Please share your experience with customised/molded ear plugs.

Do yours use the same 312 "hearing aid" style batteries as mine? If so, those batteries typically only have an effective life in hearing aids of 3-7 days. In my syndicate I shoot every 2 weeks during the season, and if I'm lucky I'll get two shoots worth of use from the CENS before the batteries need replacing. I always use Duracell, and buy mine in bulk from Amazon.

Also any moisture can affect battery life, so I remove the batteries from my CENS between shoots, and leave the little battery door open.
Yep Same ones I use pure cell and get maybe 2 shoot days per batteries

I also remove them post shooting

S
 
Yep Same ones I use pure cell and get maybe 2 shoot days per batteries

I also remove them post shooting

S
They run on batteries? All the ear buds etc for listening to music are now rechargeable, I would have thought that was the way this was going, no?
 
I’ve shot with electronic Cens for over 15 years, during that time one had to be repaired which from memory was about £50 and another has gone this season. I find muffs pinch my face so I will be buying in ear custom molded but as yet I don’t know which make.
Muffs pinching your face huh?
You lucky man. 👍😘
Ken.
 
When you have shot enough that you know its drastically stuffed up your hearing the sensible option it to use something that works for you! back in the day I used moulded ones with a electronic gizmo inside and they worked very well on the range with hundreds of shoots ripping the air a new one every few seconds ,Not sure if they were in the beginning called Cens ? guy would truck up put in a string in each ear fill up the hole then go away and presto! a few weeks later they would turn up in the post.
Now I use MSA electronic even with a mod on as I find in the seat I can hear a gnat fart in flight. without i'd be lucky to notice a JBC driving past!
 
They run on batteries? All the ear buds etc for listening to music are now rechargeable, I would have thought that was the way this was going, no?
Many of the hearing aids have gone that way too (e.g. Phonak), but they are significantly more expensive as a result (i.e. several thousand pounds).

Given that the use of the CENS is for shooting, which is something only done on an occasional basis (unless you're very lucky). I am not sure going rechargable would necessarily be that much of a benefit, at least if it resulted in a significant price hike.
 
I have electronic custom fit guards, great for summer clay shooting but got wet one day in a light rain, one failed and one went dim.

Sent back for repair, they only repaired the one and the dim one has now also failed.

I wouldn’t bother again. I would consider the passive ones that don’t have electronics or batteries.
 
Coming from a slightly different area - I’ve been heavily involved in motorcycle instruction since 1994 and have had custom moulded ear plugs from a couple of different manufacturers. You get what you pay for in my opinion. I’ve got some that are probably 25 years old, and I’m told that your ear channel changes as you age, but they’re still comfy and great at noise reduction. I’ve also got some made last year by SONIC in Birmingham, they’re what they call a half plug, slightly smaller than the full version. All are fitted with ‘voice filter’ bits, they don’t need anything to make them work, the filter stops all but the range of a human voice.
Had a hearing test last year, and after a lifetime of shooting (at work double protected - sponge plugs and over ear muffs) and motorcycling, my own stalking (always moderated, rarely wear plugs) my hearing test revealed above average hearing for a 62 year old.
Good ones are worth buying.
 
The position of your mouth affects your fitment of in ear protection. When I had my moulds done I got 2 sets, mouth open and mouth closed. You end up like a slabbering dog mouth open waiting for the compound to set. This may be why some have had them slipping out.
 
The position of your mouth affects your fitment of in ear protection. When I had my moulds done I got 2 sets, mouth open and mouth closed. You end up like a slabbering dog mouth open waiting for the compound to set. This may be why some have had them slipping out.
I hope you don't eat your packed lunch while sitting in your highseat. You'd have to change your earplugs with every mouthful.
 
I have the standard passive cens. No electronics. I think they cost £99. I’ve been very happy with them for clay and game shooting. My only issue is if it raining or your ears get wet they tend to slip out a bit.
+1.
You can always upgrade later to change the passive module for the electronic, I never have as they’ve suited my needs as per - albeit the electronic would be a nice upgrade.
Also if near Rochester go direct to CENS as they mould them with no ‘fitting’ fee that third party suppliers charge.
 
