06 | Earplugs - with Ryan Parry of Eargasm Earplugs

Not all earplugs are alike! If you enjoy live music, you can wear earplugs that filter the instruments but still allow you to enjoy the event. At the same time, they lower the decibel levels that can damage your hearing. Eargasm is a company that specializes in ear plugs for live music venues, and its founder, Ryan Parry, shares his insights with Soundproofist in this episode. 

Transcript

Cary: My name is Cary and I'd like to talk about something very important to me— and that's ear protection. And specifically protecting your ears in noisy environments where you still want to hear the sounds around you. Like at a concert. When I was a teenager, I used to go to really loud concerts. I didn't wear ear protection at all and it didn't even occur to me. And when the concert was over I'd walk out with my friends and we couldn't hear each other very well. It felt like I'd lost my hearing. After a day or so, my hearing always seem to come back again. Sure. I worried about it, but that didn't keep me from going to another concert and doing the same thing again,. But in reality I was damaging my hearing little by little and as I got older, protecting my ears became a priority.

Cary: At first I started bringing foam earplugs with me, but that wasn't very much fun because I missed a lot of the detail in the live music. Everything sounded muffled and it seemed to defeat the purpose of going at all. And then along came some products to address that issue. There are a few earplug brands around, and most of them are made from silicone with a filter inside of them. The idea is to reduce the decibel level and still be able to hear the music, not muffled, but how it actually sounds. One of those products is Eargasm earplugs. You might've seen an ad for them online. I asked Ryan Perry, the founder of Eargasm, if he could tell us a little more about how they work, how to use them and when to use them. So here's our conversation.

Cary: Tell me a little bit about the Eargasm story. How'd you get started?

Ryan: So I actually was in law school. My plan for many, many years was to be a lawyer and go down that route. And I'm about halfway through the program I started to kind of have a change of heart as to whether or not it was really the right decision for me. So I decided to cut my losses and leave that program and try to start some sort of business and wasn't really sure what I wanted to do. But, you know, I've always loved music and attended concerts very frequently but never with hearing protection. And there was this one event I attended when I actually was in high school. There was a loud, loud punk rock show and my ears rang for days afterwards and I just kind of wondered like, why aren't we protecting our ears?

Ryan: And even till this day, I'm three years into this project and earplugs have been around for much longer than I've been selling them. And people at concerts, a lot of them don't wear hearing protection. And the level of noise at these events is at a dangerous level, often times where if you're repeatedly exposing yourself to those noise levels that can do unfortunately, harm to your hearing over the longterm. So I thought about why aren't people wearing earplugs in these situations? And I came to the conclusion that a lot of people are -- they don't like them because they detract from the experience of going to a live event. Those typical foam, orange-colored earplugs that people often think about when they think about earplugs, those muffle and distort sound. So it takes away from the experience and they stick out like a sore thumb because they're a bright color and they're one-time use.

Ryan: So you use them once, you throw them away, you forget to bring them to the next show. So I decided that there's gotta be a better way to go about all of this. And that's why I came up with the product and the brand: Eargasm Earplugs. It's, you know, "eargasm" was around before,  the word "eargasm" was around before I had my company with that name. It often refers to just an enjoyable or pleasurable sound. So, you know, going to concerts and music, like "that song was so awesome. It gave me an eargasm." So I figured it was kind of a fun way to pique people's interest in a product that maybe they hadn't considered before. And our earplugs, they preserve sound quality while reducing noise levels up to 21 decibels.

Ryan: So you're going to hear everything you normally hear -- just at a lower, safer volume. And initially when I came out with this product, I was envisioning it for concertgoers and musicians. But over time I've realized there's so many applications to using an earplug that doesn't muffle and block out a ton of sound. But you know, like if the volumes at a 10 and you just want to bring it down to a five or a six and still hear everything clearly, there's so many situations where an earplug like this can come in handy -- whether it's at a concert or rehearsing with your band, but it could be on a subway. You know, you mentioned you live in San Francisco. I used to live actually in Berkeley. I attended undergrad there and I took the BART.

Cary: Oh God. BART is the worst.

Ryan: Yeah. Especially going underneath the bay. Like it just, it gets so loud in there, but...

Cary: Oh yeah. You can't even hear the person sitting next to you on the BART seat. It's really, really bad. Yeah, that's a very good example.

