Got a tragus piercing? Then you don't want custom earplugs

A tragus piercing sits exactly where a custom earplug needs to seal. It gets in the way, literally, and it is one of the questions we get most often.

Here is why it matters. A custom earplug is moulded to the shape of your ear and fills the bowl around your ear canal as well. A stud or a ring in your tragus sits right in between. The plug no longer closes completely, and a plug that does not close gives you less attenuation, mostly in the low end. You will not notice, because the high frequencies are still taken out neatly. So it feels like you are well protected while you have less attenuation than you think.

Keep the piercing, go generic

There is a simpler route than taking your piercing out: a different type of plug. A generic earplug seals inside your ear canal and does not have to close around the outer ear. Your piercing stays outside of it.

This applies to a piercing that has healed. If yours is fresh, you are better off wearing no plugs at all for a while. Further down you can read why, and for how long.

Our PRO Black -20 dB has exactly the same filter as our custom plugs: the double mesh membrane we developed together with TU Delft. Same sound and same attenuation, without taking a mould of your ear. Four sizes of tips are included, so you pick the fit in your ear canal yourself.

Which piercings get in the way?

Tragus, antitragus and concha sit in or against the area a custom plug fills. Those you will notice. A helix sits on the outer rim of your ear, far away from the seal, and causes no trouble.

And if you do want custom plugs?

Then the piercing has to come out during the fitting. Otherwise we damage the hole and the silicone mould will not run neatly around your ear.

With a fresh piercing that is not an option. Cartilage closes quickly and you simply do not take it out in that first period.

Taking a piercing out temporarily is not something you can do straight away, either. We asked Queen of Rings, a well known piercing studio around the corner from us in Rotterdam. For cartilage piercings such as the tragus they advise coming back after two to three months for a shorter bar, because the ear is still prone to inflammation in the first months and is therefore pierced with a longer bar to begin with.

Full healing of such a piercing takes six to nine months on average, and can run up to a year. They also advise against wearing earplugs while the piercing is still healing, precisely because the pressure of the plug can cause irritation. Only once the piercing has settled down completely can you take it out for a proper fitting without worry.

Once your piercing has healed properly, feel free to book an appointment. Come back afterwards with the piercing back in your ear, so we can check together that everything still seals.

And if you already have custom plugs?

Do they no longer close properly because of your piercing? The high frequencies are still taken out fine, so go ahead and wear them, but do not count on full attenuation that night. For the nights your piercing simply stays in, reach for the PRO Black, provided your piercing has healed. That does not have to feel like a step down: it has the same filter in it.

You do not have to choose between your piercing and your ears. You only have to reach for the right type of plug.

Peter