Most comfortable ear plugs?

[EricV]

There is wind noise and conductive noise. Conductive noise is when you hear what's hitting the helmet's shell loudly. If you tap on the shell and it sounds very loud, you may be suffering from a conductive noise issue. Usually this is from the interior of the helmet contacting your hearing protection, ear plug/monitor.

I'm sorry, but I'm not buying your claim of foam ear plugs being challenging to insert. Many people don't insert earplugs correctly. W/o watching you do it, we have no idea where the issue is. What shape is your head and what helmet are you wearing?

You might find a contoured earplug more comfortable. Howard Leight Laser Lite plugs work for many people that have issues with more barrel shaped earplugs.

Find a safety supply store in your area or industrial supply store. They typically carry many different types of foam and silicone earplugs. Sold by the pair for cheap. buy several different kinds and try them until you find one that's easy for you to insert and works/fits well. Then buy a case of those and you're set for a good while.

 

[Ladlesport]

I use custom molded ear plugs with speakers built in, plugs right in to the Cardo or Sena or other with a standard headphone jack. -26dB attenuation.
@EricV is right about the conductive noise and off the shelf plug fitment in your ears. If you don't do it right they just won't work well and seem like they don't fit.

 

[JoeJ]

Can anyone recommend a comfy and effective set of earplugs?
I find the foam ones are the most comfortable for long rides, but I can never get them quite right and they take a while to put in.
I spent about 150 quid a while back for some custom moulded ones and they hurt me no end...complete waste of money

I use the Howard Leight disposables that I buy from Amazon in 100 pair packs. They’ve worked very well for me and usually reuse them for a couple of rides. If I have a hard time getting them in just right, I put them in the fridge for a couple of minutes and they stiffen up a bit to be able to position them better.

 

[robp]

I've tried the silicone custom-molded plugs, the simple foam plugs, earpeace and similar, but the neck foam on my Shoei RF1400 is so tight it seems to dislodge whatever plugs are in my ear when I put the helmet on. But on the positive note the RF1400 seems to block the annoying noise I got using my other helmets.

 

[cheds89]

There is wind noise and conductive noise. Conductive noise is when you hear what's hitting the helmet's shell loudly. If you tap on the shell and it sounds very loud, you may be suffering from a conductive noise issue. Usually this is from the interior of the helmet contacting your hearing protection, ear plug/monitor.

I'm sorry, but I'm not buying your claim of foam ear plugs being challenging to insert. Many people don't insert earplugs correctly. W/o watching you do it, we have no idea where the issue is. What shape is your head and what helmet are you wearing?

You might find a contoured earplug more comfortable. Howard Leight Laser Lite plugs work for many people that have issues with more barrel shaped earplugs.

Find a safety supply store in your area or industrial supply store. They typically carry many different types of foam and silicone earplugs. Sold by the pair for cheap. buy several different kinds and try them until you find one that's easy for you to insert and works/fits well. Then buy a case of those and you're set for a good while.

I just find with the foam earplugs, when they're warm, they don't expand like they're supposed to and I'm always finding they don't plug my ears properly every time so I find them a bit of a faff

 

[Spider]

A couple of ideas. For not to much scratch, you can order some variety packs from here to see which type work best for you: https://www.earplugstore.com/unfoamtrialp.html

I've found that properly made custom ear plugs are painless all day. Their big advantage is that I can hear better with my filtered custom plugs than I do with foam plugs. Good ones aren't cheap though. I got mine from here, they are terrific, very flexible and comfortable. https://www.listeningstack.com/collections/earplugs

Good luck!

 

[twinrider]

Can anyone recommend a comfy and effective set of earplugs?
I find the foam ones are the most comfortable for long rides, but I can never get them quite right and they take a while to put in.
I spent about 150 quid a while back for some custom moulded ones and they hurt me no end...complete waste of money

I use Howard Leight Max Lite. The key to inserting them easily: Roll an earplug up and lick the end being inserted. Reach over your head with your other hand and pull the top of your ear up. Then insert the plug. Quick and easy. These never bother me even riding all day.

 

[Mad_Matt]

The reachover is the most critical part if you are having issues getting the earplugs in DEEP.

 

[EricV]

I just find with the foam earplugs, when they're warm, they don't expand like they're supposed to and I'm always finding they don't plug my ears properly every time so I find them a bit of a faff

Don't leave them sitting in the sun on in hot areas of the bike. Keep them in out outer pocket, not one close to the skin. After a few wearings, this gets worse, so change to a fresh pair.

I personally find the more industrial versions are less prone to this issue. My personal favorite is the 3M 1100. I have a medium size ear canal. My wife has smaller size ear canals and prefers the Howard Leight Lazer Lites, which work fine for me except in 38C+ temps where I notice them being softer and sometimes fussy to insert correctly.

 

[Boris]

MY EAR PLUGS WORK FINE.

 

[Cycledude]

Chainsaw, lawnmower, couple of my tractors I usually wear ear muffs, I simply prefer to avoid loud noise.
Motorcycle riding I rarely use ear plugs but once in a while on a real windy day I do wear ear plugs and they do seem to help a little.

 

[RCinNC]

I had pretty good luck with these in the past:

They're made from this stuff:

I made them with a place to insert a set of earphones. Eventually the earphones broke, and I couldn't find the exact same ones any more. Since the sockets in the earplugs were matched exactly to the earphones, I had to to retire the earplugs and never got around to making another set.

