Protect Sound, Preserve Joy: The Case For Custom Ear Molds

What Are Custom Ear Molds, And Who Needs Them?

The sounds you love shouldn’t cost you the hearing you need. We sit down with Dr. Jill Copley to unpack the world of custom ear molds—what they are, how they’re made, and why they can transform comfort and protection for everyday life. From curvy ear canals and slipping hearing aids to roaring concerts, noisy work sites, pool days, and sleepless nights, we map the right solution to the right problem so you can hear smarter, not louder.

We start with the impression process and demystify the materials, fit checks, and common adjustments that make a custom mold feel invisible while sealing out leaks. Then we dive into real use cases: swim molds that float for kids with ear tubes or anyone prone to infections; filtered musician plugs that preserve tone while lowering volume evenly; solid industrial plugs for heavy noise; discreet sleep molds that soften snores without overfilling the ear; and custom earpieces that stabilize hearing aids and reduce feedback. Along the way, Dr. Copley shares practical guidance on comfort, duration of use, and why a great seal encourages consistent wear.

If you’ve ever found foam plugs itchy, muffled, or unreliable, this conversation offers a clear path forward. You’ll learn when to choose filters over solid plugs, why you might need different molds for sleep and concerts, and how a professional fitting protects long-term hearing health. Ready to upgrade your protection and comfort? Subscribe, share with a friend who needs safer sound, and leave a review to tell us where custom molds could help you most.

To learn more about Total Hearing Care visit:
https://www.TotalHearingCare.com

Total Hearing Care
Multiple Locations Across the DFW Metroplex
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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to the Total Hearing Care Difference, where
we help you experience lifethrough better hearing.
Hosted by the Experts of TotalHearing Care, a leading private
audiology practice serving theDFW Metroplex, we're here to
provide guidance on hearingloss, tinnitus, and the latest
advancements in audiology.
Transform your life throughbetter hearing.

(00:23):
Let's get started.

SPEAKER_01 (00:27):
Whether you're a musician, swimmer, or hearing
aid user, custom hearing moldsmight be your perfect fit.
Let's talk about who benefitsand why.
Welcome back, everyone.
I'm Sophia Yuvet, co-host andproducer back in the studio
today with Dr.
Jill Copley.
Dr.
Copley, how's it going thismorning?

(00:49):
It's going great.
Happy to be here.
Happy to have you back on.
Now, Dr.
Copley, let's dive into thisone.
What are custom ear molds andwho needs them?

SPEAKER_02 (01:01):
Okay, so the way we make custom ear molds is we are
going to um put a little pieceof cotton in the ear, and then
we put um I call it gooey stuffwhen I talk to patients.
It's kind of like a silicone,and with the body heat, it um
hardens, and then we can send itto a manufacturer um to make the

(01:25):
mold that we want.
And so, as you mentioned in whenyou um just spoke, there are
several different kinds of moldsthat you can get.
And one of them is with hearinginstruments, and so if the
device is not fitting in the earvery well, we can make a mold.
And that is basically um justfitting the ear very tightly and

(01:51):
as well as comfortably, but it'ssnug, and that way the hearing
device isn't going to movearound, it's going to stay in
your ear.
And then there's devices,hearing instruments that are
actually custom in your ear, andthat all of the technology is in
the shell.
And so that requires a custommold as well.
And then you mentioned swimming.

(02:13):
So sometimes if you've had earinfections because you get water
in your ear, or you've had tubesin your ear, so your eardrum is
has a little hole in it for somereason, then we'll do custom
molds so that you can swim inthem and not get water down deep
into your ear canal.

(02:34):
And those are a different typeof mold.
Those are going to be muchsofter.
And often those kinds of moldsum will float.
And so if for some reason itcame out or you have a young
child and they pull it out oftheir ear, it will actually
float so you can find it.

SPEAKER_01 (02:51):
Wow, that's really interesting.
Now, um, who typically benefitsmost from using custom molds?
So it could be anybody.

SPEAKER_02 (03:03):
So usually with the um swim molds, you often see the
one with children becausechildren are more prone to
having ear infections or havingear surgery, um, such as tubes
put into their eardrum.
Um the hearing instruments weoften use if you have kind of a
curvy ear canal, or maybe thecartilage is really soft and it

(03:26):
just doesn't hold the device inyour ear well.
We also do molds for otherthings.
A big one is hearing protection.
And there can be several typesof hearing protection.
For just someone that um goes toa concert or goes to a club or

(03:47):
uh maybe a wedding or somethingwhere there's loud music.
You can use just these standardyellow foam tips, but we can
also make molds that are morecomfortable.
And so that would have a filterin it, um, typically to allow
you to hear them the music likeit should be, just at a lower
level.

