EP2 by Cirrus Healthcare Second Generation EarPlanes Earplugs Ear Protection from Flight Air and Noise Sound (2 Reusable Pair)

EarPlanes have been my go-to solution for eliminating ear pain while flying and driving in the mountains. Years ago, my eardrum burst on descent in an airplane. It was absolutely terrible, and something I never want to experience again. I hope this review helps save you from ear pain as well. I work in the medical field and also hold multiple engineering degrees and hope to use my background to help you.HOW IT WORKSBasically put, EarPlanes are an ear plug with a tube in the middle and a small piece of ceramic material (CeramX) wedged in there sealing your ear canal (and ear drum) from the outside pressure. You can seal your ear with other materials such as moldable silicone or other types of ear plugs, but eventually, you will need to adjust the pressure to match your environment. EarPlanes lets you do that slowly to prevent your ear drum from being strained or rupturing from pressure changes that you can’t keep up with. The way your ear does this naturally is by opening a small valve in the eustachian tube which is located behind your nose in the very top of your throat. The eustachian tube connects to your inner ear and allows you to keep this area clean and at the same pressure as your environment. EarPlanes still require you to do this, but the ceramic makes the process much easier by giving you a lot more time to change the pressure in your ears.If you search hard enough on google, you can find studies from hyperbaric chambers where they used ceramic (CeramX) material to test the timing of pressure changes. The way the filter works is by slowly attenuating the flow of oxygen. What this means is that only oxygen is allowed through the ceramic, and just a little bit at a time can physically pass through the material. The oxygen molecules flow until the pressure on both sides is equal and can flow in either direction for both takeoff and landing.COMPARISONI have purchased nearly every brand of pressure relief ear plugs on the market, including everything I could find on Amazon trying to find the perfect fit and plug. In my opinion, EarPlanes are the best option because the ceramic filter in them is designed to change pressure at the slowest rate from all of the ones I have tried. I’d say about half of the plugs labeled for this use don’t even have ceramic in them (I cut them open) and were completely useless beyond reducing noise.ORIGNAL VS EP2The original EarPlanes have a filter that only lasts for 1 “round trip” which is unclear if this includes multiple connecting flights. The original design has a larger core and a smaller max flange size and is thus less adaptable to a variety of ear shapes.The EP2s are designed to last up to 5 round trips due to more durable ceramic. They also include a strap which is very helpful on an airplane in case the plug comes out of your hand. There’s a slim chance you’ll recover the plug if it hits the ground between airplane seats. The strap also allows you to keep them readily available.If you look at the EP2 design, it has an additional flange (5 total) compared to the original with a smaller flange at the tip and a larger flange at the back. The flanges are thinner with less angle and thus able to flex a little more which should make them more likely to seal, more comfortable, and more adaptable. It also has a bulb on the back that allows you to easily handle/remove the plug. The EP2 is longer and is made of comfortable silicon which is overall better than the original material.The first EP2 that hit the market was slightly different than what is sold today (see my pictures). It had a larger hard plastic covering the ceramic tube section that made it a bit bulkier. This section attached to the original strap like the current design, but the strap was a little different. The flange design was almost identical except the largest flange was bigger, and this was preferrable for my ears. I cannot get the current original or EP2’s sold today to seal my ear (see more on getting a seal below) so I have workarounds.If EarPlanes are painful or don’t work for you, try reading below for some tips that could help.FITThe biggest complaint that I read in reviews is about EarPlanes not fitting properly. Fortunately, you have multiple options for fit, and I’ll explain how to get a better seal later. First, EarPlanes come in 4 official varieties (and one 5th that’s no longer sold – the first EP2): original, original small/kids, EP2, EP2 small/kids. I highly recommend the EP2 over the original. Most will probably be OK with the adult size, but if you are concerned about small ear canals, get the EP2 small/kids version.If either plug is uncomfortable or too big, it’s easy enough to take a razor blade and cut the silicon to remove unnecessary flange sections toward the end. You can also directly shape the flanges if you want to customize the fit if they are too wide. Either way, expect to feel some discomfort when putting anything in your ear for the first time. This is normal unless it’s stabbing pain, at least 5 out of 10. Ultimately, I cannot get the current EP2 or original to fit my larger ear canals, so I have a different set of modification tricks that I explain below.SEALGetting a good seal that is completely airtight is the most important aspect of selecting and inserting your EarPlanes. I find the best way to get the EarPlanes seated is by first using my opposite hand and reaching around across the top of my head and pulling up on my ear while inserting. This straightens the canal just enough to make it easier to place the plug and get it to seal right the first time. When the EarPlane is sealed, you should hear a noticeable difference in the sound, almost as if you have water in your ears. Moving the plug in and out just slightly should stimulate your ear drum as the pressure pushes and pulls. If you cannot achieve a perfect seal, try the techniques below for additional help.Modification technique 1 – Cut/Shaped – Using a razor blade or sharp box knife, cut the EarPlane to fit your ear canal better including removing 1 or 2 (or more) flanges from the end or reshaping the flanges by cutting material circumferentially. Be sure to cut against a cutting board or similar surface. USE CAUTION WHEN CUTTING AS TO NOT CUT YOURSELF.Modification technique 2 – Silicon Molded – This is a sure way to get a nice fit. Purchase soft silicone ear plugs as shown in the photo. Some brands call these silicone putty, moldable, or pillows. Take a small ball about the size of a pea and work it into a long, narrow strip long enough to wrap around the flanges of the EarPlanes and provide a more custom fit. You can even remove some of the flange material to make it easier to add the desired shape. Push the silicon into the flange and against the plug very hard until it becomes highly attached (to reduce the risk of it coming off in your ear). After, place the entire plug including the newly molded silicone into your ear canal until it is comfortable and you have achieved a seal (see photo).Modification technique 3 – Custom – I happen to have custom-shaped ear plugs due to being a serious musician (google “custom hearing protection” for numerous vendors out there). With this type of ear plug, you can get a brand with a removeable filter. I have removed the filter in mine (easily pops in and out), and then inserted a modified EarPlane into the hole (see photo). It easily makes a tight seal (very important!) inside of the filter hole after using a razor blade to cut away all of the flanges from the EarPlane. This is by far the most comfortable and luxurious way to wear an EarPlane. I have suggested to the company that makes EarPlanes to consider working with a hearing protection company to offer a custom solution. For those of you who can’t get any ear plug to work including after trying the modification techniques above, this should do it for you. It’s going to cost you $100-200 and potentially a trip to the audiologist, but it’s well worth the money. The plugs should last a very long time, just replace the EarPlane filter section after every 5 round trips.MOBILE APPYes, there’s an app for that! The company that makes EarPlanes, Cirrus Healthcare, also made a new app called EarPlanes+ that works on Apple and Android mobile devices. It uses the pressure sensor in your device to alert you to pressure changes and watch over time. I find watching the pressure very helpful in flight, and prior to the app, I used the altimeter on my smart watch. The watch was annoying because I couldn’t get it to stay on and track continuously without having to touch the watch face every 15 seconds. The app offers another way to watch the altitude or pressure during your flight to know when you should put the plugs in as well as your rate of pressure change. It will also automatically alert you if you don’t want to keep your eye on the gauges for your entire flight.OTHER REMEDIESSome find the Valsalva maneuver (or reverse Valsalva maneuver) helpful for clearing ear pressure, but for me it is of limited use in descent where the eustachian tube has the hardest time clearing due to the directional design of flap in our inner ear.My doctor recommends Afrin about 30 minutes before flying along with a decongestant. I don’t find that the decongestant does anything for me except mess up my head, but I do find Afrin somewhat helpful. I currently use it before flights. The affects of Afrin last about 12 hours for me.I am sure to bring gum and/or a large bottle of water on flights. The best bet for me is to stay hydrated and swallow with a gulp of water every couple of minutes on descent which really helps the pressure pull back on the Eustachian tube and clear the ear.I’ve seen flight attendants suggest using a cup with a paper towel soaked in warm water to put over the ear, but I have no idea mechanically what this would do to help beyond providing a distraction and possibly a little hydration to the ear drum, which could help slightly in rare circumstances.Some airline workers end up getting ear tubes if they continue to experience ear pain from being unable to clear the pressure in the ear. This is a minor outpatient surgical procedure where your ear drum is cut open, and a small tube with flanges is inserted to always keep your inner ear at the same pressure as your environment. The tube will change the frequencies you hear slightly and could fall out or cause your ear to become infected. There are other risks which should be considered. I have had several sets of tubes as a child, and they left intense scarring on my ear drum which every doctor that looks in my ears, even for a physical, comments on. In my mind, this should be a last resort but could be necessary if you must fly frequently with unresolved ear pain.CONCLUSIONIt’s very hard to design an ear plug that will fit the variety of shapes and sizes of humans out there, and it’s very expensive to put out a bunch of sizes to choose from in the store. The EarPlanes manufacturer has made their best effort to fit the biggest variety of ear canal sizes, and for some, like me, this is not enough. However, once you can get a proper fit, EarPlanes makes a huge difference in the experience of flying or driving if you struggle to clear the pressure in your ears on takeoff or descent. It’s worth the effort to leave your pain behind and enjoy traveling the world. This is the only brand I recommend.

