Elacin ER15s are custom moulded ear plugs. Please note that this review can also be found on the Sound On Sound Forums.

In Depth
They're not as cheap as pieces of tissue or cotton wool, but then we're talking about 'useful' hearing protection here. These are supposed to evenly reduce all ambient sound across the spectrum, making the listening environment quieter, but still "audible" and not like someone has put a low pass filter on the mix. And they do that quite well.

Cost

The cost was what was stopping me just going out and buying these right away after I'd read reviews of them, but after taking the plunge I'm very happy with the results. Mine cost me £162 GBP including moulding and a free ear test at Clements and Osborne hearing Centre, Jordanhill, Glasgow. I ordered the plugs through the centre, and they were delivered within about 4-6 weeks.

Getting Moulds Taken

I arranged an appointment with the hearing specialist , which took around 1 hour in total, from getting in and getting out again.

First, he sat me down and asked me various medical questions relevant to my ears and listening. He also had a look in using a wee video camera device.

Having been reassured that I had no hearing or ear problems, he then began to make the moulds. This is done by injecting a rubbery plasticine-like substance into the ear canal, which hardens sufficiently after around 10 minutes. The process is slightly strange at first, but not painful or unpleasant. It does serve to completely deafen the ear which has the mould in it, though. He did the moulds one at a time, (so that my brains didn't get sucked out when he removed them, presumably)

I'd point out here that it's a good idea to have your ears well-cleaned out before going along, as it's kind of embarassing if there are massive clumps of wax coming out with the mould. This also reduces the effectiveness of the mould. Needless to say, no nasties lurking in my ear canal!

I also got a free hearing test, which showed that my hearing showed no damage, or drop-off at high frequencies (which is the usual place that hearing loss occurs first, after serious exposure to loud noise).

The audiologist then sends off the moulds to the elacin people, who took around 5 weeks to make and deliver the ear plugs.

Description Of The Plugs

The plugs come in a variety of colours, and I chose clear, (not red, yellow, black or blue: yuck!) as I prefer them to be discreet as possible. They come with a wee recessed white circular filter at the outside end, and the plug itself is made of relatively firm but slightly malleable rubbery plastic. They have a "tunnel" running from the filter to your inner ear, so that the only sound getting in is that which comes through the filter.

Accessories

They came with the ER15 filter (which reduces ambient sound by 15db). There are also ER9s and ER25s available, and filters are interchangeable.

There is also a small tube o' lube (yay) for assisting easy insertion, obviously. There's also a wee zip up pouch and a horrible little implement for picking wax out of the plugs.

Trying Them On

Putting them in took a couple of tries, but there is really only one way they can go in. They have a discreet red dot for the right ear, and blue for the left. They go in by twisting them (lube 'em up if you wish) and pushing. They don't get "jammed" in uncomfortably, but they are very snug.

In Use (Domestic)

I wore them about the house, which was quite cool, actually. They really do maintain the definition of sounds in your immediate environment, and I listened to some of my own tracks with the volume turned way up, and there was little (I can't say zero) audible difference to listening at a quieter level without the plugs.

In Use (Gig)

I am a drummer, and while I don't batter the skins too hard, I'm not a brushes man either. I play in a ceilidh band, and the first test was at a smallish, low ceiling venue, with 300w per side FOH, 1 small foldback amp 3 feet from my left ear (actually a rather harsh foldback amp) and around 150 people in the room.

I did the 5 minute sound check without the plugs in, and things were starting to get a little sore. If I had continued that way for more than say 45 minutes, I would have had ringing ears that night (which is not a good thing to have on anything like a regular basis).

When I added the earplugs, the whole sound became a little tighter and less harsh (the foldback amp was putting out selected high frequencies from the fiddle) and the drums seemed to lose a little of their sustain (which was fine, as this helped me to tighten the groove). What was good was that I wasn't getting the "boom effect" which I've experienced with all other foam or rubberised ear plugs: a cut in HF, and no attenuation of anything below about 140hz.

I heard my own announcing voice (on the mic) clearly but obviously there was a slight difference to the timbre. I didn't sing, but because the HF was still there, I could hear what I was saying quite clearly over the FOH PA. I don't know how these plugs would do for singers, but I do know they'd be much better than cheap plugs, and probably very usable with a little practise.

I also found that during the DJ part of the night, I could hear people's shouted conversations very clearly, despite the PA blaring nearby, so I actually think the directionality (is that a word?) of the sounds was easier to distinguish with the ear plugs in.

Comfort

You almost forget you're wearing them when you're in a noisy environment, which is what you want. You can let your ears 'breathe' for a few seconds if you need (I didn't), as it only takes about 3 seconds to put the plug in each ear.

Problems

Nothing significant really. I did feel a little distanced from the Disco music afterwards, so dancing to it might have been a bit weird. But then it wasn't deafeningly loud to begin with. At a club/concert I'm sure it would be "just right".

I would also like to see a small earphone attachment come out for these, to slot into the part of the socket that takes the filter (which is removable, by the way). That would be way cool, in my opinion.

Further Thoughts

Having done around 300 (maybe more?) gigs in the past 7 or 8 years, I've tried various techniques to protect my hearing. I often just used rolled up tissue, which was surprisingly good and discreet from the front, and served to "take the edge" off of loud ambient sound (relatively evenly), but by the end of the night, my ears were still getting tired.

I've also tried foam plugs, which are worthless unless what you want to do is sleep, not "hear" music.

I also bought a pair of "ER20"-style non-moulded ear plugs. These are the ones with fins. If you fit them right, they're not bad, but not a patch on the ER15, and still allow in quite a lot of low bass.

So you can get ear protection for a lot cheaper, but if you want to hear the music you're listening to, I'd recommend a set of these. They last you around 4 years (and apparently after that your ears will have changed shape and they're not quite as effective, but I suspect still very usable).

OK, earplugs aren't cool, but these ones don't stick out all that much, and people won't insult you at gigs because they might be mistaken for discreet hearing aids

Conclusion

If you're exposed to loud music regularly, and you value A) your hearing and B) being able to "listen" to the music, then these are a really great investment. Getting the moulds done is fun, and the ER-15s don't look like nasty big ol' grandaddy ear-corks, so you don't sacrifice too much of your cool factor.