(04:08):
Then there's things like umsolid molds.
Solid molds could be used forother industrial kinds of noise.
Then you have sleep molds.
For instance, I have sleep moldsbecause my husband snores.
And so they are tinier, they fitdeeper into the ear, and they're
just there to help block some ofthe sound while you sleep.

(04:31):
And then you have there's somany ways you can use molds.
Um, then you have likemusicians' molds that actual
musicians will use.
Those molds are custom made andthey help protect hearing, but
they also have electronics toput into them so they can
actually uh hear the othersingers in their in their band,
and they can also hear theirmusic come through through the

(04:54):
amplifier directly into theirears so that they can monitor
themselves.
And those are usually calledcustom ear monitors for
musicians.
So I went through a lot of them,but there's just so many reasons
that we could use custom molds.

SPEAKER_01 (05:09):
You definitely have me convinced that for every
reason we should have some.
Now, how are custom molds madeand fitted?

SPEAKER_02 (05:18):
So, as I mentioned before, um for any of these
molds, the process is going tobe the same where we check the
ear, make sure you don't haveany debris such as wax in there,
and we'll put that little umcotton or foam tip in there, and
then we use um an injection gun.

(05:39):
It's kind of like a syringe toput in the material.
And then we take that out andwe'll send it to the appropriate
manufacturer because you havedifferent manufacturers for all
these things too.
And then once we get them back,then we need to fit them because
we need to make sure they'regoing to fit in your ear okay
and not um move around, ifespecially if it's for noise

(06:02):
issues.
You don't want it moving aroundwhere noise can get in, as well
as for um we want it to becomfortable so it doesn't rub
anything on your ear.
And sometimes we can actuallymodify the molds in our office,
but sometimes we actually haveto remake them and send them
back to the manufacturer to doso.

(06:23):
That happens.
I mean, you know, um, it's alldone by hand and it's all done
by humans.
So sometimes things have to beredone, and so that's common.

SPEAKER_01 (06:33):
Now, um, how many molds do you need?
Do you need multiple fordifferent reasons or is one
enough?

SPEAKER_02 (06:40):
Well, it depends on what you're using them for.
So sometimes with my patients,I'll have molds for their
hearing instruments, but thenthey'll also want sleep molds
because, like I said, a spousesnores, or maybe they go to
concerts and they wantmusicians' molds.
So it just depends.
But yeah, you would havemultiple molds depending on the

(07:00):
reason that you need the mold.
So a sleep mold is going to bedifferent from a mold to help
with background noise, you know,things like that.
So they're all they're all kindof different.

SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
How essential is it that we start using as a whole
more of these ear molds,especially in those loud
situations?

SPEAKER_02 (07:21):
Yes.
So um in another podcast, Italked about how loud noise can
really affect your hearing veryearly on in the noise exposure.
And so it's very important towear hearing protection.
There's lots of different typesof hearing protection.
We've mentioned um the littlefoam plugs that you can put in

(07:42):
your ear.
I've mentioned um the specifickinds of molds you could use,
whether they're musicians' moldswith filters or whether they're
just solid plugs.
There's also headphones that canbe used.
So there's lots of differenthearing protection, but I'm I'm
a proponent of hearingprotection whenever it's needed,

(08:03):
regardless of what you use.
Custom molds are nice becausethey fit comfortably in the ear.
Um, I think when I've used thefoam plugs, I can use them, but
then they start to itch or theythey feel big in my ear because
my ear is kind of small.
So it just depends on your ear,your comfort level, um, and how
long you're in the noise.

(08:24):
You know, the longer you're inthe noise, you probably want
something more comfortable towear than than just the foam
plugs.
But you know, it it just there'sall sorts of molds, there's all
sorts of costs to them,depending on what you get.
Um, but I just say use hearingprotection.
And then of course, for peoplethat have a hole in their

(08:45):
eardrum, if you're gonna goswimming, you need to have
something to keep water fromgoing down into your your ear
through your eardrum, or for umto keep to prevent infections
and to prevent water from goinginto your middle ear.

SPEAKER_01 (09:01):
Wow, Dr.
Copley, again, great informationyou gave us today.
That was incredibly helpfuloverall.
We'll catch you next time formore hearing care wisdom.
Thank you so much.
We'll see you next time.

SPEAKER_00 (09:16):
Thank you for listening to the Total Hearing
Care Difference.
If you're in the DFW Metroplexand ready to take the next step
toward better hearing, call469-809-4487 to book an
appointment.
Or visit totalhearingcare.combecause when you hear better,
you live better.
See you next time.