Reusable earplugs such as Howard Leigh QUIET earplugs are very easy to slide in the ear canal and get properly in place. Another advantage of reusable earplugs, is the simple cleaning. Warm water and a drop of soap cleans the plugs within seconds. Quick drying and they are ready to go again, perfect. The attenuation capacity of Howard Leigh QUIET is SNR28 which is adequate for allroad motorcycle touring. It all sounds really good.
The true challenge of using reusable Howard Leigh QUIET earplugs, comes from keeping the plugs in place in the ear canal. The automatic ear wax production keeps the canals healthy, but also reduce the friction between the earplug and the ear canal. Clean plugs slide in place and stay in much better than after a couple of in/out rotations during a day. Washing the earplugs during the day in between, is often impossible not to mention impractical. The heat leads to sweat and ear canals are no exception in hot conditions. The earplugs get slightly waxed in no time at all. During the test, the reusable Howard Leigh QUIET earplugs slowly slide a tiny bit out which effected the attenuation capacity immediately. Pressing the earplugs back in place helmet on is not something I would like to repeat over and over again. Maybe that`s just my ears, but I could not get the QUEIT earplugs to stay in place after the first take off and I tried the hole summer to manage with them.
Now I am back to disposable EAR Soft earplugs and very happy with the rolling. The size and shape of EAR Soft works for me exactly and the PU -foam is one of the easiest materials to roll. The attenuation level of EAR Soft earplugs is SNR36 which is 8dB better than the Howard Leigh QUIET earplugs. I can hear the difference right away. If you are looking for good earplugs, I recommend to test the EAR Soft. Depending on your ear canals, they may fit as well as they fit for me. Now I am eager to see if custom made earplugs work even better or do they suffer from a similar come off tendency. Read generally more about hearing protection and earplugs here.
