Earplugs
What is earplugs?
Earplugs, small receivers, can be plugged into the ear, commonly used in radios and hearing aids. Also can be plugged into the ear, used to prevent water from entering the ear when swimming, and can also be used to reduce noise interference, i.e. anti-noise earplugs, sleep earplugs, etc.
Earplugs protect the ears from noise hearing loss and tinnitus. Proper earplugs should be used when working in noisy environments, or for musical activities and sporting events.
Earplugs working principle
Soundproof ear plugs work on the principle of First, let’s understanding how hearing is produced. The ear is our auditory organ, including the outer ear, middle ear, and inner ear. The outer ear and middle ears are the collection and conduction devices for sound waves, and the inner ear receives sound waves and bitonal stimuli. The sound we normally hear has only two conduction pathways: bone conduction and air conduction.
The soundproof ear plugs are directly blocking the outer ear canal, reducing noise by reducing the sound waves entering the outer ear canal. Note that here is said to reduce, not absolute isolation elimination, so anti-noise ear plugs only to a certain extent to reduce the noise (about 15 ~ 35 decibels lower) rather than the formation of complete silence.
Structure of earplugs
The structure of the earplug is designed according to the acoustic principles of damping, anti-absorption, and the requirements of wearing comfort. From the use effect, the main reasons to decide the sound attenuation are the following 4 aspects.
Airtightness of ear plugs
The sound attenuation effect of the earplug is related to the degree of fitting between the earplug and the external ear canal. If the finish of the plug body, the precision degree of fitting with the ear canal and the airtightness are good, the sound attenuation effect will be improved accordingly.
Wall thickness of ear plugs
When the noise frequency is 1000Hz and the wall thickness of the earplug is 5mm, the sound attenuation is about 12dB; when the wall thickness of the earplug is 20mm, the sound attenuation is about 22dB.
The shape of earplugs
The shape of each person’s external ear canal is different. In order to make the ear plugs work closely with the external ear canal and improve the airtightness, the shape of the ear plugs should have various shapes to suit different people.
Ease of use of ear plugs
The shape of the earplug should be designed in such a way that the plug body can be easily inserted or removed from the external ear canal, while not falling off easily, and not being inserted too deep into the external ear canal to avoid the feeling of discomfort.
Types of earplugs
Earplugs by material
Silicone earplugs
Silicone earplugs price pair with homemade ear plugs cost comparison more than 500 times the difference, silicone ear plugs softened with warm water soaked into the ear canal before use. Can be used 5 times, repeatedly with high hardness, will cause pain in the ear canal can not be continuous effective silent and low-cost use, silicone construction ear plugs although impermeable non-porous, but because of its rubber type rebound after the hardness of the different types of ear canal with adults in full compliance with the chances of small, so it will cause pinhole leakage or fine small hole leakage, a leak in the sound insulation effect will reduce the noise into the ear about 20 or 30 decibels, the inner wall of the ear canal curved Soft, blockage too hard will appear in the ear canal redness and swelling and earplug leakage or even sleep pain side sleep pressure, can not effectively achieve long-term comfort and quiet effect, and ear curved canal wall does not match that brings ear pain redness, it is impossible to plug into long-term use, noise insulation sleep quality reduced.
Sponge earplugs
Sponge earplugs are now made of softness and hardness with the use of the adjustment, the finished material is not breathable artificial rubber-like so the ear canal comfortable sound insulation effect is good, low cost can be continuously put into the ear canal use N years and no discomfort.
Sponge earplugs: low-pressure bubble mold material, high elasticity polyester material made of anti-noise earplugs with smooth surface, slow rebound, no pain in the ear when using, sound insulation effect between 25dB-40dB. This kind of earplug is very suitable for sleep use every night, but because of the slow rebound effect will be weakened after cleaning and can not be used repeatedly, generally speaking, sponge earplugs are discarded after use type. However, with the development of science, as of now some sponge earplugs on the market can be used repeatedly for more than half a year and can be scrubbed.
Wax earplugs
Wax earplugs are the originator of anti-noise earplugs, which can be softened by hand and made to fit the shape of the ear canal. But the disadvantage is not enough hygiene, wax may also be left in the ear canal, not easy to clean. And wear a long time the ear will have a painful feeling of swelling.
Earplugs by shape
The most common shape of earbuds is the bullet-head type. There are also horn types, cylindrical shapes, and triangular types.
