Earplug with stem comprising a sleeve

1. A hearing-protective earplug, comprising:

a resilient polymeric foam body that comprises a first, forward portion that comprises an occlusive section, and a second, rearward portion that is integral with the first, forward portion,

and,

a grippable stem that is non-integrally connected to the resilient polymeric foam body and that comprises a forward portion and a rearward, grippable portion;

wherein at least the forward portion of the grippable stem comprises an annular sleeve that at least partially defines an open-ended, front-facing cavity,

wherein the second, rearward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body resides within the open-ended, front-facing cavity of the forward portion of the grippable stem;

and wherein at least the second, rearward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body does not comprise any open-ended, at least substantially rear-facing cavity or cavities.

2. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the open-ended, front-facing cavity is an open-ended, front facing elongated cavity front-facing, elongated cavity.

3. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein at least the occlusive section of the resilient polymeric foam body is comprised of a slow-recovery organic polymeric foam material.

4. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the entirety of the resilient polymeric foam body is an organic polymeric foam material that is not a slow-recovery foam material.

5. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the first, forward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body exhibits a density that is from 95% to 105% of a density exhibited by the second, rearward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body.

6. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the second, rearward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body is compressed to a volumetric compression ratio from 0.6 to 0.2.

7. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the resilient polymeric foam body is comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of polyurethane foams, polyvinyl chloride foams, polyolefin foams, poly(lactic acid) foams, acrylic foams, and polysiloxane foams.

8. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the grippable stem is disconnectably connected to the resilient polymeric foam body.

9. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the grippable stem is connected to the resilient polymeric foam body at least in part by way of a friction fit between a radially outward surface of the second, rearward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body that resides within the open-ended, front-facing cavity of the forward portion of the grippable stem.

10. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the grippable stem is connected to the resilient polymeric foam body at least in part by way of adhesive bonding of a surface area of the grippable stem to a surface area of the resilient polymeric foam body.

11. The hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 wherein the annular sleeve of the forward portion of the grippable stem comprises at least one protrusion that extends at least generally radially inwardly into the open-ended, front-facing cavity defined by the annular sleeve and that is at least partially embedded within the second, rearward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body.

12. A hearing-protective product comprising first and second hearing-protective earplugs of claim 1 , the first earplug being connected to the second earplug by a cord, one end of which is connected to the grippable stem of the first earplug and a second, opposing end of which is connected to the grippable stem of the second earplug.

13. A kit comprising at least one hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 along with instructions for use of the earplug, which instructions include a procedure for manually compressing the first, forward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body and then inserting the earplug into an ear of a human user while the first, forward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body is still in an at least partially compressed condition.

14. A kit comprising at least one hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 along with instructions for use of the earplug, which instructions include a step of inserting the earplug into an ear canal of a human user without being preceded by a step of manually compressing the first, forward portion of the resilient polymeric foam body.

15. A kit comprising at least one hearing-protective earplug of claim 1 along with instructions for use of the earplug, which instructions include a step of rotating the earplug about a rotation axis that is at least generally aligned with a long axis of the earplug, during at least a part of a time during which the earplug is being moved forward so as to be inserted into an ear canal of the user.