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Lets discuss ear protection

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cwood
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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby cwood » Tue Aug 14, 2018 6:34 pm

Leon van Bergen wrote:
Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:11 pm
Strange to read this topic for me because some of you never heard about Surferears? almost everybody in the Netherlands wear them..
The only good ones;
https://www.kitemana.nl/surfears/2-0-59492?sqr=Ear
Thats what I got.

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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby www.kite-surf.com » Tue Aug 14, 2018 9:19 pm

I am happy with these:
https://www.eq-love.com/en/eq-ear-plugs ... plugs.html

I still hear enough with these earplugs.

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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby liv2surf » Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:33 am

I've had surgery on both ears for Surfer's Ear (exostoses). Note that I have been surfing for 43y (with the last 25y in cold water requiring year round 4mm/3mm wetsuit with booties). I wear vented Doc's ProPlugs (https://www.proplugs.com/) glued with E6000 adhesive (Eclectc Products) to the really stretchy and resilient adjustable leash that comes with SurfEars 2.0 (https://surfears.com). I occasionally pull the plugs off the leash (typically when putting my kite backpack onto my back with plugs dangling after the session. When this happens I occasionally need to buy new earplugs (which I may have dropped) and regularly have to re-glue the plugs to the leash. But the system has served me well for a few years. The leash that comes with ProPlugs is not stretchy enough (and SurfEars don't fit my ear canals - I wish they did because they seem slick).

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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby OzBungy » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:00 am

I have Surfears and Docs Proplugs. Sorry, but they do not work. At all. Total garbage. They might be fine if you have a perfectly round ear canal. If you have surfer's ear (exostoses) then the canal has bone nodes protruding. The ear plugs simply will not seal.

The plugs are quite hard so if you wear them for an extended time they get quite painful. In case you haven't noticed, I really hate these crap products! Grrrrr!

As I said in an earlier post, in winter I wear a wetsuit with an integrated hood. That keeps almost all the water out of my ears. I have to admit I am a bit of a wimp. In winter I tend to just blast around on my foil and can avoid falling most of the time. It's a great way to stay warm and dry.

Before I had my ear surgery I was spending a lot of time drying ears and syringing and doing all the stuff. Now that I have had the surgery I wish I had it done 10 years ago. The surgery would have be easier (for the surgeon. I was asleep.) and I would not have had to mess around with ear plugs and drying and infections and all the stuff/

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liv2surf
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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby liv2surf » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:23 am

OzBungy I agree Docs ProPlugs lead a bit to desired when it comes to sealing and remaining in place...but since they fit in the far outer ear (and not deep in the ear canal) they work reasonably well for me. On the other hand, the far slicker SurfEars (which go deep in ear canal), I can not get into my ears comfortably, even using smallest 'cushion'. I will not wear a hood -except on the most extreme coldest days- though I should. I just don't like the restrictive feel of a hood. ProPlugs are the best thing I have found in last 10+ years. One other that worked pretty well was JBL Hydro Seal Aqua Plugs. Maybe I'll rig a set of these up with the SurfEars leash? Cheers.

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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby cwood » Wed Aug 15, 2018 11:14 am

I guess it depends what you are needing to achieve. I don't have issue with getting water in my ears in general (drainage after) its the impact and injury I want to avoid, and now, after learning about surfers ear, reduce the amount of wind and wet and cold that hit them....so I don't need a perfect seal (I don't think). Surf ears seem to fit the bill for me.

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Re: Lets discuss ear protection

Postby TomW » Wed Aug 15, 2018 5:51 pm

I think you should try the Stanley self molding ones. I molded some new ones and was careful to use a bit less of the material, and not push it into ear canal. So they mostly just sit in the outer ear and only slightly into ear canal. This keeps water out, let's some sound in.
Super comfortable.


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