How to fit your custom earplugs

So you’ve bought your first pair of custom earplugs. Hopefully, your hearing protection provider will have shown you how to insert and remove them. Just in case you need a quick refresher, here’s a step-by-step guide for you.

How to insert your earplugs

Right hand side

First of all let’s look at the shape of the earplug. There will be a flat section which is designed to touch your tragus, while the tip of the earplug is inserted into your ear canal.

The plug for your right ear should be marked in red, or with the letter ‘R’. To insert it into your ear, take hold of it with your right hand, grasping it between your forefinger and thumb, slide your thumb so that it is touching the flat outer section.

Now, with your left hand reaching over your head, slightly pull your right ear in an upwards direction. Place the tip of the earplug into your ear canal and as you push it into the ear gently rotate it anti-clockwise by about 180 degrees. Give your ear a little wiggle to ensure that the earplug is forming an effective seal with your ear and that it is comfortable to wear. The flat section of the ear plug should be touching your tragus.

The left ear

The earplugs for your left ear may be a slightly different shape, but it still has a tip which sits inside your ear canal, and a flat part which should sit against your tragus.

This earplug should be marked in blue, or with the letter ‘L’, and again you should take hold of it between the thumb and forefinger, this time with your left hand. Slide your thumb so that it is touching the flat part of the earplug.

With your right hand, reach over and gently pull your left ear upwards. Place the hearing protector into the ear canal and rotate backwards, whilst exerting a little pressure. It will just slip into the ear canal. Once its in there hold your outer ear with your left hand and give it a bit of a wiggle. The hearing protector should be sitting inside the ear canal with a good seal.

It may be beneficial to use a small amount of otoform cream on your earplugs if you are using them for the first time, or if they have recently been cleaned. Take a small amount of cream and massage it over the earplug.

This will not only make it easier to slide the earplugs into your ears, but you will find that it helps to improve the quality of the seal between your ear canal and the custom earplug.

How to remove your earplugs

Removing your custom earplugs is easy. Just take your thumb and push up gently at the base of your ear. You will feel the earplug slip out into your hand. For the other ear, do the same take you thumb and push up gently and the ear plug will slip out easily. There you go.