I have had my ACS Custom earplugs for seven years, and ACS Custom were surprised that the shape of my ear hadn’t changed in that amount of time.
The earplugs still felt as if they fitted well, and now I’ve had a new set of earplugs made by a different manufacturer at Motorcycle Live, I’ve now realised how good my ACS Custom earplugs still were.
Nonetheless, after seven years with the same earplugs, it was time to update.
The mistake I made was getting the moulds made at a show rather than by a professional. A controversial statement? Maybe so. Read on ….
Earplugs
I came across ACS Custom while walking across the paddock at Donington Park. I was thinking about something else and all but walked into their presentation stand. Looking up and seeing that they were all about hearing protection, I talked about the foam plugs I was using and asked why I should change.
It might sound glamorous to be trackside photographing motorcycle racing, but the constant engine and exhaust noise demands that you use earplugs.
Without them, I would go home each day with my ears ringing, which is a clear sign of the need to be wearing earplugs unless you want to damage your hearing.
On a motorcycle, the average noise inside a helmet is between 95dB and 105dB when travelling at around 60mph. The faster you go, the greater the noise. The safe exposure time for c.100bB is around seven and a half minutes.
Foam plugs work, but what you are doing is transferring the dirt on your fingers into your ear canal each time you compress the foam plug before inserting them into your ear.
And let’s not even think about what might be on the foam plugs that have been in your pocket.
Not My First Time
Despite the engaging chat with ACS Custom, I was still not totally sold. I’d tried having a set of custom earplugs made a few months earlier. It was another race meeting at Donington, and the gentleman in question was doing fittings for racers.
It sounded like a good idea to me, so I paid my money and had the impressions made. Unfortunately, when the earplugs arrived a few weeks later, they were uncomfortable and didn’t do much to deaden the sound of a superbike screaming past, fully on the herbs.
So they went in the bin, and I went back to using foam plugs.
I shared my story with the lady from ACS, and I can remember her answer being very diplomatic but it essentially boiled down to “What did I expect from a guy in a car park at a racetrack?” Slightly ironic I’ll grant you as I was now talking to a lady in a car park at a racetrack.
So, I took the plunge and bought – with my own cash money – a pair of ACS Custom earplugs and received a voucher to go to a local hearing centre – Boots the Chemist in my case – to have the moulds taken.
Failing to Learn
Fast forward seven years, and I’m wandering around Motorcycle Live, and there are several companies offering deals on earplugs. The moulds are taken at the show, and the plugs arrive in the post a few weeks later.
Now, having been burnt once before, you might have thought I’d know better, but it seems I didn’t.
I parted with my money and sat in the chair, not moving while my ears were filled with whatever the goo is that they use to take the impressions of your ears. Ten minutes of blissful silence later, the goo is removed, and the wait for the new plugs to arrive in the post begins.
And when they did; guess what? They are next to useless. They don’t block much sound, and side by side with my ancient ACS Custom earplugs, I can see why. The new ones are significantly narrower where they enter my ear.
The Moulds Are Key
I complained to the company that made them, and a protracted succession of emails resulted in them asking me to send them my ACS Custom earplugs (the seven-year-old ones) so they could copy them. After declining, because I use my earplugs most days, it took a while, but we have reached a resolution.
At this point, it would be easy to tell you which company it is, but that isn’t our way. As we state in the Product Testing Philosophy, the world has enough negativity and doesn’t need us joining in.
However, there is a lesson to learn, and I’m a muppet because I already knew this.
The key to good earplugs is the moulds. Get them made by someone who is a professional. It looks easy, but as I’ve been burnt twice, I can tell you there is a major difference between having them done by a professional (i.e. at Boots) and someone at a show.
Roger had his earplugs made by the company that I am – or was – exchanging emails with. The difference is that Roger had his moulds made at Boots.
And so, after spending £84 on the ACS Custom website, I’m off to my local Boots Hearing Centre today to have a set of moulds created for a new pair of ACS Custom Total Block earplugs, and I’m hoping that seven years from now, I remember that Boots and ACS are how to have earplugs made.
