Thread: Custom molded electronic ear plugs

Does anywhere in NZ do these?

Funny you post that as my Cousin who is a builder got some from Kiwiplugs from Paraparam from memory use your googlefoo.

Not active electronic unfortunately.

I guess you found out the shop ones are shit!

Nah I haven't bought any, but it seems like if I'm going to drop a couple hundred bucks on electronic earplugs I may as well get custom moulded to fit properly for effectiveness + comfort

I bought some from H n F and they were a rought should never have bought them,good luck and can you post up here if your have any luck.

Jase

Maybe try the guys that do custom fit hearing aids?

Originally Posted by gimp

Nah I haven't bought any, but it seems like if I'm going to drop a couple hundred bucks on electronic earplugs I may as well get custom moulded to fit properly for effectiveness + comfort

They will be considerably more than a couple of hundy. Last time I looked at them they were gonna run me $2.5k from memory.

I have a set made by bay audiology,they are nationwide so fairly easy process.

Good for hunting or workplaces but I still use my peltour tacticals on the range as they knock a few more decibels off

What did they cost ya res ?

I have made them over the years using internals from high quality ($4K+) digital hearing aids. I personally use nothing else but these. They require best quality impressions and must be programmed accurately to do their job and sound right. It is imperative the mics are positioned in the helix, not on the faceplate or you will get a lot of wind turbulence. I programme them usually with both neutral volume and with a boost setting for when you want to hear softer sounds/voices at a distance. This boosted setting does not lift the level of the firearm's report.

This type of custom item will never be cheap if made and programmed properly. Triton Hearing sell these for $1300/pr which is actually cheap given the electronics inside. If you want some, make sure they ask advice from Chris at the Hawkes Bay clinics as to exactly what to do. They are a "special order" item, not a routine hearing aid.

@6x47 , Considering that option will still be a mail order scenario using an impression, is there anything gained by getting them done here versus sending your impressions to the states to someone that offers a purpose built product.

There seems to be a domestic market for these albeit a small one, I've been looking into it too and only been able to find US/UKbased companies offering dedicated electronic ear plugs.

I have also been looking into whether the ones used by musicians domestically could be adapted for using under a flight helmet as apposed to going to a set of moulded CEPs. Just seems I'm trying to reinvent the wheel with that one though.

The ones I mentioned are def NOT a mail order proposition. They are made in Auckland and tuned in the clinic by the audiologist that took the impression.

Anything that arrives by mail order is going to be hit and miss regarding the actual sound quality. The advantage of using serious digital hearing aid modules is that they can be fine-tuned for both your individual preference and frequency-compensated if you have an existing loss.

I think you are alluding in the last paragraph to those custom in-ear monitors you see performers on stage using. They only have receivers (the speaker bit) inside so are not suitable for what we need for shooting in the usual sense. If you want to hear the radio in a machine and exclude external noise, then they probably would suit.

I have made several sets of custom silicon plugs for chopper pilots in Fiordland and one will not leave the hangar without them. Best horse trading I ever did

Yeah, I was looking at separate sets for shooting and work. Agreed, they are completely different applications.
Good to hear someone in NZ can offer these. Will be touching base with Triton Hearing.
Thanks.

Originally Posted by redbang

What did they cost ya res ?

About $2500 if I remember correctly, as has been said buy others-to do custom stuff like this is not cheep,esp when you want the electronics in there!

I personally have hearing damage from smallbore shooting as a kid so am very very protective of what I have left.