Simple, Advanced Happy Ears Earplugs: Blocking out harmful noise without sacrificing sound quality.
Words: Richard Prime
Photography: Happy Ears
What is attenuation?
Attenuation is the measurement of sound across frequencies. The more even the attenuation the more even the frequencies and the less distorted, or better quality, the sound. What music lovers need to know is Happy Ears are CE Certified with the most even attenuation of any non-custom made earplug. By definition, if Happy Ears fit your ears, there are no better earplugs for concerts.
As the lights dim, in the cool trendy venues of Scandinavia, the stigma of reaching into your pocket to grab your earplugs has passed. Fashion trends often originate in Scandinavia. Whether it’s fashionable or not to wear earplugs, Scandinavians have learned when you go to a concert you need to protect your ears.
Concerts regularly exceed 105 decibels where sound exposure is safe for just a few minutes. Some shows at smaller venues can be even louder. If it’s obvious to protect your ears, the question becomes do you go for the cheapest low quality foam earplug or do you invest in a pair of quality concert earplugs?
First things first, the earplugs that fit the best work the best. Like great music, ears can be funky. Each ear has its own depth, shape and contours. You may find the greatest set of concert earplugs, but if they don’t fit your ears it won’t matter. If you really care about sound and music, and if possible, try a couple different pairs to find the earplugs that fit your ears best.
If you want to protect your ears, but ruin your live music experience use a foam earplug. Foam earplugs offer users the most uneven attenuation. A foam earplug does a much better job at cutting down higher frequencies compared to low ones. The result…You lose the guitars, the symbols, high pitched vocals and end up lost in the bass. If you’re desperate, your ears are ringing and your head hurts, go ahead and use those foam earplugs as a last resort.
At the opposite spectrum you can shell out hundreds of dollars for a pair of custom earplugs. A great experience, yes, but not so cool when you lose one at a festival or after a show. The cost/benefit just doesn’t justify the spend. Let the performers stand out with their custom earplugs. Save your cash for the gig.
This leaves the long and growing list of so called hi-fi earplugs. The hi-fi earplug has really caught on as a marketing gimmick on sites like Amazon. Definity better than foam, but a lot of noise to cut through. Now that you know no other earplug offers a more even attenuation than Happy Ears, the choice is quite simple…No hi-fi hype, if Happy Ears fit your ears there are no better earplugs for concerts.
Happy Ears are made in Sweden and have been setting the standard for innovation and quality since 2010. Since this time we’ve been proud partners of some of the world’s largest music festivals including SXSW, Lollapalooza, Reeperbahn, Way Out West and many more. In regards to quality, a single pair of Happy Ears, if stored in their case when not in use, will last years and can be used for hundreds of shows. Also great to use at a music festival to catch up on your sleep. To learn more about Happy Ears for sleep, check out our sleep page.
If you love live music grab a pack of Happy Ears and create an immersive, comfortable and healthy concert environment.
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Originally published Cool Hunting Magazine 2015, Official partner SXSW 2017