Home made in-ear fitted earbuds using Sugru Form & Fix

Disclaimer
Please read and fully understand the disclaimer below.

This procedure is probably unsafe and is definitely NOT recommended: Do Not Do It!

I am merely recording this as a personal an aide-memoir.

I ride a motorbike and I love to listen to music. Custom fitted earphones are undoubtedly the best as they mask external noise and have a superior audio quality because of the close proximity to your eardrum. In the past I have had a few pairs of Ultimate ear custom fitted earphones which were brilliant when they worked but incredibly expensive. When both pairs eventually, failed the warranty service was far from perfect so they have now been consigned to the dustbin.

I have probably tried 15 different types of earbuds following the Ulitmates; some cheap, some expensive,some good, some bad, all were uncomfortable to wear for more than an hour.

I decided to try and make my own in-ear earphones. I am plainly not an audiologist but I do remember how I was fitted for my expensive earphones so I basically duplicated the process.

Eventually I went for the Sennheiser CX 300II in canal earbuds [£24] and a packet of Sugru Form & Fix multi-colour [£13]. Although the Sennheisers are already theoretically 'in-canal' earbuds, they are uncomfortable after a very short period due to my very narrow ear canals. In making my own custom earpieces, I ensured the earphone did not push right into my ear, trading sound quality for comfort. Being surrounded by rubber, external noise is fairly well masked with this setup.

For the uninitiated Sugru Form & Fix, when opened is pliable like Plasticine, however after it has been kneaded for a few minutes it cures to a soft solid rubber consistency after 30 minutes and is permanently cured after 24 hours.

So the earbuds would not become a permanent appendage, I greased my ears with Vaseline, then formed the kneaded Sugru around the earbuds, found a comfortable position for the earbuds and then removed them and left them for a few hours to cure.

They work really well and I have since worn them for more than 5 hours non-stop without any discomfort.