Ryan: But at the same time, like you want to, if you put those foam earplugs in or you're using noise-canceling earplugs, unless you know the route like the back of your hand, you've got to listen to when the conductor says, "okay, we're at Montgomery station now." And you need to know: "Oh, this is my stop. I better get off here." So with these earplugs, you can cut out a lot of that ambient noise. But at the same time still hear when it's your stop or if you want to still be in touch with your environment while reducing noise, these earplugs provide a solution for that. And I could go on and on with the list of different applications. And I'm happy to get more into that if you're interested. But that's how I got started and a bit about the products.

Cary: I did the same thing. I used to go to a concert and sometimes I think, "oh, I forgot to bring earplugs." And then maybe some of these venues-- some of the smaller ones -- actually offer free earplugs, but they're exactly that. They're that foam and you put the foam in and then all you hear is this muffled bass. You know, you don't at all have the great concert experience 'cause the vocalist is muffled now and why do it? You'd be better just listening to music at home than to go to a concert where it sounds like you've got something in your ear and you can't hear. So...

Ryan: Yeah. Not to mention that concerts you, I mean, depending on the artists, you can spend hundreds of dollars on that ticket. Like it's an investment. You want to make the most of it.

Cary: Yeah. There's just no point in that. I noticed that you have a few models of earplugs and, including one that's for aviation. So I was hoping you could walk us through what are the differences between your different products.

Ryan: Yeah, absolutely. So,our bestselling earplug is called the High Fidelity earplugs. And as the name suggests, they, as I kinda mentioned before, they preserve sound quality while reducing noise levels. And in each package you get two different shell sizes, which is great because one of the issues I noticed with earplugs is a lot of them aren't one size fits all, but ear canals are like snowflakes. No two are the same. So it's important that you could have the greatest earplugs in the world, but if it doesn't fit your ear, it's not going to function properly. What you get in that package are two different sizing options. And then you put the filters that do all the filtering of the sound into the size that best suits your needs. And they're ready for immediate use.

Ryan: And they come in a couple of different colors. Our best selling color is blue, but we also have a transparent edition, which is a bit more discreet because some people want others not to know that they're wearing earplugs. And we get that. So we have a transparent edition. And on the other side of the spectrum we actually have a Pride edition, which is a rainbow color to your earplug. And that's kind of more of like a fashion choice. Some people love the rainbow ones because they love to get dressed up for concerts or for festivals and for Coachella and things like that. And now you have an earplug that can compliment the rest of your outfit. So, yeah, that's our best-selling model. We have another model called our Smaller Ears earplugs, which are actually similar to the High Fidelity ones in the sense that they preserve sound quality, but they're specifically designed for the smallest 20% of ears out there.

Ryan: So often the question comes up, well, how do I know which size is best for me? Typically what we recommend is most people have had the experience of using iPhone headphones and those are typically made to fit the general population. So if those iPhone headphones feel too big for your ears, then most likely you're going to fall into the smaller earplug category. And if they fit your ear as well, or even if they felt like they were a bit too small for you and you wanted something a bit bigger in size, our High Fidelity models can be the best option for you. To go a bit more into our product line...those are definitely are two bestselling products, but as you mentioned, we also have a product called the Aviation Earplug, which is specifically meant for people who fly frequently or not even necessarily frequently, but a situation that people run into when they're on a plane is during the ascent and descent of the plane.

Ryan: The cabin pressure in the plane changes and that pressure change actually can put pressure on your ear drum because the part of your canal that is on the other side of the eardrum has a different pressure than what's in the cabin. And so when the cabin pressure changes, that actually puts pressure on your eardrum and can cause pain. And I feel like most people have experienced this at least once in their life, whether they're on a plane or they're coming up and down a mountain or even on the BART, you know, when you're going down under, uh, when you come down to the bay...

Cary: I didn't know that was something can do about that.

Ryan: Yeah. A lot of people say, "oh--yawn or chew gum," and those can help, but we actually have a product which helps regulate that pressure imbalance in your ear so that you don't get that pressure on your eardrum when you are in these environments.

Ryan: And, it's been fantastic. People have been loving it. We've put it out about six months ago and some people now are like, I never fly without these because I used to get that awful ear pain all the time. And now with these ear plugs, they don't get it nearly as often.

Cary: Now you would not use these earplugs for a concert. It sounds like this is a different function.

Ryan: Absolutely. Yeah. That's a great point and distinction there. These earplugs, the aviation earplugs, definitely helped to reduce noise some but their primary purpose is actually not so much about sound. It's about pressure imbalance. People actually experienced pressure imbalances that cause pain in their ears in some parts of the country where you get barometric changes in the weather very rapidly. Like in Florida for instance, it could, the humidity level all of the sudden kicks up super high and then rain comes in. That can cause migraines and ear pressure as well. And these earplugs are great for those situations as well.

