Quality and standards of your custom earplugs

PPE stands for personal protective equipment, in Dutch persoonlijke beschermingsmiddelen (PBM). Throughout the European Union, PPE is covered by the PPE Regulation (EU) 2016/425. It divides protective equipment into three risk categories. Harmful noise falls into Category III, for risks with very serious or irreversible consequences. Hearing protection is therefore always PPE-3.

For Category III, a notified body is involved, both in the type examination and in the monitoring of production. So a manufacturer cannot simply declare for itself that its hearing protection is safe.

EN 352 is the European series of standards for hearing protectors. For earplugs, including custom earplugs, part EN 352-2 applies. The standard sets requirements for construction, materials, comfort and attenuation, among other things, and determines which attenuation values, such as SNR and HML, the manufacturer must state.

Every Audibling earplug comes from the ear technology laboratory of Audiform in Kilder. For more than 25 years the team has been making ear moulds and custom hearing protection, for hearing centres all over the Netherlands and more and more often directly for businesses.

The impression of your ear arrives digitally or physically. Then your earplug is digitally modelled and 3D printed, or cast by hand using the traditional method. A lacquer finish and your colour complete it, and finally the filter clicks into place. Human hands are always involved.

Because the lab is small enough to oversee, the lines are short. A technical question goes straight to the people who make your earplug.

You choose the material of your custom earplugs yourself. Both are made to measure and are available with every filter.

• Hard acrylic is firm, durable and easy to clean. Cast acrylic hardly reacts in the ear. A good choice for intensive use, in industry and for narrow ear canals.
• Medical-grade silicone is soft and flexible. That gives extra wearing comfort, for example for long wear or under a helmet.

Do you choose your own colour or a logo print? The protection stays the same, because technically the earplugs are equivalent to plain custom earplugs.

The attenuation of custom earplugs is mainly in the filter. We work with membrane filters from Dynamic Ear Company in Delft. A membrane reduces the tones more evenly than a simple channel, so speech and music sound more natural. The breathable material keeps your ear ventilated.

The manufacturer's datasheet gives the attenuation for each filter variant, determined according to EN 352-2.

• DR, general use, SNR 7 to 19 dB
• DM, music and communication, SNR 10 to 20 dB
• DI, industry and production, SNR 22 to 26 dB
• DIM, impulse noise (level-dependent), SNR 15 to 19 dB

In custom earplugs the attenuation can vary, depending on the fit and the shape of your ear canal. The filters are interchangeable. If you want a different level of protection, you only replace the filter.

Custom earplugs are made from an impression of your ear and therefore fit your outer ear and ear canal exactly. That is comfortable for long wear, and it is the basis of the protection. If there is a gap between the earplug and your ear canal, sound leaks past the filter.

The value in a datasheet is measured in a laboratory. The guideline on occupational hearing loss from the NVAB, the Netherlands Society of Occupational Medicine, points out that attenuation in practice is often lower, for example because of the fit or because the earplug is not worn all the time. So have the fit checked regularly with a fit check. If you use them at work, a yearly check is sensible.

Your ears change too. If your custom earplugs no longer seal properly, it is time for a new impression. As a guide, custom earplugs last about 4 to 5 years with normal use and good care.

Your custom earplugs are ready about three weeks after your ear impressions are taken, with a storage case. For businesses we deliver them labelled per employee.

If an employee loses their custom earplugs, we offer a fast replacement service. Coloured custom earplugs and custom earplugs with a logo also stand out more when they are left lying somewhere, so they find their way back to their owner sooner.