Keep the water out. Stay in longer.

If you want to hear everything around you, choose Hear-Through: it is made for lap swimming, competitive swimming, water polo players and referees, and pool days with the family. If you surf, choose Surfing Ear Plugs, which have a baffle built to take the impact of a wave. If you want silence, choose Full Stop: Aquatic Ear Plugs in Super-Soft, or Custom Swimming Ear Plugs in the firmer Standard silicone. Still unsure? Ask us in chat.

Hear-Through and Surfing plugs float. Aquatic and Custom Swimming plugs do not, so add a lanyard when you order. Surfers often add one too, so a wave cannot carry a plug away. Every swim plug page offers a nylon or plastic lanyard for $10.

It is built into each Surfing plug to take the impact of the water when a wave rolls you, while the Super-Soft seal keeps cold water out. Hear-Through and Full Stop plugs do not have a baffle.

With Hear-Through, yes. They are made from a soft silicone that seals water out but does not reduce sound, so the pool sounds normal. Surfing plugs reduce outside sound by 15 to 19 dB, depending on how they seal in your ear. Full Stop plugs are solid and block most noise (NRR 32), which is the point if you want a quiet swim.

A bright plug is easy to spot on a pool deck, in the sand or at the bottom of a swim bag. Hear-Through, Surfing and Aquatic plugs come in a solid color at no charge.

Made to last 7 to 10 years with normal care. Rinse them in fresh water after each swim, let them dry, and keep them in the case. Over seven years, that is less than $25 a year.

Your impression kit ships in 2 to 3 business days. Once your impressions reach our lab, we build your pair by hand in 40 business days. Most people have them about ten weeks after ordering, so order early if you are training for a season or planning a trip.

Yes, and it is easier than it sounds. You press a soft impression material into each ear and let it set, following a video that walks you through every step. It takes about 15 minutes, with no clinic visit. If an impression does not come out right, we send you another kit at no charge. If you would rather have a professional do it, a Big Ear provider or an audiologist can take impressions and send them to us.

Surfer’s ear is slow bone growth in the ear canal, linked to years of cold water and wind in the ears. Keeping cold water and wind out, with earplugs or a hood, is how surfers protect against it. Our Surfing plugs seal cold water and wind out and float if one comes loose. If you think you already have it, see your doctor.

Swimmer’s ear often starts when water stays in the ear canal and germs grow. The CDC lists ear plugs and custom-fitted swim molds among the ways to help prevent it, along with drying your ears well after swimming. We cannot promise a medical result, and if you get ear infections, talk to your doctor about what is right for you.

They are made for pools, lakes and the ocean. Rinse them in fresh water after each swim, let them dry, and keep them in the case.

Every pair has a 30-day fit warranty. If the fit is not right, tell us and we adjust it. If an impression does not come out right, we send you another kit at no charge.