How to Make Foam Earplugs Invisible and Hide Them
Foam earplugs are the most well known earplugs and they are for the most part guilty of being strikingly visible. Usually they are in aggressive yellow or similar colors.
But well hidden foam earplugs are the most discreet earplugs available and are totally invisible.
Foam earplugs provide strong to very strong sound protection. They are usually much stronger than other types of earplugs. For the protection numbers of individual foam earplugs, please look at the reviews on this website.
There are 4 tips to make your foam earplug invisible:
1. Use Skin Colored Earplugs
Foam earplugs are less visible if they are bought in a skin color tone. The following image shows a skin colored earplug (Macks Ultimate Softness Series).
2. Paint the Earplugs black
There is simple and very effective trick to hide foam earplugs: paint them black. Black painted earplugs are even less visible than skin colored if the environment is not well lit. A black permanent maker can be used, for example. And for best performance, start with a skin colored earplug and paint it black.
3. Insert the Earplug Properly
An additional tip is to insert the foam earplugs properly in the ear canal. Novice foam earplugs users tend to not insert them correctly, which results in most of the earplug remaining in the outer ear. This makes them much more visible and also diminishes the hearing protection.
To insert foam earplugs properly, roll them between your fingers until they are strongly compressed. Then insert them into your ear canal. A piece of the earplug will remain outside in your outer ear, but around ⅔ up to ¾ of the earplug should be in your ear canal.
Picture of a rolled foam earplug:
4. Cut it Shorter
If invisibility is really of the uttermost important, then cutting the earplug shorter a bit may be considered. This will eliminate the part of the earplug that remains in the outer ear even when inserted properly. Cutting the earplug shorter by around ¼ is sufficient. Do not cut more as it will not bring any additional benefit for hiding them.
However, please be advised that this will also impair the hearing protection. If the protection will still be strong enough depends on how loud the environment is.
In our own subjective experience, even cut earplugs provide still strong enough protection for concerts. The foam earplugs are usually stronger than needed to start with. And in our experience, even a cut earplug is still stronger than most reusable earplugs. But it is best to start out with one of the stronger earplugs such as the Hearos Ultimate Softness Series. If you use the ear plug for working in an environment with truly excessively loud noise, then it might be different. Please note that we do not accept any liability for this or any other tips.
If an earplug is cut shorter, then the part in the outer ear is missing. This makes it harder to remove the plugs afterwards. When inserting them, it is very advisable to let a tiny little piece stick out into the outer ear, else it gets difficult to remove the plugs afterwards. If difficulties arise in removing them, then using tweezers will help. Tweezers should be ready before experimenting with plugs that are cut shorter.
Result
If an skin colored earplug is cut shorter, painted black, and inserted properly then you have a truly hidden earplug. Such an earplug cannot be noticed by anyone around you. It will simply be a black dot where your ear canal is. And since your ear canal is usually also black due to missing lightening, the earplug will not be noticed.
Below are 4 pictures: the first one shows a Mack's Ultra Soft earplug being worn. The second shows it painted black. The third shows it cut. And the fourth shows it cut and painted. The earplug in the last picture is as good as invisible.
Which brand of foam earplugs is used is not so much of importance. All earplugs can be painted black, but it is best to start with a skin colored earplug.
Posted on
Last updated on