Custom Hearing Protection Recommendation Needed

LGarland619 · September 22, 2020, 12:34 AM

Hello, I have a hearing condition called hyperacusis and I've been looking for the best earplugs I can get. I avoid going out this time because I am a bit of a paranoid when it comes to getting COVD19. So... I just want to know if anyone here tried buying from this website? They are called Big Ear and they offer home service for molding your ears for custom hearing protection and then they'll mail the product within a few weeks. They also do have instructions for DIY molding where they'll send a molding kit then you'll mold your ears and send back the kit with the molds. Some of their products are really intriguing and of course, I'd love to know if anyone here tried their products yet. Any other recommendations?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0m9D-QutUQ

reinert · September 22, 2020, 07:41 AM

Welcome to TFL. Lots of very good info shared here, from lots of very good sources.

"Anyone other recommendations?"

Since I haven't tried any ear protection from "bigearinc," I'm glad to share what I use when I do my few B.P.C.R. competitive gong shoots during a "normal" summer (this past one has been anything but normal, eh? Many shoots were cancelled this year).

I use the radians DIY cast plugs (very easy to make) along with the Howard Leight Impact Sport ear muffs. I put in the radians, put on, and turn on, the Howard Leight muffs, and I'm protected quite well from all the big boomers on the line, and can still hear my spotter's report on my shot. All good that way. The radian kits are very inexpensive if you shop around (10-15 bucks last I bought some) and I think I paid around 40 bucks for my H.L's. a few years ago.

Quite the website for the bigearinc plugs. Didn't see what they cost, but didn't spend much time there, either.

BTW, if I'm just out at my local range shooting, and since I'm retired and can go there most anytime I like, many times I'm there by myself (a wonderful thing). If that's the case, I just use the tried and true foam plugs. Putting them on correctly is the key, and they actually provide better protection than just about any single application. Just put them on correctly.

FITASC · September 22, 2020, 07:59 AM

I have had molded ear plugs before, done by a person who does them for a living. They did not work as well as the soft foam ones you roll up and insert all the way into your ear canal.
That said, I wear muffs for shotgun only shooting and those foam plugs and the muffs for metallic.

Custom electronic ear plugs like ESPs can get very expensive

ghbucky · September 22, 2020, 08:27 AM

Quote:

I use the radians DIY cast plugs (very easy to make) along with the Howard Leight Impact Sport ear muffs. I put in the radians, put on, and turn on, the Howard Leight muffs, and I'm protected quite well from all the big boomers on the line, and can still hear my spotter's report on my shot. All good that way. The radian kits are very inexpensive if you shop around (10-15 bucks last I bought some) and I think I paid around 40 bucks for my H.L's. a few years ago.

Exactly the set up I use.

Erno86 · September 22, 2020, 02:24 PM

If you don't double up with ear plugs and muffs, and just don the ear plugs for the big boomers --- The cartilage in a human's ear flap, transmits sound and vibration directly to the ear drum; which can cause nerve damage to the drum.

TXAZ · September 22, 2020, 10:36 PM

+1 for plugs *and* muffs.

pwc · September 23, 2020, 12:45 AM

If you are a veteran, and use hearing aides, you might check with your audiologist. Next visit, ask for them to take a mold of your ears, just like they did the first time for your aides. I have a set and they work great. All I need for rimfire; plugs and muff for hi-pwr.

Sound os also conducted thru bone. Hard cheek weld from stock to jaw bone to condile to mastoid. Piece of moleskin on the stock helps, I think, it does help get cheek weld faster and is warmer than bare stock when it's cold

September 22, 2020, 12:34 AM	#1
LGarland619 Junior Member Join Date: September 21, 2020 Posts: 2	Custom Hearing Protection Recommendation Needed Hello, I have a hearing condition called hyperacusis and I've been looking for the best earplugs I can get. I avoid going out this time because I am a bit of a paranoid when it comes to getting COVD19. So... I just want to know if anyone here tried buying from this website? They are called Big Ear and they offer home service for molding your ears for custom hearing protection and then they'll mail the product within a few weeks. They also do have instructions for DIY molding where they'll send a molding kit then you'll mold your ears and send back the kit with the molds. Some of their products are really intriguing and of course, I'd love to know if anyone here tried their products yet. Any other recommendations? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0m9D-QutUQ

September 22, 2020, 07:59 AM	#3
FITASC Senior Member Join Date: December 6, 2014 Posts: 6,446	I have had molded ear plugs before, done by a person who does them for a living. They did not work as well as the soft foam ones you roll up and insert all the way into your ear canal. That said, I wear muffs for shotgun only shooting and those foam plugs and the muffs for metallic. Custom electronic ear plugs like ESPs can get very expensive __________________ "I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a 'temporary license to exist'—in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government—it doesn't own you."- Frank Zappa

September 22, 2020, 02:24 PM	#5
Erno86 Senior Member Join Date: September 22, 2012 Location: Marriottsville, Maryland Posts: 1,739	If you don't double up with ear plugs and muffs, and just don the ear plugs for the big boomers --- The cartilage in a human's ear flap, transmits sound and vibration directly to the ear drum; which can cause nerve damage to the drum. __________________ That rifle hanging on the wall of the working class flat or labourer's cottage is the symbol of democracy. It is our job to see that it stays there." --- George Orwell

September 22, 2020, 10:36 PM	#6
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	+1 for plugs and muffs. __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

September 23, 2020, 12:45 AM	#7
pwc Senior Member Join Date: March 21, 2018 Location: AZ Posts: 236	If you are a veteran, and use hearing aides, you might check with your audiologist. Next visit, ask for them to take a mold of your ears, just like they did the first time for your aides. I have a set and they work great. All I need for rimfire; plugs and muff for hi-pwr. Sound os also conducted thru bone. Hard cheek weld from stock to jaw bone to condile to mastoid. Piece of moleskin on the stock helps, I think, it does help get cheek weld faster and is warmer than bare stock when it's cold Last edited by pwc; September 23, 2020 at 12:55 AM.

September 22, 2020, 07:41 AM	#2
reinert Senior Member Join Date: September 28, 2008 Posts: 646	Welcome to TFL. Lots of very good info shared here, from lots of very good sources. "Anyone other recommendations?" Since I haven't tried any ear protection from "bigearinc," I'm glad to share what I use when I do my few B.P.C.R. competitive gong shoots during a "normal" summer (this past one has been anything but normal, eh? Many shoots were cancelled this year). I use the radians DIY cast plugs (very easy to make) along with the Howard Leight Impact Sport ear muffs. I put in the radians, put on, and turn on, the Howard Leight muffs, and I'm protected quite well from all the big boomers on the line, and can still hear my spotter's report on my shot. All good that way. The radian kits are very inexpensive if you shop around (10-15 bucks last I bought some) and I think I paid around 40 bucks for my H.L's. a few years ago. Quite the website for the bigearinc plugs. Didn't see what they cost, but didn't spend much time there, either. BTW, if I'm just out at my local range shooting, and since I'm retired and can go there most anytime I like, many times I'm there by myself (a wonderful thing). If that's the case, I just use the tried and true foam plugs. Putting them on correctly is the key, and they actually provide better protection than just about any single application. Just put them on correctly.