Regarding struggles with Etymotic IEMs, all models: -- I wore the basic 3-flange for years. Fit well enough but for an extended listening session ny ear canals would begin to feel pressed upon. About 5 years in and having several models I experimented with the puffy foam tips but did not like the sound nor the fit ( YMMV ).
About two years ago I began experimenting with the 'extended range' & 'Studio..." models and I found that less power was needed to drive series 3 or series 4 extended range models.
Regardless of model, over the years I find that equalization is essential because 'burn-in' takes about a year if you listen for about 10 hours a week.
Getting fussy I noticed that my perception changes with weather and likely other factors I can't track.
THEN -- I ran into an Amazon offering on my feed regarding a two-part DIY hearing protector product that resembles dental mold casting material. 12 bucks so I sent for it. It was almost immediately clear that I could make personalized mountings for my Etys.
***Process: Wash your hands like you mean it!
*Without getting carried away clean your ears -- exterior flanges as well as more deeply that doctors say to do.
-- This matters because the casting material is not going to go in as far as, say, the typical 3-flange tips I used to wear all the time -- So, the grip the casting has on you will be limited to how well the casting snugly fits to the exterior of your ears ( which you will discover do not match each other ). You want a fitment that clasps and fills the convolutions of the external ear, rather like a ski-boot that was made for you. --
*So -- clean ears . . . Now open the package too review the contents -- EYES ONLY -- no touching yet! Some reviewers on Amazon conplained of failure to fully set ( this is a two-part compound ). Contaminants will frustrate any compound that sets; this casting material, or epoxies, or concrete/mortar -- so CLEAN COUNTS.
* Thoroughly clean all oils from your hands with a rubbing alcohol or equivalent. Mind the nails and folds in your skin.
* Using a bathroom tissue with damp with rubbing alcohol, remove the oil from your ears.
* Now identify the two parts to be mixed. Separate each one into two equal portions -- that gives you four blobs al together yet still in separate containers.
* Get comfortable on your couch or your bed where you can lay down on either side. Probe one ear you have chosen to cast first with your fingertips to see what kind of fitment you will need to fill. Note where your ear flange seems to be more firm and semi-closes-in over the vestibule of your ear. This is what you will be filling up.
*Mixed well, the casting putty has the consistency of chewing gum but does not stick when cured. Take one protion from each of the containers noting the two contrasting colors -- with cleaned hands quickly fold and knead until a uniform blend of the colors is achieved and immediately pack into the vestibule you had been investigating with attention paid to fitting the exteior of the ear -- pushing it DEEPLY into your ear canal is 'counter-productive' since most of this will be removed when the barrel of your ETYs are installed into it.
You should notice a very mild warming -- don't fuss with it! Sit on your side quietly for twenty minutes.
*Remove the cured casting from your ear noting the firmness. Using a 'no-click' barrel-type pen body such as is common for BIC brand office pens -- or similar . . . Note how the casting did extend into the ear canal. You should see that the ear canal angles up and towards your forehead -- this helps water to drain and other debris to find its way out naturally. NOTE the angle -- visualize the Ety barrel mounted along this axis. Using the barrel-pen body ( without the ink or ball point tip still installed ) visualize boring out an 'adit' by inserting the empty pen barrel into the casting from the outside 'that will always show' of your ear AT AN ANGLE. Now cut the adit with a slight twisting motion and gentle pressure.
The Adit so cut, will be smaller than the pen barrel when finished because of the flexibility of the cured putty -- this flex will clasp any of your Etymotic models interchangeably. DO NOT PULL ON YOUR CORDS.
I store my personal castings with Etys in place inside of a thicker than an Altoids tin -- something like a Sucrets tin works well. I note that this isolates me more completely than the 3-flange eartips with ( subjective ) improved bass response and no ear canal fatigue. I also found that my ears sweat inside -- thus I pulled the head from a cotton swab, twisted it into a very short length, inserted it into the Adit ( with Ety removed ) to extend out on both sides just a bit -- then carefully re-inserted the Ety . . . this wicks away accumulated moisture in the air deep inside the ear canal transporting it to outside room air to evaporate. It is most comfortable, even for many hours of listening ( I do a lot of remastering ) though I have found that I can not recline on my side with my head comfortably on a pillow.
Hey -- $12 when I bought them two years ago. Heavy street noise ( normal traffic, ten-minute bus schedule, big trucks over speed bumps, the guys next door banging on cars . . . my phone ringing ( had to use visual signaling or I miss calls ) are not noticeable . . . which is not always a good thing.
You still need to clean the wax out of your ears, though.