The Reason Behind Me Not Using Silicon-Type Earplugs

Okay, one day I thought my 3M earplugs are tiring and uncomfortable to wear on and off, and that's why I looked up and bought a silicon one, AKA musician's earplugs, that can be thrusted to your ears right up.

And it was a huge disappointment for me. It doesn't block out sounds like foam types would do. And you might know that these kind of types are 3 layered silicon thing, which means they are not fastened inside your ears and makes a slight dangling sound as you walk.

And the most important one is that it has a plastic rod that you can grap.. What happens if you mistakenly touch them either with your fingers or your fingernails? It makes a horrible, loud, solid vibrating sound inside your ears, one that can make a person quite taken aback. Same thing happens fairly all the time whenever you try to put them off.

In these regard, I think very highly of plain foam earplugs.

 

I use silicone a lot. If they are dangling, they are not seated properly. One of the three rings will fit your canal. When properly seated, they don't make a sound when you walk. You also won't fiddle with them much, if at all, when they are inserted correctly. When you take them out or put them in, there is a silicon collar at the base of the plastic rod for grasping. If you do touch the plastic rod, the sound it makes is a lot like chewing, swallowing and other sounds make when you have foam or silicone earplugs in. It seems loud, but it is not jarring to me; it's no worse than chewing with foam earplugs. It doesn't make me wince like the sounds I am avoiding would. I understand you prefer foam over silicone. That's fine and a personal choice. But there is a reason the higher end earplugs are nearly all silicone.

I have foam ones also. I use them when I need a greater reduction in sound and don't care about the quality of sound as much. Foam tends to muffle in a way that makes dialog difficult to understand and muddies music. It's kind of annoying that they need to be thrown away even if you had a short term need for them. They can't be cleaned like silicone. But they both have their uses.

 

Maybe I should have bought a bigger one to fit my ear canal.

I now see everything has ups and downs. I sincerely apologise if I put too much force on my opinion. And reading from your comment made me think of this silicon earplugs quite positively. They are way convenient and looks good, aren't they?

 

I prefer the silicone ones because I do not have to touch the part that is inserted in my ear. Sometimes I'm out with my kids at a park or their school and my hands are not clean nor germ free. Plus, I feel like I can insert musician plugs faster than rolling foam plugs, inserting them, then holding them in place until they shape correctly.

I will say that I was not impressed with the first musician plugs I bought. I stuck to foam for a while. Then I found a slightly different style (three versus two flanges) with better protection, and I was really pleasantly surprised by how they worked for me.

It's a lot of trial and error!

 

I hope my next silicon one will be better. I'll surely try more, thanks!

 

Quite a few members have custom made earplugs that they really like. Might be worth looking into!