Need some Ear Plug Advice!

[HYCLE]

I wear hearing aids 10 to 15 hours a day and when riding I use S-plug ear canal speakers. I wipe them down when I see crud on them and had no problems with ear infections. YMMV.

 

[majicmaker]

I'm kind of dismayed to read this thread, because I wear ear plugs pretty much 24x7!

Just bought a condo and the AC units are very noisy. So now my Hear'o's are in use a GREAT deal more often. One side has gotten irritated from rubbing (not opening ear canal enough), but other then that... never any kind of an infection. Even when just using them on the bike.

I've heard docs say you should never put anything in your ear that's smaller then your elbow , but I've used q-tips and clean Hear'o's for years now and nary an issue...

knock wood.

Azitlies,

I think my problem is that I've had sensitive ears my whole life. Even as a little kid, I'd do something as simple as jump in a pool for a swim and BANG!

Ear Infection from HELL. I am a Carbon Copy of my dad in every way. He's had that problem all his life too. I've enjoyed all the benefits of his DNA,

I guess I've have to deal with the Bad! I'm not complaining in the least. Just trying to make my life a little better in that catagory cause,

I AIN'T GONNA STOP RIDING MY FJR!! :yahoo:

 

[majicmaker]

What do the NASCAR guys use?

I see them attach, what looks like, a piece of black electrical tape to their ears, nothing inserted that I can tell.

Lmao! Let's get some NASCAR boys & girls to chime in! If it'll work, I'm ALL EARS!!

 

[majicmaker]

I don't think those soft things will have enough expansive force that it's gonna start spreading out in the canal and start shreading flesh of anything!

I'll just toss them after every use. That will definately stop bacteria being introduced.

Unfortunately, it doesn't completely stop the introduction because you are forcing whatever bacteria may be resident in your ear canal deeper into the canal by the introduction of the plug, clean or not.

Dsmark,

That's exactly what my Doctor said. He looks in my ear with his lighted thingy a he can see all of what's in the canal compressed and he said that ain't good!

That just gave me a little Buzz Kill. But, Good thing is, I have so much good info here that I have options now! I'll start with the Memory Foam Thing!

I'll keep you guys posted. Thank You All, For all this great Info! :clapping:

 

[digitalmoto]

I suffer from a similar problem, chronic ear infections. The infections get bad enough that my ENT specialist installed drainage tubes in both of my ear drums. As they drain both ways, I have to wear ear plugs just to take a shower. On the upside, I never have any problems when flying or crossing mountain passes.

My current on-bike solution is the cheap foam ear plugs from the hardware store. I buy them in boxes of 100. I usually have at least 6 new sets in my tank bag. Cheap. Easy. I toss them if there is even a hint of dirt. I used to use Sure in-ear monitors. I could listen to music and they cut out most of the road noise. They had to go when I bought a Sena comm system.

My old cleaning method for the Sures was alcohol wipes before usage. If everything was working "correctly" I could taste the alcohol in the back of my throat. I avoided most problems that way.

Also, I carry my ear drops with me on most trips. If I start to get "that feeling" deep in my ear canal, I put a couple drops on a Q-Tip and gently wipe down the inside of my ear canal. If the feeling continues, I start the oral meds and use the drops as directed. I've had this problem for so long, my ENT doc writes me scripts BEFORE I travel. The antibiotics kill my stamina, but it's better that a full blown ear infection when your 1000 miles from home on a motorcycle.

Whitehorse has a sampler kit: https://www.whitehors...er-set-16-pairs

Amazon has lots of options too.

 

[majicmaker]

I suffer from a similar problem, chronic ear infections. The infections get bad enough that my ENT specialist installed drainage tubes in both of my ear drums. As they drain both ways, I have to wear ear plugs just to take a shower. On the upside, I never have any problems when flying or crossing mountain passes.

My current on-bike solution is the cheap foam ear plugs from the hardware store. I buy them in boxes of 100. I usually have at least 6 new sets in my tank bag. Cheap. Easy. I toss them if there is even a hint of dirt. I used to use Sure in-ear monitors. I could listen to music and they cut out most of the road noise. They had to go when I bought a Sena comm system.

My old cleaning method for the Sures was alcohol wipes before usage. If everything was working "correctly" I could taste the alcohol in the back of my throat. I avoided most problems that way.

Also, I carry my ear drops with me on most trips. If I start to get "that feeling" deep in my ear canal, I put a couple drops on a Q-Tip and gently wipe down the inside of my ear canal. If the feeling continues, I start the oral meds and use the drops as directed. I've had this problem for so long, my ENT doc writes me scripts BEFORE I travel. The antibiotics kill my stamina, but it's better that a full blown ear infection when your 1000 miles from home on a motorcycle.

