Earplugs - how many dB?

[Dale]

Hopefully there are some hearing / ear specalists lurking round here .....

I have been experimenting with different kinds of earplugs trying to find something comfy that stays in for more than 10min - none of the cheapies seem to work for me. Next step is to have a set of custom plugs moulded for my ears, so .... off I go to the earplug man and first thing he asks is "how many dB reduction do you want?" I've got no clue :-(

Too little and they will be useless, too much reduction and you'll never hear anything from the autocom, let alone the traffic around you .... does anyone have a magic number for me? What range is the "comfy noise level" and how do I measure the amount of noise in the helmet at the moment?

Dale

 

[(RIP) Bobble]

I use the "Ultimate ear" custom ones, I've had them over 18 months now, they reckon they hold back 30db. I can wear them all day without problems, and use the Autocom, GPS etc. I highly recommend them,

 

[Bigtwin]

Next step is to have a set of custom plugs moulded for my ears, so .... off I go to the earplug man and first thing he asks is "how many dB reduction do you want?" I've got no clue :-(

Make yer own - dead easy and under £30 - been using mine for a year now (made a spare pair too). Enough scilicone for about 200 pairs for £17, and Koss The Plug buds for £10 off ebay new - job done.

 

[shuck raider]

I use the "Ultimate ear" custom ones, I've had them over 18 months now, they reckon they hold back 30db. I can wear them all day without problems, and use the Autocom, GPS etc. I highly recommend them,

Wot he said. First pair of earplugs I've owned which are useable all day, every day. They seem to cut out just the right amount of racket but I can still appreciate the baritone voice of me Remus

 

[wedgie]

Make yer own - dead easy and under £30 - been using mine for a year now (made a spare pair too). Enough scilicone for about 200 pairs for £17, and Koss The Plug buds for £10 off ebay new - job done.

how? where did you get the info

 

[HR0]

ride mag recomended

http://www.safetysupplies.co.uk/trolleyed/4/


http://www.foc-u.co.uk/reviews/ride/bestbuy.htm
Ear Plugs Jul-01 Howard Leight Max-Lite SNR34 7.00 (25) 01942 604616 Recommended 25/28
Ear Plugs Jul-01 3M 1100 SNR31 8.00 (25) 01584 781762 Recommended 24/28
Ear Plugs Jul-01 Howard Leight Multimax SNR35 7.25 (25) 01584 781762 Recommended 23/28
Ear Plugs Jul-01 Howard Leight Max-Lite SNR34 7.00 (25) 01942 604616 Best Buy 25/28

 

[Beef]

An alternative to plain earplugs may be noise isolating earphones.

Here is a link to the earphones. I bought the E2c from Amazon.co.uk. I connect them to my phone under my helmet and have the benefit of quiet and audio. The Intaride guys are happy to link these (or other) headphones into their comms system so that you don't need earplugs and really loud audio.

http://www.shurestore.com/earphones/eseries_e2c.html#overview

Beef

 

[walti]

Make yer own - dead easy and under £30 - been using mine for a year now (made a spare pair too). Enough scilicone for about 200 pairs for £17, and Koss The Plug buds for £10 off ebay new - job done.

For some reason I've now got an image in my mind of hundreds of BMW owners with one of those Silicon sealant guns stuck in their ear...

Pardon?

 

[Bigtwin]

how? where did you get the info

Get the silicone from a chiropodists supplier or similar on the web. Clean yer ears, push a ball of it about the size of a big marble in (not too hard) - press the plug in (use a bit of match stick to plug the sound hole) and squash the top out like flat mushroom. When set - 5 mins max - take the plug out - drill hole down middle, superglue plug back in - done. Doesn't need to go far down the aural canal - 1/4 - 1/2 inch is plenty.

It's one of those things that you have a "dry" run at, mebbe 2 - and it's cracked - veru very simple and very very effective. They are as soundproof as any disposables I have used, and great sound.

Do a search here - there are a few people who have made them.

 

[sparkplug]

As an earplug maker myself I agree with the 30db figure. The idea being to protect your hearing from any damage. The sort of noise levels you expose yourself to on a bike don't require any more than 30db to be blocked out to keep you safe.

A word of caution though... get proper attenuation data. You need the 30db to be reasonably constant across the range. An SNR rating is an average of these figures. It's no good it cutting out a huge amount in the high frequencies (which is very easy to do) and nothing lower down...

and for the record I'm a GreenLeopard agent.

 

[(RIP) Perryhill]

and first thing he asks is "how many dB reduction do you want?" I've got no clue :-(Dale

The answer is it depends what you intend using them for. Riding a bike with your head in a noisy helmet, you want to drop 25-30db across the full spectrum. Typically the plugs cut down more at the top ie whistles from gaps than lower frequencies such as exhausts.

However, if you want wear them at a gig you will find the music sounds very flat and so musicians actually have different filters in their plugs to drop the sound level in a carefully controlled way across the full range, you will see these listed as ER15, ER25 etc where the numbers relate to the dB reduction, you can also get ones with speakers built in, but that introduces another cable for the autocom.

I've used Ultimate plugs for some years and they don't interfere with the sound quality from my Autocom but pillions need to wear plugs as well because you do tend to turn the volume up!

I also use Classic yellow ones - they don't last long but are really cheap.

No matter whichI use I can still hear the difference car tyres during my commute up the M3 so you needn't worry about not being able to hear your surroundings

 

[GrinningGSer]

They are as soundproof as any disposables I have used, and great sound.

Well Bigtwin, I have tried using silicone and achieved, what seems to be a perfect fit, but have been unable to get the same results as you. Maybe my silicone is too dense to absorb sound

Laserlites do it for me, roll/squash them, push them in, then wait as they expand... then... silent bliss

 

[Bigtwin]

Well Bigtwin, I have tried using silicone and achieved, what seems to be a perfect fit, but have been unable to get the same results as you. Maybe my silicone is too dense to absorb sound

Laserlites do it for me, roll/squash them, push them in, then wait as they expand... then... silent bliss

Have you tried piddling around with the mix - more hardener, harder end product and vice versa?

Are you putting sound into them - or just using them as plugs?

 

[Phil Thomas]

Has anybody any idea where to obtain the two part Silicone mix? I've googled around, but so far have drawn a blank!

Regards to all,

Phil Thomas

 

[dlevett]

Has anyone got any update on DIY ear plugs with 'in ear' headphones?

I've got some Otoform (or similar stuff) and am about to try to make some.

The procedure seems quite simple for the ones without earphones in, what I'm a little unclear is how to do it with earphones.

Do I make the 'plug' in my ear and then push the earphone in to it and smooth the silicone around the earphone to hold it in place? Do I then need to 'cut away' the silicone at the ear side to give an open passage for the sound from the earphone?

or do I put the earphone in my ear and then form the silicone around it?

Any update on experiences would be much appreciated.

 

[Blackal]

For some reason I've now got an image in my mind of hundreds of BMW owners with one of those Silicon sealant guns stuck in their ear...

Pardon?

That's exactly what I used

I stuck the nozzle in my left ear, and kept squeezing the trigger until the silicon started to come out of my right ear

I reckon it attenuates the sound by about 100dB

Al