I recently got some custom molded earplugs for work and I have been wearing them on the river to keep water out of my ears.  They are awesome, they seem to keep my ears warmer too. 

Same here.  Always wear them when in the playboat, never in the creekboat.

Doc's Proplugs. I use them because water in my ears can make me dizzy. Plus, I don't want that same surgery everyone keeps mentioning. The vented ones let plenty of sound in so I use them all the time as opposed to not when creeking.

Putting in my earplugs is as routine as pulling on my sprayskirt. I wear the non-vented poke-in kind that you can get at any drugstore.
Years of paddling cold water without earplugs has left me with bad hearing and recurrent ear problems. I urge everyone to take these precautions.
I still have not gotten a definitive answer on the dangers of wearing non-vented earplugs. I've never had a problem, the plugs seem to just pop out rather that pressurizing my ear canal when I go deep off a waterfall.

Those silicon ones are also good for when certain individuals feel the need to bless everyone with their "singing" into the mic from sometime past 1am til it starts to get light. Oh wait. I was wearing earplugs and it was still loud.

I have it too (the bone growths) from surfing in cold water. Sometimes having earplugs affects balance more than anything, but my helmet also keeps my ears pretty warm because it covers that area. NVC what style helmet do you use?

I've only been wearing them since '08. My exostosis is pretty advanced. Can't find a pair of Doc's that fits well- water finds its way in and the plugs trap it.

Tried adding swim cap and skull cap but its just too much sh*t to wear. Add elbow pads, and the plugs seem like the gear that broke this camel's back. This is becoming a disincentive to playboat much.

Yes its true I have always had a loud voice, and river-communications have helped shaped that, but I'm also losing my hearing a little, which is partly why I seem to have little "volume control". Can't afford to break out the power drill and shove it these ears, and don't want to anyway. Just gonna try to ride it out, shouldn't be much longer anyway.

This winter I needed a cheap alternative to a drysuit. $20 and the right timing hooked me up with a hooded wetsuit. That thing is WAY better than earplugs- it takes an extraordinary douche to get water in there with this wetsuit on. I'd like to find a stand alone hood that would do the same thing but be interchangeable with whatever I wanna wear.

Jet boats coming upstream? You oughtta hear that and see it. Rafts from behind? Every paddled should cultivate Eyes In The Back Of Their Heads. If rafts sneak up on you it means your awareness needs to broaden. You don't need ears for that.

Hearing Beta? Well that is important. You can take then out momentarily in an eddy.

Tried the gum, but when I landed big bro flat one time, I blew bubbles out of my ears and all the Portland boaters laughed at me.
Now Bubilicious wants to sponsor me but I told them to fu*k off. I'm more of a Slim Jim kinda guy. Or Cheetos. If Chester Cheetah wants to sponsor me, I'm "all ears". Stick them in there and the water will stay out. Your ears will have an Orange stain, however.

my most popular thread, maybe i will be moving out of the viener schnitzel catagory soon