[Harp-L] Musician earplugs

[Eliza Doolittle <eliza.doolittle@xxxxxxxx>]

I've been very interested in getting earplugs for some time, but I've never quite made up my mind
about it. I'm the sort of person who gets nervous about getting things into my ears or my eyes (I don't
think I'd be able to wear contact lenses if I needed to), and I've never been able to use those basic
disposable foam earplugs (trying to put them in place makes my flesh crawl!). But I got sort of scared
a few months ago, when the funny feeling I usually get after a two-hour rehearsal with the band in
which I play French horn, sitting in front of the bass drum, hadn't gone away the next morning (in fact,
it was there for several days afterwards). I went to an ENT specialist who confirmed there was no
damage done to my ears yet, but who advised some kind of protection.

I was thinking of buying a couple of custom moulded earplugs, these:

http://www.gaes.es/que-necesitas/proteccion-auditiva/musica/para-musicos-profesionales/ER-Flexcomfort

(Sorry, the site's in Spanish, but from the photo you'll know what I'm talking about).
They are supposed to have almost the same attenuation for all the frequencies, which is important to me
(I do need to be able to hear everything that's going on more accurately than if I was, say, in a rock band).
But they are expensive (â200). If I were sure I would be using them, I'd buy them, but I'm afraid they may
suffer the same fate as the foam ones.

Do you know whether these earplugs I've mentioned are much better than these others?

http://www.gaes.es/que-necesitas/proteccion-auditiva/musica/para-amantes-de-la-musica/ER-20-ER-20s

I haven't asked, but I think these must be cheaper.

I know I must sound childish when I talk about my unability to push an earplug into my ear, but that's how it
goes for me. Has anyone overcome this same fear? How? Are the custom-made earplugs easier or more difficult to insert than the foam ones? And the 'mushroom' ones?

Thank you,

Eliza Doolittle