Ear Plugs - home
Corded Ear Plugs
Custom Ear Plugs
Disposable Ear Plugs
Ear Plugs For Flying
Ear Plugs For Sleeping
Ear Plugs For Snoring
Inserting Flanged Ear Plugs
Inserting Foam Ear Plugs
Inserting Silicon Ear Plugs
Foam Ear Plugs
Molded Ear Plugs
Motorcycle Ear Plugs
Musicians Ear Plugs
Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Shooting Ear Plugs
Silicone Ear Plugs
Swimmer Ear Plugs

Ear Plugs

A comprehensive guide to the many different types of ear plugs available.

An ear plug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the ears from excessively noisy machinery or environments, or to keep water or foreign bodies out of the ear canal. They are not in fact as is generally believed a modern invention, but have actually been in use for many hundreds of years. People have always needed to protect their ears from dust or water, and learned how to make home-made plugs from easily obtainable materials such as clay or wax. These days of course, a large selection of modern materials and ear plug designs are available, and they are adapted to protect hearing in different environmental conditions. Plugs are commercially available for specific activities such as swimming, air travel, noisy environments, sleeping, snoring, rock concerts, shooting, hunting and motorcycling.

A system of Noise Reduction Rating (also known as NRR) has been developed to indicate to users the noise reduction capabilities of any commercially available ear plug. This Noise Reduction Rating rating clearly tells the user the noise reduction in decibels that can be expected, and is of course very important information when one is trying to decide on the correct ear plug for any given activity. When correctly inserted, a standard ear plug can produce an impressive 25 to 35 dB reduction in noise levels.

There are three main types of plugs available for hearing protection. The first is a foam ear plug and these are usually made of memory foam. Foam plugs are compressed and put into the ear canal where they slowly expand to plug it. The second type and the most commonly used are silicone ear plugs, these are rolled into a ball and then molded to fit tightly over the external portion of the ear canal, providing a snug custom fit. The third type is the flanged ear plug, mostly used by musicians. These types of plugs have one or more flexible flanges that will mold to the shape of your ear canal and provide multiple seals against noise.

If off the shelf plugs aren't working for you, then you might think about going custom. When constructed correctly, custom ear plugs will duplicate every contour of the ear, fitting perfectly. This allows plugs to be worn for extended periods without discomfort, irritation or worry of slipping or falling out.

Do you enjoy watersports? Well you should seriously think about using ear plugs for several reasons, to prevent surfers ear, stop swimmers ear, protection from eardrum rupture and also helps equalize the the air pressure in the ear while swimming under water. Although you can use off the shelf plugs, serious swimmers usually use custom fitted wax or silicon swimmer ear plugs. Professionally molded to fit the swimmers ear, they guarantee an air tight fit.

Please Note: A standard ear plug should NOT be used by divers as the plugs will not allow the air pressure to change at depth and can cause the eardrum to burst. Vented plugs are the only type of plug that can be used safely by divers.

Musicians who are exposed to loud music often wear musicians ear plugs to prevent permanent damage to their hearing while rehearsing and performing. These plugs are designed to attenuate sounds evenly across the audio band thus decreasing the volume yet not altering the user's perception of bass and treble levels. These types of plugs are also commonly used by the general public to enable a person to enjoy a concert but at a lower and safe decibel level.

Corded ear plugs are simply a pair of plugs attached together with a cord made of vinyl or plastic. Corded ear plugs simply hang around the neck, allowing users to quickly remove and replace them as needed. Another benefit is that they are more difficult to lose if one plug happens to fall out! These plugs are often used in loud factories or anywhere with industrial machinery where an employee might need to move from noisy areas to quiet areas. They are also very popular with shooters on firing ranges.

Foam ear plugs are probably the most popular type of ear plug. They adhere to the shape of the ear canal, are soft and comfortable, and come in a large choice of colors, shape and sizes. They are also very effective in blocking high levels of noise.

Do you travel by air? Well did you know that there are very effective ear plugs for flying available to help protect from the pain caused by cabin pressure changes during flight take off and landings. These plugs cleverly contain a porous ceramic insert which aids equalization of air pressure between the middle and outer ear.

Ear plugs for sleeping are designed to be very comfortable while blocking sounds, that may be preventing or disrupting sleep. There are also ear plugs for blocking the frequencies of a partner's snoring, but still enabling the wearer to hear other sounds such as an alarm clock.

Disposable ear plugs are the most commonly used plug. They are cheap but effective are usually just worn once, or a few times at most, and then disposed off. They are normally made of foam and are available in a variety of shapes, colors and NRR ratings.

If you are a regular ear plug user that also use them over long periods of time, you may have found that cheap, disposable plugs can become uncomfortable and irritate your inner ear. Well, you may want to try molded ear plugs. Making your own plugs is not only simple, but is also relatively inexpensive and certainly rewarding.

Do you enjoy target shooting or hunting? Did you know that a single gunshot, close to an unprotected persons ear, can lead to immediate and permanent hearing loss or a lifetime suffering from tinnitus. Shooting ear plugs should be worn at all times.

Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the partial or complete loss of hearing that is the result of exposure to a one off loud sound, or is developed over a period of time with regular exposure to high intensity noise. Any sustained noise over 80 dB can lead to serious hearing loss and any noise over 140 dB can cause instant damage, even complete loss of hearing. The only way to reduce the risk of noise induced hearing loss is to protect the ear from exposure to loud sound. Wearing a high quality ear plug is the absolute best way to protect your hearing and reduce the risk of hearing loss.

Ear plugs are generally safe, but some simple precautions should be taken by users. An ear plug pushed too far into the ear canal can push ear wax into the ear canal, and possibly against the ear drum. Therefore they should not be pushed further into the ear canal than necessary. Pushing an ear plug into the external ear canal may also cause the air pressure to rise and cause pain. Also when pulled out, the negative pressure can pull on the eardrum. Therefore, an ear plug should be pulled out slowly, and gently.