What's the best Passive earplug? ProEars say Silicone.. NRR ratings seem to disagree

[wacki]

From the Pro-Ears website:

There is no better noise reduction material than silicon.

Is that really true?!?!?!

Midway's best silicone ear plugs are only 26db:

• Radians Do-It-Yourself Custom Molded Ear Plug Kit (NRR 26 dB) Silicone

Yet the foam earplugs are 33db

• Midway: Peltor Blasts Disposable E-A-R Ear Plugs (NRR 33 dB) 200 Pair
  
• 3M has a ton of 33db earplugs

 

[OpticsPlanet]

I think it may be marketing-speak... the material may be the best, but it comes down to the design. You're trying to lessen sound waves... silicon may absorb, reflect or deaden best as a material. I'm on your side, the bigger the number, the better the design of the finished product, regardless of the materials involved.

I use foam plugs, and throw a set of muffs on over them, doubling up. Trying to keep what I have left. At 52, and having done stupid things in my youth (not limited to shooting without protection and seeing Kiss and Terrible Ted Nugent live more than once) my hearing isn't what it used to be. Alas, I am no longer invincible.

Mark H.

 

[dbarnhart]

It's hard to beat the Silencio Red-E-Fits and other foam earplugs like them. NRR of 33db. I think I pay all of about 3 bucks for six pair.

I too double up on ear protection, particularly at the indoor range. It's important to understand though that 25db earmuffs over 25db earplugs does not get you 50db of noise reduction. There is enough bone conductivity and interaction between muffs and plugs that you're really getting about 30db of noise reduction. Here is an in-depth study done for Navy flight deck operations about it:

http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public//PubFullText/RTO/MP/RTO-MP-HFM-123///MP-HFM-123-19.pdf

 

[hso]

The first and foremost issue is the NRR rating. NRR 33 foam plugs can provide the highest protection when used properly.

That leads us to the next most important issue, the comfort the plug provides so that they're properly inserted and comfortably worn for the intended period of time.

So a plug that is comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, easily inserted properly, AND that provides the highest NRR rating available is the "best" ear plug around.

All else is marketing.

 

[wacki]

Honestly, it looks to me like Pro-Ears is doing a little unnecessary marketing. If silicon really is the best then it should get ratings to somewhere near what we see below. And I just can't find silicone that can do that.

Rundown of the plugs from 3M and Honeywell / Howard leight

3M Single Use:

• E-A-R Classic Soft Earplugs (body heat molding activity) 36dB SNR {available in small}
• E-A-R SuperFit (orange band to warn against improper fit) 36dB SNR {available in small}
• E-A-R E-A-RSoft Yellow Neons Earplugs (slow expansion) 36dB SNR
• E-A-R E-A-RSoft Blasts Earplugs (slow expansion) 36dB SNR
• 3M Solar (all day wear) 36dB SNR
• 3M 100/1110 (hyoallergenic, low pressure) 37dB SNR
• E-A-R E-A-RSoft FX Earplugs (best protection) 39dB SNR

3M Single Use - NO ROLLING NEEDED:

• 3M No-Touch (no roll) 35 dB SNR
• E-A-R Push-Ins (no roll) 38 dB SNR

3M Reusable:

• E-A-R Ultrafi X (resusable) 35dB SNR

Howard Leight

• Super Leight™ (NRR) 33

 

[bigfatdave]

There is more to it than a NRR rating, and those are more for continuous noise than intermittent blasts, anyway.
Not to entirely discount ratings, but I think how well it fits when you shove it in your head matters, too.

PERSONALLY - I like the flanged silicone ones from com-fit - they stay in, are easy to use, are easy to keep clean, and feel like they isolate noise just as well as foamies, without the unpleasant sensation of something growing in my ear.

The ratings are marketing, experiment with a variety of plugs in a variety of environments and with a variety of noise sources. Find out what you like best and stock a bunch of them.

 

[JohnBT]

"and those are more for continuous noise than intermittent blasts, anyway."

True.

I even bought a cheap set of muffs 20 years ago that had small print on the back. It said to ignore the NRR numbers if you were going to use it for shooting guns. Now that's honesty.

The db rating scale used by the maker could be only for continuous noise. Without knowing which scale they used it's impossible to know how good the product is. And even then you might not know their testing method and its accuracy.

There's a basic explanation of the A and C scales on the Grainger site.

Basic = hahahaha, but hey, it's not a medical school text book.

www.grainger.com/Grainger/static/effective-hearing-conservation-program-elements-260.html

Here's another summary. www.elvex.com/facts06.htm

 

[dbarnhart]

wacki, WhenI saw 39db I said, "Wow! I'll have to get some of those."

However when I went to the 3M website it says 33db:

Page on 3M Website

Am I looking at the wrong product?

 

[wacki]

wacki, WhenI saw 39db I said, "Wow! I'll have to get some of those."

However when I went to the 3M website it says 33db:

Page on 3M Website

Am I looking at the wrong product?

Same ear plug, different scale (SNR vs NRR). The way I'd read that is that if an expert puts it in and your eardrum is the right shape then these have the potential to be the best earplugs on the market. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.


This PDF says 39 db SNR on page 15 in multiple places. They even describe it as their "highest protection rating earplug in our range today (39 SNR)". Your link uses NRR. Go to this thread for more info on NRR vs. SNR.

 

[wacki]

feel like they isolate noise just as well as foamies

Most hearing damage is caused without people realizing it. Feel is the last thing I want to go by.

 

[bigfatdave]

wacki, I work in a high-noise industrial environment* and have hearing good for someone my age that doesn't work in a similar field. This is non-typical among my peers, based on both their annual hearing test results and the fact that I'm the one who gets called to figure out "where that noise is coming from"** or "go out and tell us if the control relays are clicking when I do something, because Bob can't tell what the hell is wrong"***

So maybe my "feel" is based on many hours of experimentation with a variety of plugs in a variety of environments and with a variety of noise sources. And not based on reading advertising info from the boxes at the store or off the 'net, and not from shooting off a box of ammo once a year, but actually shooting regularly on top of work and on top of riding a motorcycle.

*(well, actually I've always worked in noisy industrial settings, now that I think of it ... how am I not deaf? What? Huh!?)
**(sometimes: "it is coming from you, Steve, that's tinnitus" ... sometimes: sounds like an air leak or a vacuum leak, go get a smoker to experiment)
***(sometimes the controlled component is dead, sometimes the motor/pneumatic/hydraulic actuator is dead, and sometimes it is just the control circuit)

 

[hso]

ratings are marketing

NRR is used for marketing, but it isn't per se marketing. This and SNR are the current objective means of determining the dB reduction when properly worn. Whether you're using SNR or NRR remember that the relative ratings between products is the relevant part.

As you say, wearing ear plugs properly is critically important. If you don't insert plugs well into the ear canal you won't get the maximum protection they can provide. If they're not comfortable they won't be used properly. If they're difficult to insert, they won't be used properly. Manufacturers of plugs try to make their products easy to use and comfortable for a wide range of users, but there are always individuals that have small or large or sensitive ear canals that "standard" plugs just don't fit will. Also, few people are properly trained in how to insert plugs. These days there are many good videos instructing users how to insert plugs so there isn't much of an excuse to use them properly.

BTW, "hso" stands for Health and Safety Officer since I started out in the field and am now the Safety Manager for an organization scattered across North America performing work in settings as varied as labs, shops, offices and construction sites.