I liked this style precisely because I didn't have to screw them deeply into my ears. They're molded to fit your specific ear canal, and if you make them correctly, you just pop them into place and they stay there. And since they not only fill the ear canal itself but also the area outside the ear canal, they block out a lot of sound.

I could wear them all day without a problem. My partner never did get to where she liked them, so it's definitely a personal preference thing.

One downside is that, as you get older, your ear shape changes. I kept these plugs, even though I don't use them currently, and when I tried them on before I posted this, I found that my ear shape had changed enough that the custom fit was no longer correct. It's probably been a couple years since I used this style. One more downside to getting old.

 

[holligl]

The reachover is the most critical part if you are having issues getting the earplugs in DEEP.

Too deep will cause me pain. Got to get em just right. These work best for me. I do lick em but haven't done the reach over/pull up. I like that my Hornet X2 has built in storage.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[Longdog Cymru]

Can anyone recommend a comfy and effective set of earplugs?
I find the foam ones are the most comfortable for long rides, but I can never get them quite right and they take a while to put in.
I spent about 150 quid a while back for some custom moulded ones and they hurt me no end...complete waste of money

Last year, I bought some custom made ear plugs from Ultimate Ear, (https://ultimateear.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2PSvBhDjARIsAKc2cgPOVVukipeB0M40t3HtNT3oJ-or4w8BsrW6VMz4LZVaA1wve8cWItMaAgPZEALw_wcB), and although they weren’t cheap, they are worth their weight in gold! Quite simply, they are the best, the most comfortable and the most effective ear plugs I have ever had and I liked them so much that I bought a second set with built in BlueTooth speakers so that I can hear my SatNav.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I have a pair of "custom made" ear plugs. My doc gave them to me with a free hearing test. He put a bunch of goo in each ear and let it harden. I don't use them when I ride, but I do when I go to the gun range. It's a weird feeling but not uncomfortable like Stefan's.

Last year, I bought some custom made ear plugs from Ultimate Ear, (https://ultimateear.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2PSvBhDjARIsAKc2cgPOVVukipeB0M40t3HtNT3oJ-or4w8BsrW6VMz4LZVaA1wve8cWItMaAgPZEALw_wcB), and although they weren’t cheap, they are worth their weight in gold! Quite simply, they are the best, the most comfortable and the most effective ear plugs I have ever had and I liked them so much that I bought a second set with built in BlueTooth speakers so that I can hear my SatNav.

Same here. We went to the motorcycle show (back when they had 'em), and there was a medium sized booth where show attendees were getting goo squeezed into their ears via a syringe. Sit for 10 minutes, they pull out the semi-hardened plug. Come back in one hour. They use a dremmel sander to make some adjustments, pay your money, and you have ear plugs.

That was probably 15 years ago, and I've worn them on most every ride ever since. I also wear them to concerts. Up to 15 hours a day, day after day, even on the Alaska ride, daily for more than 3 weeks. I never think about my ear plugs. Well, until I take off my helmet and they always come out. I'm good at catching them, but every once in a while one escapes and bounces somewhere and I have to search for it.

This year, I decided to try the orange foam plugs on the Gold Wing. That bouncing away issue seemed too annoying if it happens in the parking garage at work. I thought the GW, and the new Shoei helmet might be a quiet enough combination to use foam rather than my custom plugs. I don't care if a $.01 plug gets lost when I pull off the helmet.
Foam Plug Observation #1: Damn, this Gold Wing is LOUD.
Foam Plug Observation #2: My Wing's Android Auto is at perfectly sufficient volume at the 50% setting. With my custom plugs, volume set to 100%, I cannot listen to podcast without missing half of what is said. Stop, put in the orange plugs, turn down the volume, all is good again.

 

[Skytower]

I am a fan of the Flents Foamies. They are quiet, comfortable, and the flange keeps me from putting them in too deep. They last about one weekend before becoming to waxy.

IIRC, the smaller package at Walmart had a small carrying box that would hold one pair. It kept them from getting nasty, and handy for keeping a backup pair ready(once you bought a couple packs).

Flents Foam Ear Plugs, 50 Pair... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZCHYH2?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I've used many different brands and varieties. I find the flange style uncomfortable, and loud. The harder E.A.R. cylinder style is quiet, but abrasive. Some of the other mfg plugs are comfortable, but not quite as quiet.
As with all things, ears come in different shapes and sizes, ymmv/YMMV

 

[Sierra1]

My issue with foam plugs is that my ear canals are, ahem, rather large and they tend to fall out. One ear kinda holds one, and the other ear lets them fall out. When the doc made my goo plugs, he had to mix up additional goo to fill the canal.

 

[SkunkWorks]

When I took my Son Logan to the last NHRA Top-Fuel event at Bandimere this past summer, we wore the foam squishy ones inserted......................with shooting ear-muffs over the top of those.............It was enough..................Barely.

 

[fivebadgers@gmail.com]

These are my favorite. Howard Leight by Honeywell Maximum Lite Low Pressure Disposable Foam Earplugs, 200-Pairs (LPF-1), Green

 

[Chav]

I cut foam ones down. I still get irritation after a few big mile days but it’s not horrible. It’s worth noting that I do wear earplugs nearly everyday at work also so maybe my ears are used to it