Hey John, I am currently using earplugs made by Westone that use the Etymotic filters — you can see a photo of them pictured above the summary of this post. They are extremely comfortable. Etymotic Research makes the majority of the acoustic filters used by various custom earplug manufacturers, as far as I know, so they should all sound the same. I am confident in recommending the earplugs made by Westone, as I do enjoy mine quite a bit and I know they are a soft material.

Westone is a large enough producer that if you go to an audiologist, they may well be a default vendor for custom earplugs. That was the case for when I got my most recent pair of custom earplugs.

Thanks for the fast response. That is really good to know. I’ll inquire with these companies as to the materials used and “softness” factor. Is there one brand of custom filters that you have experience with and can say they have a decent soft feel? I know this is often a personal opinion and hard to compare from one person to the next, but I’ll take your opinion :-).