Swimming is known to have great all-round physical benefits, especially for the cardiovascular system. For those suffering from stress related injuries, swimming may be the perfect form of exercise to keep fit whilst you recover. Despite the health benefits, doing lengths in a pool or perhaps in open water with only the sound of lapping water to listen to can get boring and you may find yourself lacking motivation to pull on the swimsuit and do the full 30-minute session.
It is only in recent years that waterproof earphones (in-ear headphones) and music MP3 players have entered the market and allowed swimmers (and other water-related enthusiasts such as Kitesurfers) to enjoy the benefits of listening to music whilst they workout. The source of your Audio, as is the case with music, an audio book or even phone conversation, must either be on your person, ideally on your head or part of your goggle straps. Alternatively, you can Bluetooth connect to your smartphone (up to 30 metres away) to pick up your audio source.
The Challenge
There are real challenges to listening to music or any audio when underwater. For good sound, you need to keep the ear canal clear of water and dry, and ensure that the earphone speaker has created an airtight seal within your ear canal to not let water in – even when you are a metre underwater doing tumble turns. Which means that your earphone tip needs to have the best fit possible.
The Solution
Enter SnugsAqua (Music). We are able to make custom fit tips for your waterproof headphones and earphones. By having a custom fit tip on your waterproof earphone, you will have the perfect seal in your ear, ensuring the best listening experience and that they stay in, no matter how many turns you do in the water. As they are made from your ear impressions it also means a good fit in your ear canal, meaning no water can get into your ears and muffle the tunes.
Plus, no water in the ear means less chance of getting an ear infection. Keeping chlorinated or polluted water out of your inner ear is a wise move. Snugs Ambassador Team GB Kayaker Charlie Brackpool explains the importance of having ear protection when in the water:
“Ear protection is vital in kayaking, especially in freestyle. The cold wind and river water that it constant in your ear can not only cause horrible ear infections but also a condition called surfers ear. This is where your ear can actually start to close up where it is trying to protect itself, this can make infections more likely and can also massively affect your hearing. Plus, the operation to fix it is horrible.”
Compatible Waterproof Headphones
As each earphone design is different, we adapt the design of the Snug to fit the specific earphone. We have a number of waterproof options on our compatibility list which we can make Snugs for. If you have yet to choose your waterproof headphone, here are a number of considerations:
- IPX rating – earphones have a different IPX rating which reflects their resistance to water, with many active-orientated choices offering a level of sweat resistance but not water. The top levels of waterproofing are IPX7, which ensures 30 minutes listening at one metre depth, and IPX8, which is one hour listening at two-metre depth.
- Storage space – many waterproof headphones are actually MP3 players i.e. they have the music storage built in, so depending on how many songs you would like to listen to whilst you work out, can impact on your preferred choice
- Battery life – as with most tech purchases, having a good battery life is important, especially when you are exercising
- Cord length – how long the cord is and how you can fix them to your goggles
- MP3 choice – if you are buying earphones and MP3 players separately, rather than some options with the player built-in, then you will need to do research on the MP3 player and make sure it is up to the same level of water submersion as the earphones
There will of course be other considerations such as budget, but one of the major ones in our view is whether you can get custom tips for them. Below is a list of waterproof earphones that we are able to make Snugs for:
- Sony WF-SP900 – True Wireless – IPX8
- Jabees Firefly.2 – True Wireless – IPX7
- Snugs K1 – Wired earphone – IPX8
- H2O Waterproof – these have a number of options, you can view these on their website here:
- Bragi Dash Pro – True Wireless – IPX7
You can order SnugsAqua (Music) custom fit tips for your waterproof earphones here
Looking for protection only? Then SnugsAqua (Protect) is the perfect choice. This is a solid plug designed to fit into your ear only and protect them from damage such as surfer’s ear whilst in the water. Order SnugsAqua (Protect) here
The Process
In order to have SnugsAqua (Music) or SnugsAqua (Protect), you will need to visit an Audiologist to get your physical ear impressions taken. You can read more about the custom fit process here
