I posted this on my personal FaceBook

“I suffer from hyperacusis (sound distortion) in mainly one ear. I’m wondering if there are ear plugs out there that would work with piano or music playing. About 15 years ago, I had an ENT in Springfield Illinois make me a custom ear plug which cut down the sound partially, but I only had it made for one ear. I’m thinking that I might need it for both ears, and I’m not sure if anything is now off the shelf. I could probably just use those foam buds. If anything I could try Botox around the ear for this – it hasn’t been tried yet, I could be a pioneer here. It seems that Botox works for so many other things.”

And I got the response from another fellow doctor who suggested:

“Try etymotic , they reduce DB in a flat style, appropriate for musicians.”

I’ll have to try these ear buds for hearing protection, and I hope to report back.  This would be great in an operating room environment too.  There is a lot of suction and other noises going on in the operating room.  I’ll have to see if these will work.  I have heard that dentists use ear plugs like these, so I think it would work well for surgeons in the operating room as well.

My previous ear plugs (hearing protectors) were made by Westone Laboratories, Inc.   – westone style # 49.  These were custom made and I had them made by an Ear Nose Throat Surgeon who made a mold of my ear canal and sent it to the company.  But this was back around the year 2001.  I just visited their webpage and it seems to have Etymotic ear plugs for sale at their webpage as well.

Google search “westone style 49.” for more info.