Cary: One of the things --I've tried a few earplugs before I actually got to buying Eargasm. And to be honest, you know, when I first got them I thought, is this something that will help me and which one do I buy? And then I went for what's the cheapest one first, you know -- just, let's see if it makes any difference at all. Which probably is a path that a lot of your customers might take. It's kind of like, well, I don't know if I want to spend this much yet because I don't know if it'll make a difference. So I did notice that some of the others that I tried had, you know -- what I think is the filter -- sticks out quite a bit from the earplug itself and in a way, and it's very hard. The filters are hard. I noticed that yours is integrated into the plug itself so that it's not protruding out a lot, like two sticks out of your ears, which I like.

Cary: It makes it actually more comfortable. Also, I know also a little less scary, like what if something bumped my ear and this thing got wrenched in my ear. It does seem like it's designed to have a very comfortable fit and the tab on it --the silicon tab -- makes it very easy to take out as well. What I'm wondering is, I noticed your instructions say that you, I think you twist them to put them in. Is that right? So what is the proper insertion for something like this?

Ryan: Typically what we recommend, when we're inserting our earplugs and you know, a lot of other earplugs, you could probably use a similar method. It's really just twisting and pushing at the same time when you're inserting the earplug into your ear. And the reason why we recommend that is, we've just found that that method helps that earplug lock into place in your ear and really gets that seal in your ear canal that you're looking for. Because if you aren't getting a proper fit and you don't get a seal where sound otherwise may be able to bypass the earplug, you're not getting the full functionality of the product. So that's why we do recommend that you twist and push simultaneously while you're inserting the ear plug into your ear.

Cary: And is there a way to know, 'don't go any farther'? Can you hurt yourself if you don't do it right?

Ryan: I mean, the great thing about our earplugs too is that they do have that tapered design so that their widest at the end. So unless your ear canal is wider than the end of the earplug, which is highly unlikely because the filter does, you know it's a pretty solid size so it's not going to get in there too far. Typically we just recommend to listen to your body. You definitely don't want to, if you start experiencing pain or extreme discomfort, you definitely don't want to be put in that situation. So really, one thing that I recommend people do, and I put this on the top of the instructions, is try these a few times at home before you go out and use them at a concert or when you're out and about. One thing that I've done in my own testing and use of earplugs that test their effectiveness is to turn up some music kind of loud, and put the earplugs in and let them settle in where you think they are fitting properly for a minute or so.

Ryan: Turn on the music to a loud level. You could probably do this with headphones too. So do that, you know, kind of mentally note what the sound level is -- and then pull the earplugs out with the music at the same level and you'll hear the difference. You'll know whether or not, oh, I can tell there's a difference here or not. Because some people have told me, "oh, these earplugs don't work. Like I don't hear a difference." And I tell them, "bring these to a concert or do that music test in your own home and compare that difference with earplugs and without earplugs. One after the other. And you will hear the difference there."

Cary: Yeah, that's a great test. I was wondering how you test to know that there's a certain decibel level of noise reduction -- up to a certain decibel level of noise reduction, when there’s no way to monitor someone's inner ear when they wear the earplug. How, how do you determine that?

Ryan: Yeah, so, basically under federal law there's a certain decibel rating that earplugs are assigned. It's called the 'noise reduction rating.' And it's actually been kind of a point of controversy in the earplug world, because some people don't believe that noise reduction ratings are accurate and that typically the argument is that they actually under greatly underestimate the ability of an earplug. And there are actually labs out there in the United States that almost all they do is testing of earplugs to determine these ratings. So we've sent our products into a noise testing facility out in Pennsylvania and they do all our testing. So we'll send them a set of ear plugs and well actually, one set ...we typically send them, I believe about 10 to 20 sets. And they will have different subjects come in and use the earplugs and they will play different frequency levels for these different subjects, at different volumes. And based off of the user's responses about whether or not they can hear the sounds, they will aggregate an average all of that data together and come up with this number, which is called the noise reduction rating.

Ryan: So on our High Fidelity earplugs, the noise reduction rating is 16 decibels. But that being said, again, it's typically a very conservative number that's anticipating that some people don't know how to use the earplugs properly and factors like that. So realistically it's been the industry standard that you can claim that the earplug reduces more noise than what the noise reduction rating is, just because in most circumstances that is the case. So on our packaging, you will see very prominently, and we put this on our website to the noise reduction rating of 16 decibels. That being said, you typically can expect noise to be reduced up to 21 decibels in most circumstances.

