Problems With Moto Safe Alpine Ear Plugs

[Offroader]

I purchased a new set of ear plugs via a link on this site. They are like a very small mushroom in shape with interchangeable filters and a special tube to fit them.

As they arrived just in time for planned run out to Aberystwyth I was eager try them out so followed all the instructions to fit them and they didn't feel too bad, I could hear and didn't get that under water feeling as with other ear plugs I have used. However they started to become uncomfortable after just 25 miles or so. When I stopped in Rhayader I soon realised the problem, they had worked their way further into my ear and I could not get them out.

I returned home in discomfort and fortunately my daughter in law, who is a nurse, was able to remove them with the aid of surgical tweezers. It seems the slight movements of my helmet had not only pushed them in but had turned them slightly so they were wedged fast. My ears are still ringing and sore a few days later and needless to say I wont risk using them again.

Has anyone else had similar problems with this type of ear plug? Please let me know so I can pass the info onto the manufacturer.

[lootch67]

Ouch!!

Fortunately I've not had any similar experiences. I'm very happy with mine.

[MacP]

Blimey! That sounds nasty. I've found mine to be very comfortable (so far) but I'll bear it in mind.

Cheers

[Whealie]

You need to cut them off to fit. The original instructions explain this.
I cut off about 2mm from each and found them snug.

[Simon]

i have the opposite problem, in that they tend to work their way out of my left ear! My brother though did put his in too far the first time he tried them and it took Phoenix and a set of keys to remove them!

[Yeti]

My ears are still ringing and sore a few days later and needless to say I wont risk using them again.

What most freedivers call a bent ear. It is the result of a pressure difference from one side of the eardrum to the other. If they are the earplugs I think they are they go in pushing the air out, or at least compressing it. When you try and pull it out you create a vacum and thats what hurts. Your ear drum gets pulled and then responds by inflaming. It passes quickly if no perforations caused. I find the best way to get any vacum packed earplug out is twist it so you create creases either in your skin or the plug. This lets air in.

The best solution I have found is these:

http://www.greenham.com/c/pl/67053/EAR-Ultrafit-Earplug

I started with these:

http://www.greenham.com/c/pl/67054/EAR-Tracer-Earplug

but found they were a bit stiff (reason being, they have a little metal bit in the stem for food factories!)

The first (yellow) ones are a bit softer. They do not suit everybody and take a bit of getting used to but are great for normall daily use as you can wash them. Mine last about 3 months before they get permenantly deformed and get too soft to seal. But at £1 whos complaining!! Oh if anyone gets these just give them a LITTLE wet in your mouth before putting them in. They go in nicely then. Too wet and you get a vacum Old camera film cases make a perfect clean case for them.

The only time I have found them a problem is when I forgot to tip them downwards before putting my helmet on. After 1 hr on the motorway at 80 my helmet had pushed them in too far causing a similar problem as Offroader had. The beauty of these is they have a long stalk to get hold of and can be twisted very easily.

Nearly forgot........you can push a pin through them to create a small hole to stop them getting stuck. They still work just as well.

[icenian]

I believe the filters (green or yellow) in the MotoSafe plugs should allow a bit of air though to prevent a vacuum - isn't this why they're supposed to feel more comfortable?

But if you push them in by putting your finger on the end of the "stalk" you block the wee hole. You can either use the tube supplied, or pinch the end of the stalk (acoiding covering the hole in the end). That technique makes mine fit more comfortably anyway. YMMV!

[Whealie]

Another warning: popped mine in to cut out the noise while camping. Rolled over to sleep and pushed the bloody thing right inside my ear. Tried, foolishly, to pull it out with fingers then the Leatherman, only pushing it in further. A brief and rather red-faced trip to A&E followed.
So, wear them on the bike but don't fall asleep.