Pluggerz hearing protection is available in two sorts of material: acrylate (hard) and silicone (soft and flexible). For some products there is no choice between the material options (think of the Pluggerz earplugs Water, Sleep Side Sleeper and Music 2-in-1. However, there is a choice for most of our earplugs, for example with the DM, the Pro Custom-Fit Pro and the Road Custom-Fit.
We have noticed that sometimes the choice of material is hard to make for hearing care professionals and customers. Some hearing care professionals, but probably mostly the customers think that silicone has a better fit in the ear. This is not true. Silicone and acryl are both custom-made for the person in question. The choice of material makes no difference in how comfortable the earplugs fit in the ears.
Nevertheless, in most cases we advise to choose for acrylate material. This has to do with the following characteristics of this hard material:
Acrylate earplugs have a longer lifespan. Because of acids in the ears, silicone earplugs get affected more easily. This does not cause problems for the material, but it will make the color of the earplugs change;
Acrylate earplugs are easier to clean;
Silicone earplugs can sometimes feel muggy in the ear, which could lead to irritated ear canals. This can often cause itching complaints.
The biggest difference and maybe the most important, is the attenuation. With acrylate material we can reach heavier attenuation values. This has to do with the fact that acrylate earplugs are more massive, which leads to less noise going through the earplugs. With silicone earplugs the maximum attenuation is 27 dB, while with acrylate earplugs it is 33 dB. Next to that, you can “play around” with the attenuation as you can see in the figure below. The difference between the lightest and the heaviest filter is 11 dB with acrylate material, whilst the difference with silicone is 6 dB.
While the above is true in most cases, there are some exceptions where silicone earplugs are a better option for the customer. For instance with violinists, singers and wind instrument players. Musicians who use their head or mouth to play an instrument have to deal with vibrations when they play their instrument or when they sing. The silicone material doesn’t conduct these vibrations to the head of the player as well as acrylate material. This is a benefit for musicians because other sounds (from other musicians in the orchestra or music in general) are not overruled by these vibrations.