Cary: Now that doesn't mean though that someone should be in a 125-decibel environment for hours and hours where it needs earplugs and assume that that's okay because it's still only, you know, reduced to about a hundred and whatever decibels. I think at that's the way, if you're like working with a jackhammer or something like that, you should be wearing a different type of earplug then.

Ryan: That's a great point. Yeah, our earplugs are definitely not meant for all situations, especially extreme high volume situations. Like you mentioned the jackhammer, those guys out on the tarmac at an airport, standing right next to jet planes. I don't think that this product would be suitable for them on its own. What we recommend if you really want to use our earplugs and extreme high volume situations, and I think this is actually just good advice in general for earplug users. Because even if you're using a jackhammer and all, you're using our foam earplugs, which do reduce more noise than ours, that still may not be enough. Like if you're in a 125 dB environment, typically from what I've read, 85 decibels is the threshold between what's safe and unsafe. So if you're in a 125 environment and you know, foam earplugs, typically the noise reduction rating on them is in the low thirties.

Ryan: So let's say you're knocking out 35 decibels and the volume around you is at 125, that's going to bring you down to 90 dBs if my math is correct. Yeah, 90 dB. So that would be a bit above what's considered safe. So in those circumstances, double up. Use earplugs, but also use earmuffs on top of that and you'll get some extra protection there. And you see people at the gun range doing this as well. You know, like if you have earplugs in, that's typically not enough for like a high-impact sound like a firearm. Double up there with some earmuffs and you should be adequately protected.

Cary: Okay. That's great advice. And I do think that when you double up, you don't get the decibel reduction of A plus B, but you do get extra protection. So for example, if the earmuffs were 30 decibels and the earplugs are 35, you're not getting a full 65 by doubling them up, but you are getting more than the 35 that you would get. I wish I knew what the actual data was, but I'm pretty sure that you can't just add same as in construction. You can't say, "well this, Green Glue is X number of decibels reduction and the wall is X number of decibels. So now I have 90 decibels of noise reduction."

Ryan: Yeah, that's totally correct because the decibel rating system is logarithmic. You know, it exponentially increases like the difference between 125 and 126 decibels. That one difference at that level is much more of a difference as compared to 30 dBs to 31 dBs. So when you're getting to that higher intensity level, each decibel you're increasing is a way bigger increase in terms of sound level versus at a lower decibel rating.

Cary: Great. Well hopefully I won't personally ever be in an environment where I need both of those but you never know.

Ryan: You never know. But if you are, now you know.

Cary: Now I know what to do. That's right. How do people get your earplugs and are they available internationally?

Ryan: Great question. They're available internationally. If you purchase from our website, Eargasmearplugs.com, we also are one of the leading earplugs on Amazon.com. So for US-based customers, they can go on there and order them on Amazon and check out all our reviews. And you know, either source...we're happy. If you're ordering from Amazon or Eargasmearplugs.com, you're getting them straight from the source, from us directly. So we're happy to sell our product to customers in either of those ways. We are starting to build a bit of a retail presence in brick-and-mortar stores. We don't have too many locations yet, but we're working on trying to get our product out there into stores during the 2019 year. I think in the near future we'll put a location, like a "Find a store near me" locator. But for now the best way to go about getting our product is online from our website or Amazon.

Cary: Okay. Yeah, that's where I bought them -- from Amazon. But it's good to know that for anyone -- I don't know about Canada -- but if anyone outside the US wants to buy them, they should go directly to your site and not through Amazon at this point in time.

Speaker 3: Yeah. I think typically, whether you're Canada, Europe, or anywhere else in the world, our website is the best way to go about getting our product. But in the U.S., Amazon or our website is totally fine. Oh, we have been, for instance, we've had a presence at music festivals where we've had our own stand. So like, back in 2016, we were the official earplug of the KAABOO del Mar Music Festival, which is one of the largest music festivals in San Diego. That was awesome. Last year we were the official earplug of the Electric Force Music Festival, which is a large EDM and jam band music festival up in Michigan that gets about 40,000 people over two weekends. We do a trade show called NAMM, which stands for National Association of Musician Merchants, which is the largest music trade show in the world. And it's held every January. We just wrapped that up about a month ago. So we're definitely working on trying to get this product in front of people, not just online but in the real world as well.

