I have trouble visualizing exactly how much noise reduction I would get with the -18 db rating. I have read that the decibel scale is logarithmic ... which makes it even harder for me to visualize how one decibel rating compares to another. But I am concerned that -18 might not be enough. My boyfriend snores like a freight train. My neighbors have annoying dogs that bark when I'm trying to sleep. My home office is right next to the front door because there's nowhere else for me to put my desk. Would I rather preserve perfect hearing for the rest of my life, or get perfect sleep and perfect concentration for the rest of my life? I'd rather get the perfect sleep and perfect concentration, hands down, no question.
-18dB is roughly equivalent to some universal IEMs, except it'll be more comfortable since they're molded to fit. That of course is if anything's playing - from what I understand the Adel vent works with the pressurized air moving around inside your own ear canal, so it only goes down to that when you're playing music, in which case the music is likely loud enough over the noise. If you're not playing any music the isolation is higher since the vent remains closed, so basically when you sleep you can just wear it passively.
My Shure se215's have a noise reduction rating of -37 db. And I love that I can't hear *anything* ... unless it's 10 inches away from me, and even if it's that close then it's very muted. Hard to compare 18 and 37 in my head without trying it but it definitely sounds like a lot less. Even if the scale was linear instead of logarithmic it would be a lot less.
The Shure se215's are the wrong shape for my ear even though I put them in correctly. So what I would love to find is something that is a better shape for my ear (custom molded) but still very good at blocking as much outside noise as possible
That's a lot actually, but again it has more to do with the Adel vent being opened by moving air inside your ear canals. If you're using them as ear muffs with nothing playing then the isolation is higher, and of course the fit is customized to your ears so they'll be more comfortable for a longer period when done right.
If I sound like preserving my hearing is not very high on my list of priorities, it's because ... it's not. I actually envy deaf people. I have this thing called "synesthesia" where some senses are cross-wired. Every time I tell someone about this, their reaction is: "Cool!" But it's not cool. It gets old, so fast. My hearing sense is cross-wired into multiple different senses. Every time I hear a loud sudden noise, it feels like I am getting an electric shock. Sometimes also see a bright flash of light at the same time, but the electric shock is the part that gets old fast. The Shure se215's were the first thing I found that gave me some peace - because I can no longer hear the unexpected noises, and I no longer get that feeling of electric shocks.
Ah well there's the problem. In my case among my friends someone threw out a question over a few beers and steak if we'd rather be blind or deaf. Everyone chose to keep their vision since daily life would be very difficult otherwise; I was the only one who chose to go blind because, no matter how difficult daily tasks get, I have music to look forward to at the end of the day, or still go to the opera even if the usher would need to escort me to my box.
At the same time as much as you think that's a curse still take care of your ears. Why? Unless you join the Marines in Iraq or something and totally blow out your eardrums and nerve endings when you get ambushed (at which point you'd deal with PTSD), hearing loss isn't always total. If you damage your hearing and you get partial, non-linear hearing loss, you will still be able to hear frequencies that will mess you up,
but all the functions that your ears are otherwise useful for like understanding people in conversations will be rendered useless. I have a friend who needs to look at you so that both ears can focus their midrange-weak hearing in order to understand it, otherwise it's all just loud garbled noise. If this happens to you, your ears are practically useless, without dealing with the problems that you have right now. At the very least, don't play music through the CIEMs 24/7, and when you do, keep the volume down.
If it's just total isolation that you want a lot more than the sound quality I'd rather suggest you don't spend as much as you can on a single CIEM - the increasing base prices across each brand's lines have to do with driver designs (or features like ambient ports or the Adel vent), and apart from your customized aesthetic requirements the shells are basically the same. I'd much rather suggest you get a good 2-driver CIEM for 24/7 use, and then keep the SE215 handy because under such use you still increase the likelihood of breaking them (of course, the lack of remove-coil cables-place in pouch-put them back on cycles helps reduce wear). If they break, use the SE215 while you have them reshelled. You might even have reserve cash to get a better fitting universal IEM, which would be a more comfortable alternative to the SE215 in case the CIEM is being reshelled.
Just get this CIEM or others near its price range since isolation is far more important than sound quality in your case, and even if it was, wearing them 24/7 requires you to keep the output levels low anyway. Save money and just use bass bass boost to make the beat of music audible if you're listening to certain music types (not for a lot of what you actually listen to), since at such low volume levels distortion isn't an issue. As always though check the thread for that CIEM manufacturer on this forum - some have had a tendency to get swamped with orders, some rush and then end up dealing with reshells, etc. If there's no ongoing mass delay, then it's likely safe to order.
http://www.alienears.com/p/321/alien-ears-dual-driver-c2-ultimate-ears-jh-audio-westone-1964-ears
This is what I use - - the Aurisonics ASG-1 - which has the basic shape of a CIEM but still uses a bore that takes disposable eartips. Manufacturer's site was pulled down recently as Aurisonics was bought by Fender to be their IEM manufacturer,
but for a universal fit IEM these are far more comfortable as the outer shell spreads friction and weight around a lot better as opposed to all of it on the eartip as with other universals. When Fender's line comes out you can look into the FXA-2 as your back-up universal IEM - it has the same kind of shell shape as this one.
Alternately, have you looked into Sensaphonics custom sleeves for your Shure?
https://store.sensaphonics.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=Shure+Sleeves
