Custom Hearing Protection: Why You Need It

What do musicians, motorcyclists, and construction workers all have in common? They all have careers or hobbies that expose them to loud noises on a regular basis. Damage to your hearing doesn't simply occur due to extremely loud noises; sounds that you might think are acceptable may actually be damaging your hearing. Simply riding a motorcycle for less than an hour could result in permanent hearing loss. To avoid this, you may decide to purchase earplugs at a local store to protect your hearing. But if this is going to be repeated exposure, you may want to opt for custom protection. You might be wondering why you should do this instead of taking the easy route. The answers to some of the questions you may have are below.

Why not off-the-shelf options?

There's nothing wrong with standard earplugs or headphones in principle. They can be fine to start with. But since they aren't molded to your specific ear shape, they might not be blocking all of the dangerous sounds. Since custom hearing protection is molded to your ears and your ears only, they will provide the maximum protection from hazardous noises. As an additional benefit, because you'll be reusing them day after day instead of throwing them away, custom protection is more environmentally friendly.

Are they expensive? 

Getting the mold of your ear is typically only a few tens of dollars with the actual custom hearing protection pieces only being a few times that. But unlike disposable non-custom earplugs, these custom pieces are durable and should last indefinitely with proper care. Standard non-custom earplugs may only last for a day or two before falling apart or getting lost. But if you wear custom ones for more than a year, they should be more than paying for themselves in comparison.

Won't it take too long to get them? 

When you need protection now, it can be tempting to just get what you can and call the job done. But custom hearing protection doesn't actually take as long to receive as you might think. Depending on exactly what you need, you should be getting your pieces in less than a month. In some cases, it may only be a couple of weeks. Although this isn't the instant gratification of getting something off the shelf, the superior fit and hearing protection will more than make it worth your while to wait for your new hearing protection.


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