Decibullz - Custom Molded Earplugs, 31dB Highest NRR

Some background: I'm a really light sleeper and I'm SUPER sensitive to snoring. So for the past few years, my go-to earplug for sleeping is the #M TaperFit 2, in a large size because my ear canals are pretty big. But after the last few 200 count boxes of those, I've been running into quality control issues, so I decided to try something more sustainable. Enter these moldables from Decibullz. I really did my homework here. I watched a ton of in-depth reviews on YouTube, both from folks trying these for the range and for sleeping. And almost unanimously people rave about these plugs. So I grabbed a pair on same-day delivery and decided to give them a shot before re-ording TaperFits again. Amazon delivered them, and I spent some time reading the included instructions, and then just to be safe, I re-watched videos from reviewers as well as Decibullz to make sure I got the molding process right. Since I have such large canals, I went straight to the largest silicone in-ear plug size. After hot-soaking the plugs for five minutes and cooling for 30 seconds, I inserted the plugs as deeply into my ear canal as I could and began press-molding the plugs to completely cover the inside of my conch. I had my wife watch to make sure everything that could be covered inside my conch was covered. While waiting for the plugs to cool and set in my ears for five minutes each, we were watching TV, and I had zero issues hearing the show. So not a good sign so far, but I hadn't yet put the included end-caps in yet. After the setting process, I removed them and let them air-cool the rest of the way down. Last night at bedtime I inserted the end-caps and then pressed these back into my ear. After setting the silicone plugs into my canals, I could feel them slip ever so slightly back out, but seeing as the seal around my conch was still firm, I thought it might be normal. But as my wife was asking me how they worked, I realized I could hear her almost as easily as without the plugs. I noticed I was hearing my cat bathing herself all the way down the hall, which is quiet without anything in my ears. I pushed and held them in and they were about half as effective as my TaperFits, and when I let go they were practically non-existent in my ears sound-proofing wise. So all in all, in MY ears, these are a complete fail. Comparing with foam TaperFits, here's the rub: They are both rated at "maximum NRR" of about 31dB; the TaperFits say 32, but, they're comparable on paper. But when the TaperFits fit properly, the noise blocking is great. The finger-rub test -- where you gently rub two fingers together next to your ear -- is almost silent with the TaperFits. With the Decibullz, there was practically no difference: I could hear every detail of my thumb and forefinger rubbing together. A few observations about the Decibullz that I think contribute to the failures here: * The flanges on the silicone plugs are SUPER thin and light. This means they lack rigidity to remain expanded in the ear canal, or to hold them in place from slipping out of the optimal depth and position. I can also see these cracking and breaking down in no time, as I've experienced the same on other earplugs that had flanges this thin. See my included macro-lens super closeup video clip of how they flex and nearly fold with a very SLIGHT prodding with a tiny beauty tool. * The black endcaps that go into the hard plastic hollow core are also very thin. They seem to just act like a drum, propagating all vibrations from the outside that hit them, transferring that sound straight through the tube core, and into the silicon plugs themselves. * And then there's that hard, hollow, plastic core in the center of the molding, between the endcap and the ear canal tips. Why are these hollow?!? That's just a recipe to propagate as much sound as possible! These cores should be filled with some kind of sound/vibration dampening material, instead of providing an air pocket for compression in tandem with that drum-head of an end-cap. The engineering on this is frankly laughable. So what I would say in Decibullz defense here is that earplug performance is always going to be highly subjective to a degree. Everyone's ears are different and no one single product can be pest for them all as a result. But past that, there's just some engineering decisions here that leave me scratching my head as to how so many people can say these work well enough to ditch disposable foam plugs. I can't imagine the pain and volume I'd experience with a rifle going off on the other side of these tiny drums.