- Make sure the earplugs are clean before fitting.
- Hold the blue HANDLE with one hand With the other hand reach OVER your head and grab the top of your ear.
- PULL the top of your ear up and out.
- SLIDE the small yellow rounded tip of the earplug into the hole in your ear called the ear canal.
- PUSH and wiggle the earplug into your ear canal until it feels snug.
- CHECK by making sure the plug stays in place when you move around. Plug should not come out of the ear easily. If it does, take out the earplug and try again (Repeat steps 1-5).
CAUTION: To remove, slowly twist when taking earplug out of your ear.
For a refresher, review the UltraFit Video.
7. Strategies to Protect Your Hearing
Very rarely a teacher or school administrator will express concern over the students fitting earplugs to their ears for fear of injury or parental concern. Earplugs are sold over-the-counter and are used routinely without risk. Typically, you can just reassure the school personnel that the activity will go well and emphasize that it is very important to include this activity as a strategy that the students can use in everyday life.
If there is still concern, there are a couple of alternative approaches that will provide the students an opportunity to learn to use earplugs:
• Send a reverse permission form home to the parents in advance of the delivery of the Dangerous Decibels program. A Reverse Permission Form states that the students will be practicing the use of earplugs and if the parents DO NOT want their child to participate, then they should return the form to the teacher in advance of the training.
• Staple a pair of earplugs to the printed earplug fitting instructions and send this home for the children to learn to fit with parent supervision after delivery of the Dangerous Decibels Program. Written Earplug Instructions are available in Resources.