Cary: Absolutely. Outside Lands is another good candidate that happens every year in San Francisco. And it's so loud that I hear it all the way across the city for three days. So I can imagine the people who are actually there. It must be very, very loud.

Ryan: Yeah, I actually went to that one a couple of years ago. It was a lot of fun and uh, definitely loud.

Cary: Oh, I have another question for you, which is ... What is the difference for someone who is exposed to loud music a lot or maybe a musician? What is the difference between using these earplugs and something like a custom molded ear plug?

Ryan: So the attenuation technology in our earplugs and custom molded earplugs are very, very similar. Yet ours are a fraction of the cost. So the technology that you're getting there, like if you look at a custom molded earplug, you'll see at the end of it, there's a filter in there -- and those filters are very similar to what we use. And a custom earplug is going to run you about $150 to $200, whereas our products retail for, depending on the model, you know, $30 to $40. So, considerable savings there. Really what you're paying for with a custom molded earplug is the fact that it's custom molded to your ear. So it's going to be a perfect fit that, as I mentioned before, the earplug could be the most amazing earplug in the world. But if it doesn't fit your ears properly, it's, I wouldn't say it's useless, but the benefits you get from the product are going to be much more diminished when you're using an improperly fitting earplug.

Ryan: So with the custom molded you're getting that peace of mind that you're getting something that fits your ear really well. But I view our product as the closest you can get to custom molded without it being a custom mold because we do have so many different sizing options. Even within the same package you're getting two different sizing options. So generally people do find an earplug that fits well for them and once you get that good fit, you know, a lot of people find that our product is just as good, if not even a little bit better than a custom molded one. One of the complaints that people have with custom molded ear plugs is, yeah, they fit really well. But they feel like it's almost suffocating their ear and like they feel like there's pressure building up in there and it can get a bit uncomfortable over time just because it is occupying literally almost your entire ear canal. And then, part of the outer part of your ear as well. So our earplug is not quite as invasive as a custom earplug is with occupying that space. So people tend to find that it's a bit more comfortable fit.

Cary: When I started wearing your earplugs, I used the standard size and I probably don't have the biggest ears in the world, you know. But I actually use the one right out of the box without switching the filter into the smaller size. I probably should experiment with it a little bit. But it seems like it was a very snug fit and that's what I want. So for now I'm going with just the regular size as opposed to one that might actually have a little bit of airspace around it. And I assume that that's the right thing to do and closer to this snug fit of the custom molded one.

Ryan: Yeah, it sounds like you're doing the right thing. But you know, it never hurts to experiment. That's like one of the great things. That's one of the great things about this product. As you do have those multiple sizing options, so you know you can try it out and see what works best for you. And this one size works a bit better, you know, for the future and you're getting the best hearing protection possible because of it.

Cary: And for people who've already damaged their hearing a little bit through loud concerts. I just want to say it's still a good idea. Don't assume like, "I already have tinnitus," or whatever, "so why bother?" Actually, I think at any given point in your journey, if you start protecting your ears, it's the right thing to do. It's never too late to start reducing any further damage. So I think in another interview that I heard you do -- you were talking about Paul McCartney, who's obviously got decades of ear damage, but that's doesn't mean he shouldn't wear earplugs now.

Ryan: It's so true. And I hear this from people all the time. They're, they're just like, "why should I start protecting my hearing? It's already shot." You know, "there's no use." But as you mentioned, like it's never too late to start protecting what you have left. And it's better to have 75% of your hearing rather than 25%. And there are things out there -- and hopefully in the future -- where you could maybe start to reverse some of these symptoms. I know with like tinnitus, there are certain supplements and techniques that you can use to reduce the intensity of it, so you might as well start taking proactive measures to keep things at bay. And then bring into your regimen along with using earplugs, potentially seeing an audiologist, and seeing what else is out there to hopefully start to reverse the things that you're experiencing.

Cary: I'd like to thank Ryan Parry of Eargasm for talking with Soundproofist and I hope you feel like I do. That is a really good idea to carry a pair of earplugs with you on your keys or in your bag. So if you get caught in a loud environment, you're ready to deal with it. As Ryan said -- in the U.S. you can buy Eargasm Earplugs through Amazon. You can also buy them through the Eargasmearplugs.com website, no matter where you live. And if you link to the Eargasm Earplugs website from this Soundproofist blog, you'll help support this podcast series. Thanks for listening, and don't forget to take care of your ears.