How custom earplugs are made - what is involved?
Now you’ve chosen where to purchase your custom earplugs, you’ll need to get an impression of your ear canals taken. Here’s an overview of what to expect when you visit your audiologist.
Before you attend the session
People who have a history of suffering from high levels of ear wax should make an appointment with their doctor or health centre so that excess volumes of ear wax can be removed before you get your impression made.
This is important because large amounts of ear wax will actually affect the shape of the mould taken by the audiologist, and in turn this will lead to a custom earplug which does not form a complete seal inside your ear canal.
In a similar way, if you have recently had ear surgery, it’s best to wait a while before getting your ear canal impressions to allow your ears to return to their regular shape.
During your appointment
The audiologist will first take a look at your ear, to check that your ear is healthy and that you don’t have an excessive build up of wax. The audiologist may also ask questions about your general heath - for example whether you have a head cold, which may prevent you from having your impressions taken on that day.
The next stage involves a small piece of cotton or foam being placed into your ear. This acts as a barrier and stops the material used to create the impression from coming into contact with your eardrum.
Once this barrier piece is in place, the audiologist will use a syringe to fill your ear canal with the impression material. It usually takes around 5 minutes to set, and in this time you will probably be asked not to speak and to keep very still. This makes sure that the mould can create a perfect seal with your ear canal.
Another way of ensuring a good seal is by placing the foam or cotton barrier after the second bend of the ear canal. By doing this a perfect seal is formed deep inside the ear and therefore results in an extremely effective earplug.
After the material has set, the impression will be removed and your ears will be examined again to ensure that all the material has been removed. The next stage is to send the impressions of your ears off to the company to actually manufacture your earplugs. In some cases you are responsible for sending these, while in other cases the audiologist will send them.
Typically, your earplugs will be with you within about 21 days, however this time can vary from company to company, and can also depend on where you got your impression taken.
Some companies will get you to return to the audiologist for a fitting session, where you are taught how to use your earplugs. Fitting and removing custom earplugs is very easy, however it can take some getting used to at first and experience shows that custom made earplugs are much more effective when customers are shown how to use them.
