each (all out of the same gun using the same low pressure 16ga hand loads) wearing the 30 db low pressure Leight’s, the 33db Super Leigth’s and the 29 db Aearo Classic’s. For whatever the reasons the report was sharper (louder?) with both of the Leights so shot the rest of the morning with the Classics. My assumption is that the Classics just fit me better. May try the Super Leights again as I wouldn’t mind the added db reduction.

Properly made molded plugs block out almost everything. Improperly made molded plugs let some sound past the seal. I prefer the properly made molded plugs to any alternative. Foam plugs are junk as are the little rubber plugs. Hearing range commands is the problem of the range officer. "Speak up, I can't hear you". I am not a fan of electronic plugs. I use muffs over plugs on the rifle range, but plugs only on the shotgun range.

Ditto.
JR