Great

I haven't had ear pain from flying since using these. I loved them. I could actually enjoy the first few days of my trip without suffering.

These are the best option for me. I try other brands and they hurt my ears but these do not. It’s annoying to have to use anything but I make the best of it. Grateful for this product. I use them because my ears don’t clear well unless I use these when flying. I do not use them to block noise. I don’t find them as effective as true noise cancelling headphones but that isn’t what I need them to do.

I was suffering from an annoying earache on one of my ears, and had an 8-hour flight coming. Looked all over the internet for something that helped to make my take-off and landing as painless as possible, and luckily found this product. The morning of my flight, I used some ear drops on my achy ear. I put both earplugs on as soon as I got to my seat on the plane (about 30-40 mins after applying the medicine). I kept the EarPlanes on during all the flight and took them off at my destination's airport, after leaving the plane. Beautiful flight! Because the earplugs have a little portion that sits out of the ear, I wasn't able to use the earphones for the movies in the usual way, so I held the earphones next to one of my ears, and problem solved. That's the only thing I needed to adjust. Also, as I wasn't sure about the fit, I ordered this model and the Kids one. Tried on the adult size and fitted nicely. I've already bought a couple of pairs more as the EarPlanes are now my new must for flying.

I have really small ears. These are a little large for small ears but they do work. I fly a lot for work and have terrible ear pain. I feel like my ears are stopped up for about a week after I fly. I didn’t have ANY of that after wearing these. They aren’t the most comfortable things during flight but that could be just my small ears but the slight discomfort was well worth not having the pain after the flight.

I like the older version of The earPlanes much better. My ears never hurt when I wore those. I tried the new ones during Thanksgiving break. My ears hurt....

My husband and I have used the earplanes earplugs in our trips and they work to relief the aircraft pressure on your ears.