Gear Review and How-To: Decibullz Custom Molded Earplugs
These earplugs can be custom molded to your ears at home with just 5 minutes and some hot water.
I’ve always liked the idea of custom-fitted earplugs. Over the years, I’ve walked past countless tables at myriad gun shows throughout the country with customers sitting patiently, nestled between booths of holsters and hot pretzels, as some practitioner squirted goo into their ear. No thanks. Something about injecting a liquid into my ear canal in that environment just makes me squirm.
One year at the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, I stopped by an ear protection booth that seemed a step above all the others. The presentation was perfect and the product appeared to be top-notch. Then the salesman hit me with the price. Oof. Do you know how much ammo I could buy with that money!?!
So there I was, my choices being gun show goo or high dollar decibel reduction. Then I got an ad on social media for Decibullz custom molded earplugs. There was no stranger injecting goo at a gun show and they didn’t want to check my credit before the purchase. It seemed like a match made in heaven.
When the company ran a BOGO sale for Black Friday, I took the plunge. Two pairs for $25.99 and then a spare lanyard for $5.99 with free shipping? Sign me up! If they sucked, I was only out the cost of a couple boxes of ammo and not a whole case.
IN THE BOX
Inside each box are two un-molded earplug bodies with three different sizes of plugs to fit for comfort. A small drawstring bag is also included for storage.
MOLDING
It couldn’t be simpler. Boil a small pot of water on the stove. (Or, boil a coffee mug of water in the microwave.) When it’s good and hot, place one plug in the water for five minutes. Don’t put them both in at the same time. The material is tacky and they can stick together.
When the time is up, fish the plug out with a spoon and let it cool for 30 seconds. Drop the second one in the water for the same amount of time while you place the heated plug in your ear.
With the plug seated in your ear, gently use the pad of your finger to press it into the correct shape for your ear’s contours. You can use a mirror if you’d like, but I didn’t find it necessary. Once you’ve got it shaped properly, let it cool in your ear for five minutes.
Once it’s time to remove the second heated plug from the water and let it cool, you can remove the first one from your ear. Then, simply repeat the process with the second plug.
TESTING
Now that both are molded to your ear, put them in and make sure they fit and feel the way you want. If not, simply reheat them and try again. They can be reshaped dozens of times with no worries.
I mentioned earlier that I bought a lanyard. The plugs work just fine without them, but I like being able to hang them around my neck. Installation was easy: remove the standard canal plugs and replace them with the custom lanyard plugs.
They’re rated for 31 decibels of noise reduction and they’re true to it. They do a better job reducing the noise than regular foam plugs and they’re right on par with the electronic muffs I have.
The fit really is custom and snug. It takes a bit of work to remove them from your ear, but not in a bad way. You certainly don’t have to worry about them falling out!
CUSTOMIZATION
You can get the plug bodies in five different colors to help tell them apart in your range bag. Different filters are also available for a variety of applications. They offer percussive shooting filters, corded and Bluetooth earphones, and professional music filters. The cool thing about it is that all of those filters fit into the same pair of plugs that you originally molded!
TAKEAWAY
You really can’t beat the product for the price. You can buy two pairs of Decibullz for what one pair of gun show goo usually sells for. And you could outfit your whole family for what the “professional” brands want to charge.
If you’ve always wanted a pair of custom plugs, but didn’t want to spend a fortune, I highly recommend that you give Decibullz a try. They offer a 30-day, 100% money-back guarantee. You really have nothing to lose – except your hearing. (Which you won’t because Decibullz are awesome!)