Bullet earplugs
Bullet-shaped earplugs are the more used type, recognized as more comfortable and good sound insulation sponge earplugs.
Rocket earplugs
Rocket-type earplugs are easy to pull out, but they tend to cause gaps in the ear canal, resulting in unsatisfactory sound insulation.
Speaker earplugs
The speaker earplug has a hard center for easy insertion of earplugs and is made of silicone.
Christmas tree type ear plugs
Christmas tree-type earplugs are generally made of silicone, with a slight swelling sensation, used for labor-type earplugs and swimming earplugs.
Cylindrical earplugs
Cylindrical earplug earplugs are very soft and can be easily pinched to fit the shape of the ear canal, but in contrast to the bullet head and rocket type, the end that enters the ear canal is not easily rolled to fit the size of the ear canal because both ends are the same width.
Earplugs by function
Labor earplugs
Labor protection ear plugs They are also made of silicone, which can prevent the discomfort of the eardrum caused by the sound from the machine and have good anti-noise performance, but they are relatively hard and have obvious distension and pain when worn, and are not suitable for sleep use. General labor earplugs are with a rope, easy to remove at any time.
Sleep earplugs
Sleep earplugs are generally made of soft and slow rebound material, as of now the sleep earplugs on the market can reach the level of silicone anti-noise performance, but because the material is not as waterproof as silicone, cleaning is not convenient, not much use in the production plant, generally used for daily sleep use. There is also with a line, but when sleeping often the neck will feel a foreign body and discomfort.
Swimming earplugs (waterproof earplugs)
They prevent water from entering the ear canal and generally use materials with good waterproof performance, such as silicone. However, there will be swelling and pain when brought into the ear.
How do clean earplugs?
Use soap water to clean earplugs
First, find a small piece of soap and basin, use warm water to melt the soap in the basin, then put the earplug into the water to soak for a few minutes and then wipe the earplug with a soft cloth dipped in a small amount of soap water, clean it and dry it with a dry towel or wait for it to dry naturally.
Use toothpaste to clean earplugs
Toothpaste is more common, you can squeeze out a little toothpaste, mix a little water to dissolve, and then use a soft cloth dipped in a small amount of toothpaste water to wipe, clean, and dry with a dry towel or wait for it to dry naturally.
Use alcohol to clean earplugs
Find a little cotton and apply alcohol on it, then wipe the earplugs with the cotton, wipe it clean and dry it naturally.
Precautions for cleaning earplugs
a. Ear plugs are not recommended to wash often, which will affect the rebound and life, after cleaning with a hair dryer open a small wind blow dry.
b. Earplugs according to the case for cleaning, you can directly rinse with water or neutral soap, after cleaning do not wring with your hands.
c. After cleaning the earplugs slow rebound characteristics will be weakened and easy to swell, which is a normal phenomenon, to be dry change the phenomenon and lift, ear plugs are not dry do not use.
How to use earplugs?
The correct way to wear ear plugs is divided into a total of three steps, first, you need to wash your hands to ensure the cleanliness of the earplugs, then the earplugs will be rubbed and flattened, and finally, try to use your hands to straighten the ear canal and plug into the ear plugs. When wearing earplugs, you should also pay attention to the ear plugs that need to fit moderately with the ear nail cavity, to ensure that the earplugs are comfortable to wear.
Before wearing earplugs
Before wearing ear plugs, you should wash your hands clean, to avoid bacterial infection in the ear canal and ensure the hygiene of the ear plugs.
Flatten the earplugs
Wearing earplugs should first wear the left ear, and then wear the right ear, when wearing the earplugs need to be rubbed flat, wear the left ear with the right hand from the back of the head around the left ear, from the left ear after the upper direction outward pulling the ear, need to try to ‘pull the ear canal straight, and then use the left hand to put the earplugs into the ear canal can; the right ear is worn in the same way with the opposite direction.
Adjusting the earplugs
If you feel that the sound insulation effect is poor or uncomfortable to wear, you should rotate the earplug slowly to make yourself feel comfortable. Of course, if you feel no effect or discomfort with any adjustment, you need to consider changing to other models of earplugs.
How to buy earplugs?
If you are interested in our Earplugs or have any questions, please write an e-mail to info@antiteck.com, we will reply to you as soon as possible.