Whitehorse has a sampler kit: https://www.whitehors...er-set-16-pairs

Amazon has lots of options too.

I had NO IDEA I was going to run into so many Long time sufferers in this Brotherhood!

We must form a Cult and defeat this thing that doesn't want us to ride in comfort! :angry:

We'll call it: The Can You Hear Me Now? Club! :clapping:

 

[Tree Doc]

I've been using the Mack's Pillow Soft moldable plugs instead of my Howard Leight MAX plugs and I LOVE those things. Great attenuation for helmet noise and it works with my Autocom very well.

I went to them because even with the high quality Leight MAX's, after a whole day, my ear canals would just plaing hurt from having something in there.

 

[majicmaker]

I've been using the Mack's Pillow Soft moldable plugs instead of my Howard Leight MAX plugs and I LOVE those things. Great attenuation for helmet noise and it works with my Autocom very well.

I went to them because even with the high quality Leight MAX's, after a whole day, my ear canals would just plaing hurt from having something in there.

Hey Tree, Got a link for the Mack's Pillow soft Moldables? Sounds like something I might be interested in looking at.

 

[FJR1300Mark]

I too have ears I want to protect from the constant noises while riding. Last year on a coast to coast ride I was alternating between my two throwaway plugs. I Alternate as they each wear in the ear a little different.

Well on a I'll try anything for relief from the noise and the pressure on the ears I put in the ear bugs and plugged them into audio system. They worked just fine, but the big really good suprise was when I turned on the noise cancelling. Wow - riding with these is the quietest I've ever had.

I've tried several and these work the best for me Philips SHN7500

I originally only used them when I flew, but I use them on almost every ride now.

It doesn't address the ear infection, but it will help save your hearing.

 

[Tree Doc]

I've been using the Mack's Pillow Soft moldable plugs instead of my Howard Leight MAX plugs and I LOVE those things. Great attenuation for helmet noise and it works with my Autocom very well.

I went to them because even with the high quality Leight MAX's, after a whole day, my ear canals would just plaing hurt from having something in there.

Hey Tree, Got a link for the Mack's Pillow soft Moldables? Sounds like something I might be interested in looking at.

Indeed I do! They're about $4.50 a 6/pr pack at WalMart. They don't go "in" your ear as far as a traditional ear plug but mash out quite comfortably filling and sealing the outer portion of the canal and protruding partially in the canal. There's no pressure from expanding foam. If I'm careful with what I do with them when I remove them, I can get several days use out of 1 set.

Mack's Pillow Soft

 

[majicmaker]

Indeed I do! They're about $4.50 a 6/pr pack at WalMart. They don't go "in" your ear as far as a traditional ear plug but mash out quite comfortably filling and sealing the outer portion of the canal and protruding partially in the canal. There's no pressure from expanding foam. If I'm careful with what I do with them when I remove them, I can get several days use out of 1 set.

Mack's Pillow Soft

Cool Beans, I'll check them out! Thanks Tree

 

[bobg3723]

EDIT: Or even cannibalize the material off of a set of sound isolation ear muffs to fashion a reduced thickness ear pad and head band/skull cap to fit on before donning the helmet.

Holy Crap! Dude, I was talking about that very thing last night at dinner with my sweety. Your edit point is what I was telling her I wanted to come up with.

Except, the material I had in mind was a thin piece of that Temper Pedic memory foam so it can accommodate all the nooks and crannies of the ear and seal the sound

off as much as possible although the foam in a cheap headset sounds doable too. We think alike my friend!!

The orphanage once acknowledged I originally had a twin. We must be having that psychic twin communication happening. The voices in my head....it's all becoming clear now! :blink: :lol:

 

[Aasland]

I too wear hearing aids and that means I reinsert things on a regular basis. No way am I disposing of these after every use ... not even Donald Trump could afford that.

Fortunately my hearing aids (Sebotek's) are shaped like an umbrella which means when I pull them out they act like an ear canal cleaner.

An additional aspect of managing a healthy ear canal is lubricating what you put in there. Polysporin has been mentioned, another one is OtoEase. I don't know about the anti-microbial properties of OtoEase, but I have not had a problem.

 

[Dennis in NH]

I won't speak for others but this is what I do...