Much as above I have used ember passive in the past and they worked fine but wanted to try electronic versions. Initially I tried cens but my ears were too small for the soft moulded type. Settled in the end with mercury custom plugs which I have used for 3 seasons and have been great.
 
Hello everyone.

I've just finished my first season using Eley HP 3" steel loads, and whereas they've performed exactly as I wanted them to, that is to say stone dead ducks and no more wounded ones, these things are noticeably louder than my previous cartridges, and I need better ear protection. For the last few years I've worn standard electronic over ear protectors, but they don't fit all that well, I find that after waiting a while on a duck flight they start to press on my upper jaw muscles and be very uncomfortable, and worst of all, it's very hard to wear them under my wide-brimmed hat! So for next season I'm looking into the custom and molded types that perfectly fit into your ear. To that end, can any here please share their experience of these? In particular, is there much benefit to the electronic versions with active noise cancelling, given how much more expensive (and losable) they are? A quick bit of research has thrown these up:

Shooting Ear Protection | Custom Moulded Ear Plugs For Shooting (recommended by the late and greatly missed John Humphreys it seems)

George Digweed MBE - World No.1 Shooter - CENS digital (George Digweed prefers these ones)

Any insight very welcome. Thanks!
Peltor supply a over ear muff that fits around the back of the head .These i find very comfortable .i still wear the normal cheap foamies under these or any other muffs if i am letting off more than one shot
 
I have a set of passive custom moulded from a local audiologist. Hoping to upgrade to electronics when the wallet can allow.

Having played the pipes for the last 14 years (or so), tinnitus has been my friend for quite a while... (Foolishly as a young lad I never gave it much thought, and the faffing around with foam plugs between sets to hear the pipey's comments etc was "annoying"...)

I prefer them most of the year when I'm out shooting (clays or otherwise) because I find I tend to get sweaty ears underneath my over ear ones. Will put the over ear ones on (over the passives) when I'm on the indoor range and people are shooting slugs/LBRs next to me. Over ears only when in the field during the game season to keep the ears warm though 😅
 
The most important thing is that any form of protection is better than none so be sure to wear something and, of course, if it fits and is comfortable then you are more likely to wear it. In an industrial setting the majority of damage is caused by people either fitting the protecting incorrectly or fitting it too late, or removing it too early, say when entering a noisy room.

One thing I will say about the custom moulded plugs is that, by their nature, they can't offer the same level of protection as the foam type plugs. The foam plugs expand when inserted to make a tight seal whereas the moulded ones can't do this and so this is reflected in their effectiveness. However, if they are comfortable and easy to use and you wear they every time then this may well be a trade off that is worthwhile.

If you aren't yet committed to the electronic type plugs then it might be worth your while testing a selection of foam plugs? They are relatively inexpensive, will offer more protection than the moulded plugs, and can be very comfortable with the right set. The key thing, like with shoes I guess, is that one size does not fit all and so you need to get something that works for you. If you want to give this route a try then I'd suggest buying a trail pack of plugs from these people, they do a pack of 31 different types so you can work out exactly what fits you, and experiment with what suits you:


If you are concerned about getting the most protection possible then it is worth noting that the NRR and SNR numbers are not directly comparable (The NRR number will usually look low compared to the SNR) as they use a slightly different method to calculate the figure. However they are designed to give a good impression of the effectiveness of the plugs and so it is very useful to use either the NRR or SNR to guide your choice by comparing one plug to another, just don't use a mixture of the two numbers. So, for example, I wear the Peltor Next no-touch plugs as they fit well and are extremely convenient to use and you can see that they have an NRR of 29dB but their SNR is 35dB.
 
One thing I will say about the custom moulded plugs is that, by their nature, they can't offer the same level of protection as the foam type plugs. The foam plugs expand when inserted to make a tight seal whereas the moulded ones can't do this and so this is reflected in their effectiveness. However, if they are comfortable and easy to use and you wear they every time then this may well be a trade off that is worthwhile.

I thought the nature of custom moulded is that they offer you better than the foam type plugs? Effectively like using full wax plugs?
 
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