Page 1 of 1
Custom Fit Earbuds
Combine custom molded earplugs with in-ear headphones for isolated hi-fi.
- Author: Collin Cunningham
- Time required: 15 to 30 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
x 
x 22
I've used quite a variety of sound-isolating personal audio gear; around-ear cans, in-ear buds, as well as active noise-canceling models. All of them posed problems for me in one way or another. Most often, it came down to issues with comfort and how well each design could maintain a good seal on my noggin.
I was excited to find out that there are custom-fit headphone services out there, but my enthusiasm withered upon learning the price for such a thing.
Luckily there are simple DIY custom-mold earplug kits available for relatively cheap, so I dug out my old pair of quality earbuds, ordered a kit, and well, put together a very simple but satisfyingly effective project.
- View:
- Paginated
- Full width
Edit Step 1
—
Custom Fit Earbuds
¶
Mix the two separate putties included with the earplug kit.
The earbuds I'm using are quite bulky, so I decided to use only half the amount specified by the kit's instructions (in other words, 1/4 of the total material for each ear). This leaves me enough to make another pair if need be.
Edit Step 2 ¶
Before proceeding with this, take into account the following considerations. If you are going to DIY instead of getting a professional (such as an audiologist) to make your custom devices then at least follow the follow steps
DO NOT ATTEMPT if you have ever had a mastoidectomy or any ear surgery or the putty will end up in a very bad place and will require surgery. Meningitis = VERY BAD.
Wait until the putty is definitely set; if it isn't then it may be left behind in your ear, setting yourself up for a visit to the emergency room.
When removing the mold from your ear, VERY SLOWLY release the seal around the top part of your ear and VERY SLOWLY twist the mold forwards and outwards. If you just pull it out then the suction can burst your eardrum, causing immense pain, possible loss in hearing, perhaps requiring EXPENSIVE surgery and a trip to the emergency room. Plus, you won't be able to get your ears wet until the perforation has healed or risk massive pain and infection.
This guide has been completed 22 times.
Page 1 of 1
Comments Comments are onturn off
Guide
Wouldn't the earbud's stem/sound-pipe end up being filled up with the putty material when you push it in?
that's what I'm thinking of too - the liquidy material would just flow into the earbud, blocking the sound.
yup, one of mine got putty in it, the other did not. Now I'm sitting here trying to get the solid putty out...
Yes, I noticed that the earbud got putty on it before the putty had cured. I would suggest doing this in 2 steps; 1 make ear plugs, 2 fit phones to plugs.
Mark,
Huh - wasn't a problem with the shure E2Cs I used. Perhaps some designs have considerably larger openings than others. Also, I spent around 30secs or so pressing/moldin
I tried both casting the earphones and drilling.
Casting did not work well for me because it was very difficult to get the earphones properly centered in the ear canal. The outside surface also ended up being very uneven due to my adjusting the earphones.
I did come up with a method to avoid getting putty in the end of the earphones. Take some cellophane and pull it down over the end of the earphone. It is stretchable enough to block the end and evenly cover the shaft. A heat gun might also work to make the material even more pliable (with caution).
Drilling worked really well for me. These earplugs turned out great except that I don't think I pushed the material far enough into my ear canal.
Yeah I had a similar problem. My earbuds (Lenntek Sonix) have pretty stubby sound pipes so without the rubber they didn't go very far into the earplug material. They work great but the isolation aspect is a bit less since I had to cut off quite a bit of earplug. As for blocking out putty, I just cut round pieces of masking tape to cover them (mine have a screen and not an open tube so I knew the putty would stick)
I had the same problem with my Shure SE115s I just couldn't get the sound pipes centered at my ear canal. I was actually off so much I had to scrap the plugs. Least the kits are cheap, I'm going to order a couple more kits tonight and try drilling them out after curing instead.
I actually had more problems with the curing than the earplugs. 20 minutes in my ears and they were still not cured. Gave up at 30 minute mark and tried again with the other half. Still no go. I must have had a bad batch of the Radians. (Yes I mixed it correctly, I have made earplugs in the past.)
Works Great! I'm really glad I stumbled onto this one. My Altec Lansing Bluetooth Headset never fit right. Problem solved! I now only need to turn them up half as much(due to closer fit), extending the battery life of the headset and my iPhone! Drilled them after curing. No material intrusion problems here. Just need to make slightly bigger holes to let more high frequencies through. Thanx Collin!
Possible solution to putty stuck in ears: If you are concerned about getting the putty stuck in your ear, you could use some saran wrap to line your ears. The only problem with this is that you would be left with ridges on your final result.
Ryley Noyes, · Reply
Step 3
one though on ensuring that the putty doesn't stick might be to use olive oil which can be safely used in the ear (it is used to reduce wax build up). The oil should reduce the sticking and shouldn't effect the curing. Not tried this yet but would be interested to hear if anyone else has.
Great idea. I'm going to try this. I'd be inclined to try drilling a hole through from the earphone stem through the center of the portion sticking into the ear canal, rather than cut it off. This might give a more secure fit.