I wear the foam plugs for almost every ride -- esp. on the highway. I wear the same plugs over and over for say 1 week at least. In fact, they start out really quiet and get more noisy as I use them. About midway is perfect; towards the end, they are just not quiet enough -- which is how I know to change them.

I have a lot of the foam plugs so it's not an issue to get a new pair. I rarely get ear infections and if I start to feel an itchy ear, I use peroxide on a q-tip to clean out my ears. Other than that, I keep my ears extra clean because I want the plugs to remain clean for as long as possible.

One thing I've learned to do is to keep the earplugs in the light -- do NOT keep them in a handy plastic container or in your pocket where they will stay in the dark. I hear bacteria don't like light. I heard the same about toothbrushes -- keep them in the light to reduce bacteria.

Another thing is not to push that thing so deep into your ear that you hit something -- ouch!

I could never understand how someone has to go to the ear doctor to remove the excess wax in your ear -- just how do you get that much wax in there if you use q-tips after every shower or more often? I guess it comes from following ENT doctors not to stick things in your ear? I guess either way, however you prevent ear infections is up to you.

Dennis

 

[majicmaker]

OK Guys, I want to thank everyone for all the excellent suggestions. :clapping: I now have all sorts of stuff that I can choice from.

I'm definately still going to try and develop some kind of spandex/stretchy ear size thingy with some sound proofing like some memory foam or anything else that'll do the job.

Think of the Terry cloth bonnet that we all put on a car power waxing machine, except just the perfect size to cover the ear and stay there.

This of course, will need to be as light and thin as possible so you can slip the helmet on and not even feel that it's there. In the mean time, I decided to

try my Mack's Wax Plugs one more time before I tossed them and wouldn't you know it, I took my time and put them on with a little more patience than the first

time where I was in the rain while I was getting soaked to the bone and getting pissed off as Hell. and it fits just fine. I still don't like it but, It'll do for now.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Hey old fuker.. I had ear plugs in for the better part of 18 hours Sunday.

I also had ear pain and shit while wearing them for any length of time.. I pre cleaned two new sets with peroxide squeezed them out with Howie I mean sterile gauze an let 'em dry overnight then applied a tiny dab of triple antibiotic ointment..

No pain or discomfort all day and none today either..

A trick I used with my old, looser fitting helmet was too hot melt glue Dacron foam into the ear pockets. Wasn't as effective as ear plugs but baffled the noise down enough to ride without headaches or temporary hearing loss..

 

[majicmaker]

Hey old fuker.. I had ear plugs in for the better part of 18 hours Sunday.

I also had ear pain and shit while wearing them for any length of time.. I pre cleaned two new sets with peroxide squeezed them out with Howie I mean sterile gauze an let 'em dry overnight then applied a tiny dab of triple antibiotic ointment..

No pain or discomfort all day and none today either..

A trick I used with my old, looser fitting helmet was too hot melt glue Dacron foam into the ear pockets. Wasn't as effective as ear plugs but baffled the noise down enough to ride without headaches or temporary hearing loss..

18 hours?! Damn Bust, That must have hurt like Hell! Until I come up with what I've got planned, I'll stick to the best of all evils right now and go with the wax plugs.

When I realized that I actually got them on right, I immediately jumped on the bike and road like a bat outta Hell and they did the job! :clapping:

I don't want them to be my long term recourse. I've had much luck in my life with improvising a solution to a problem that needed to get fixed. I'm sure I'll get this done too.

Once my infection goes away with no more plugs packing that shit in there and making it worse, I'll probably first start with clean daily foamy disposables,

I'll start a regular douche schedule. (God! Here I am talking to Bustanut and I hand him this little gem to beat me to death with!) But, I Digress!

I won't stick them in so far that they actually touch the drum. then I'll see what happens. Good Luck To Me!!

 

[Tree Doc]

I won't stick them in so far that they actually touch the drum.

That's EXACTLY what Bust said to that La a a a a amb! But he lied! :lol:

 

[majicmaker]

I won't stick them in so far that they actually touch the drum.

That's EXACTLY what Bust said to that La a a a a amb! But he lied! :lol:

:lol2: :taunt: :rofl: :haha:

 

[ScottyUSN]

Since this thread (for about a week now) I keep a set of my in ear canal headphones at my desk. Westone UM's with the comply tips that are essentially in ear foamies.

After my workout with headphones on. I've been squeezing a drop of Germ-X hand sanitizer. You know the stuff that claims to kill 99.9 percent of those little bugs, on to the foamy. Spread it all over, then wipe away the excess then put them back in the case. They look clean, I would assume the bacteria is mostly killed, and the foamies are not breaking down (as of yet).