Ear defenders

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I'm in the UK and thinking of getting some ear defenders. I have a moderate hearing loss and so I can avoid lots of noises by not wearing my hearing aids. Mainly I have problems when I go to really noisy sports games (which, being an active member of a sports team happens every couple of weeks) or to nightclubs (almost never happens). Since I don't need them all the time, I figure that I want something relatively inexpensive.

I've tried to two types of ear plugs but they don't really block the noise as much as I'd like and I can never get them to be comfortable.

I'm not sure what to look for in ear defenders, the only brands I've seen at these events are Ed's Kids ones and I'm not entirely sure I want something saying they're for children on the side (but would get them if they were cheaper than other comparable ones).

I've also found a brand called 'Earbudeze'.

Any thoughts?

These are the ones I use:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Optime- ... headphones

They're very effective: I use them for vacuuming, restaurants, fireworks shows and other large crowded events, etc. They look a little awkward and clunky, but frankly I'd rather have that than have to suffer the world's intolerable noises.

I use ear defenders for work and I use the same ones as recommended above, they are very comfortable. I can't stand the feeling of having plugs in my ears.

Generally there is less noise reduction from defenders rather than plugs, so don't expect them to perform better. Links below from shops I use. The first link shows the tested level of attenuation for each product in the title.

LINK
LINK

It's possible you could add denser foam into the ear cups to achieve the level of noise reduction you need.

I've been thinking of getting myself some to wear to bed.

CockneyRebel, I would recommend earplugs over ear defenders to sleep in. Ear defenders are very clunky, and you couldn't sleep on your side with them on. They have to press your head relatively tightly to block out the sound as well, so leaving them on overnight could cause headache. That said, earplugs can cause ear wax buildup if used for too long, and I've found that they make the insides of my ears sore if I wear them for long periods. Do you suppose a white noise machine would help? Perhaps a sweatband over your ears would be a more comfortable solution.

I was thinking last night that I'd love ear defenders to wear to bed. I tried wearing ear plugs last night and they made the ear pressure all wrong in my ear.

I then realised that I always sleep on my side and it just wouldn't be practical.

Thanks for the links with the attuation levels.

I have no idea what type I need and am disappointment to hear that they have less noise blocked out.

I'd think I'd want a higher type to block out noise as there isn't always much opportunity to talk during games but I also don't want to make taking them off too painful if I've adjusted. I'm also not sure how they will interact with my hearing loss.

Ah, looking at the chart, it looks like the expensive ones are electronic - they only defend when sounds exceed 85db (they use batteries) which probably isn't what I want?

I mean, maybe it would be useful if it meant that I would be able to hear people some of the time but I think variable sound would probably annoy.me. My hearing aids have a setting for that and they're always botching music so I dread to think of what the electronic ones would make of the sports games I go to.

Thanks for the advice!

You could just try a cheap pair, less than £5, to see if you are comfortable wearing them. The shops I linked to have lots of branches so there should be one near you, there will be a menu for finding the nearest branch on the websites. They will charge for delivery on low cost items. Otherwise any high street shop or market stall that sells tools and DIY products should stock them.

The foam inside the ear cups will be very low density, open cell foam. You could replace this with a more dense, closed cell foam to provide a higher level of attenuation. Just pull the original foam out and use this as a pattern to make new inserts. Someone that does upholstery would have different types of foam and should give you an offcut for free or very little money.
I have some high density foam here in my workshop and I'm happy to post some to you if you wanted to make a customised version and can't find any locally.

Thanks for the offer - I think since they don't block out as much noise as headphones I'm going to opt for higher attenuation ear defenders.

I can't hear much if any of what people say at the games anyway, so I'd just be relying on lip reading a little bit more and since people are usually watching during the game rather than talking I think they'd been good for the occasion.

If I need something that lets in more noise for other situations I'll just pick up a cheap second pair.

