Best earplugs for the walkround?

[Parcelpup]

Just a quick post to see if any of you have any recommendations for earplugs to pop in whilst doing the walkround.

I've found sticking fingers in ears looks a bit unprofessional when walking round the 737!

Heard that the custom moulded jobs are good - any suggestions?

Or are the foam freebies just as good?

Cheers!

[rubik101]

foam freebies are as good, if not better than most. Hear speaks 35 years of flying. Spend your money on a good bottle of wine!

[alexban]

selecting packs off before going for the walk will reduce the noice,sometimes considerably.Other noise source are the hidraulics pumps,but you're supposed to have them on during checks.And finally ,the APU ,which must be running ,if no ground power available.
Blocking your ears ...maybe a chance to be run over by a service truck (happened to a fellow I know )
Brgds

[Intruder]

The yellow foam EAR plugs are as good as any, from a test review I read many years ago. If your airline gives them away, all the better!

[Max Angle]

If your airline gives them away, all the better!

In the UK airport ramp areas are designated by the Health and Safety Exec. as requiring hearing protection and your airline should provide ear plugs or some other kind of protection to you. If not you should take it up them or your union. We have a supply of foam earplugs in every crew room and I find them pretty good as long as you change them every few days.

[Firestorm]

Freebie foam ear plugs are great, and hygenic (very important). I have a pair of custom moulded ones (by Green Leopard http://www.greenleopard.co.uk/) which I bought primarily for shooting, but use when doing sorts of other noisy things, such as cutting the grass, avoiding a nagging, and walk arounds. They are excellent, and a million times more comfortable than one size fits noone foam ones. At £40 they are wotrth the money. Only downers are that you have to wash them regularly, and there an awful lot of colours and combinations to chose from. If you fly a turbo-prop, particularly a Shed or something, you might try wearing them under your headset: it makes the world of difference.

[PhilM]

http://csesafety.com/images/order/1755.jpg

Are the ones most engineers wear, they are very good, I hate the foam ones with a passion!. These have the foam things in them, but they are inside a rubber cone, which means they can be cleaned etc. The blue band is great for jus dangling them round your neck, but also pushes them gently into your ear....soooo much easier than rolling foam ones into place

[LGB]

I bought a pair of earplugs in an airport shop in Amsterdam recently (the shop with all the weird electronic gadgets). The plugs come in a small pouch and have two differet sets of 'pins' to them. These plugs are made of soft rubber (silicone maybe?) and wearing them for 8 hours hasn't hurt my ears yet. The aforementioned 'pins' have a small hole in them meaning that some sound does go through. The great advantage of this is that although all noises are blocked, pink noise seem to get blocked more, so on the flight deck, I hear the voice and tones more clearly than without wearing the plugs. Don't know about the legal issues, since they are not TSOd, obviously.

They are about 5-8 EUR a set, depending where you buy them.

[spannersatcx]

http://csesafety.com/images/order/1755.jpg Are the ones most engineers wear

Not if you want to be able to hear in many years time. Sorry they're not good enough, constant exposure to noise, in particular on the ramp, I wouldn't wear anything else but something like these

If you are working for a UK airline, then the company is obliged under UK health and safety regulations to provide you with appropriate and adequate ear protection whilst on the ramp. VS for instance have these ear defenders for the cockpit crew on their a/c, why can't you.

I've been in this industry far longer than I care to remember and can say that due to ear protection worn I don't suffer any hearing loss or tinitus, it's up to you........Pardon!