Cinema — Are ACS Pro Custom Ear Plugs with 17 dB Filters Enough?

[James Foley]

So my girlfriend wants to go to start going to the cinema again which is fair enough, but I've been avoiding it just like I've been avoiding any loud places.

I currently wear a pair of ACS Pro custom mould ear plugs with 17 dB filters in for times when I can't avoid noise. Would these be fine for the cinema, or would I be better off picking up a pair of their 20 dB filters instead?

 

[Bob Willis]

Interest to know how you ever got on with this and your ACSs. I've got the 17 and think they're good, but tempted to get the 20 too for extra protection.

 

[James Foley]

Overall I think the ACSs are great. I have very small ears and ear canals so finding anything that fits is basically impossible, having these custom moulded ones is a life saver.

Technically the 17db filters should be enough, on paper they say they'll block enough to make going to the cinema fine for most people. From what I can remember I did go using the 17db filters in the end but I'm not sure my ears were overly happy about it.

I now own the 26db filters and the blocking plugs for maximum attenuation and if I go to the cinema now I'd wear the 26s just to be on the safe side. Blocking plugs are great if I'm somewhere where I don't need to talk to people.

I'm at a point now where I have no idea what my tinnitus baseline is anymore as it changes so frequently, which results in me not knowing if going to loud places actually spikes my tinnitus or not