I've been contemplating which ones to get and am torn between the 3M Peltor Optime III 35db attuation ones which look very clunky and the 3M Peltor X4 32db ones which are specifically designed not to look clunky but protect again sound that if half as loud.

I've found the latter cheaper than ScrewFix offers them on other websites. They're still designed as high attenuation so I think they'd be worth trying.

The X5 version of the X4 mentioned above (which have an attenuation of 37db) are currently on sale to £25 on Amazon but they are more slightly bulkier than the X4 ones if anyone is wanting some.

Well, I'd thought 10db was twice as loud (I've even explained this to my wife before) but then read that it was 3db for double but I've seen again that its 10db.

A chart I can see says the change of 5db clearly noticeable change whereas 3db is barely noticeable.

Knowing my luck this will mean something different when choosing attenuation of headphones.

So I think I'm going to buy the X4 pair. If they're no good, I'll just have to reinvest.

Really quiet nervous about this.

I used mine yesterday and realised they are not the 3M Peltor, they are called Bilsom Leightning, (Maybe called Howard Leight now) these are good and cheaper than the Peltor, but both brands are still good. Mine fold up into themselves so easier to transport around and keeps the inside of the ear cups cleaner too. Sorry, I didn't mean to recommend that site over any others, just that they had a good range of products.

Most foam ear plugs are rated at 34dB to 37dB so you are looking at a similar level of noise reduction comparing foam plugs to the highest attenuation defenders. You could wear both ear plugs and defenders over the top if you needed to.

The decibel scale is a log scale, not linear, so 3dB is a much smaller actual sound than the difference between 34 and 37dB.

Oh, I really appreciate the link for its easy comparisons. I didn't think you'd advised buying it from there specifically.

I just meant that in case anyone else was looking at it and thought "oh that's out of my budget".

Yeah, I guessed that it would be different but I wasn't sure how much (other than a less than half as loud more which doesn't mean all that much to me). I wish there was a guide for people other than builders wanting to use them.

If 32db is going to be much less effective than ear plugs I might have to cancel my order and opt for the 35db or 37db ones.

I was hoping to avoid ear plugs because they are uncomfortable for me.

I'm only tried two brands from boots - their foam ones and their silicon ones but I can't find a rating for them for me to compare against.

Thanks for all your advice!

I've contacted Amazon and they say that I can return them within 30 days even if I've tried them on.

Unfortunately, I expected it to offer me a copy of the conversation and so I'm skeptical about whether they will take it back.

I'm going to test them out at the sports event and see if they're good for me or not.

I think the nightclub would be the real test but I don't go to them all that often.

I think Amazon have the standard returns policy if bought through them. The offer of some additional foam still stands, send me a PM if you want some.

Have you looked at moldable ear plugs? Might be similar to the silicone ones you have tried already.

The silicon ear plugs particularly irritated my ears. One option might be to wear my hearing aids turned off (or just the mould) under my ear defenders - they block out a fair amount of noise and are perfectly moulded to my ears. (Well, my old ones are my current ones don't fit quite right and my most recent ones haven't turned up - need to chase that up.)

I've received my ear defenders and have discovered that when I'm nearing meltdown it is silence, not just quiet that I want.

I've been torn about returning them because I do like the look - I wanted something that (size wize) looked similar to the type that most parents bring for their kids to the games rather than something that screams "I need silence".

Unfortunately, we couldn't get travel to the game today so I won't be able to test them out in that situation before the returns period expires.

At home, I quite like them. I would say that if you do want something very quiet and aren't already hard of hearing then these probably aren't for you as my wife can still hear conversations.

I can barely hear the hoover (72db) when standing right beside it, except when it got blocked and then I could hear it more loudly.

I can only hear my iPhone 5s at full volume if I put the speaker within about 5cm of my ear defenders.

We did a test with speech and my speech accuracy even with my wife speaking loudly is very poor (but my lip reading turned out to be very, very good).