I got a pair of custom made ear plugs from my high street Boots Opticians. I was really surprised to discover they offered this service - as it wasn’t advertised at all. They made a mould of each ear then gave me the choice of a solid plug, a mechanical valve or an electronic valve. I went mechanical valve. In hindsight I wish I had gone for the electronic valve as I believe this allows you to amplify external noise - to compensate for the fact that you are wearing the plugs - while simultaneously protecting your ears against the report of your gun in a way that the mechanical valves obviously cannot. I would have found this useful as I without plugs you can often hear, for instance, the wing beats of an incoming bird that you might miss (in my experience at least) with the plugs in. At the time I had mine made I was told that the mould of each of my ears would be kept so that I could order replacements at a lower cost. The service was excellent and my plugs were ready within a couple of weeks. I think they cost £120 - solid plugs were a little cheaper (maybe £90) and those with electronic valves were more expensive (maybe £200). This was about five or six years ago. But if you have a Boots Opticians near you, it might be worth investigating this as an option. A high street “hearing centre” / audiologist might also offer something similar. The plugs are very comfortable to wear and, to my amazement, I haven’t lost them.
