Posted: 2/3/2017 7:19:52 PM EDT
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I'm thinking of sucking it up and buying some higher end electronic custom in-ear hearing protection. Anybody purchase any in the area? if so, where and any reviews good or bad? Looks like there's a few places in the city that do custom molds.
I have bad hearing and I'm thinking about going to a specialist and seeing if insurance might cover any of it 
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I have Custom molded "SportEars" lotsa correction built into mine. They work well enough but they are already 3-4 years old.
I would wear them all the time, but because of "occlusion" you hear yourself talk muffled, the amplification allows all the rest of the through sound in EXCEPT the db range it is supposed to block off. When shopping around on the interwebs OR in person you need to know the LOCKTIME. LOCKTIME: how many milliseconds it takes the hearing aid to recognize the db threshold to blockout the potentially damaging effects of that noise. Mine have 4 settings: normal, loud, louder, *machine gun* as in continuous muffling out sound anticipated to be above the programmed limit. MAP purchased a pair after me, he wasn't as happy with his. They serviced me well, him not so much. You should IM me for some interesting details on how they can help you.
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Don't waste any money on getting or adding any electronics to a custom plug. They are worthless after 2 years. Why? Not because they fail, but your ear canal actually changes sizes on average every 18-24 months as your body ages. They will change before that if you lose weight, gain weight or have any teeth pulled. That custom fit, which was 100% contact skin to plug, will be gapped, and the dB rating will be lost. My otolaryngologists (ENT Doctor) told me this- though it was a ploy to get back me back. But we tested my hearing without and with them. Ran by the federal doc who does our work physical and he confirmed it. So I went back 2 years later as requested. Same tests results without them as before, but with them in, they were different. I heard tones that were blocked previously. Got fitted for a new pair and they are different when measured with calipers.
Buy a pair of custom made inner ears, and buy a decent pair of electronic muffs to go over them. You will be able to hear conversations just fine and protect your ears as well. Your insurance will not cover ear plugs. You can think Obamacare changes a few years ago. It used to cover them if a doctor said you were exposed to noise regularly and they were a medical necessity - kids in bands, musicians, aircraft crews, firearms enthusiasts, construction workers, etc... all had them paid for with a minor co-pay. Now hearing protection is seen as a preventative measure, and not allowed to be covered by any insurance company. Only exception is if you have a specific medical condition, which require them, not a job or hobby. Then doc has to write a Letter of Medical Necessity is required, define the medical condition outline why it is necessary and how these items will be used to alleviate the issue and how long the treatment will last. At the same time of Obamacare, it was deemed those with jobs in high noise environments, that their employers were responsible for the cost of hearing protection due health and safety concerns. But the office visit co-pay does cover the testing. ENT (my recommendation) or audiologist will be able to do a professional job. Be weary of guys selling these on the sides, you seem them at big shoots. I know of somebody who had their ear molded at a shoot by a guy selling them there as his side-gig. He punctured my acquaintances ear drum with the plug that stops that goes in first before they mold. Guy was in the hospital and could not fly home. Cost him thousands in medical bills and lost compensation for time off. Company the plug guy worked for on the side said he was an independent contractor and they were not liable. He sued the guy but had to do so in the state it happened, costing more money since he had to travel there and have the case served in the state the guy lived. He won but getting the civil judgment enforced where they guy lives is costing more. Penny wise and pound foolish. |
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Buy a pair of custom made inner ears, and buy a decent pair of electronic muffs to go over them. You will be able to hear conversations just fine and protect your ears as well.
This is is pretty much what I did. However, I already need hearing aid, midrange in both ears just about gone. Tinnitus BAD, so bad the brain filters that keep me from literally going insane, keep in tolerable. Every so many years those filters are removed by my brain, I hear everything like it is a cracked speaker or underwater. Just before I lose my mind my brain puts filters back on and it is tolerable once again. |