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Taking care of your body is important. That’s why you moisturize and wear sunscreen, exercise regularly and eat a balanced diet (or at least try to…most days...listen, you're doing your best). But often neglected when it comes to physical health? Your hearing.
If you’re a frequent concert-goer, or even a subway commuter in a loud city, that daily dose of decibels is going to have an impact on your ears over time. Which is why we recommend wearing earplugs. Sure, in concept they’re dorky, but it’s 2017 and we’ve evolved past simply putting foam in your ears. Earplug technology is not just great but also stylish.
That’s why we love the Flare Isolate Pro Earplugs, which actually look good while they protect your precious ear canals. We know they’re an investment at $70. But unlike run-of-the-mill disposable earplugs that will make you feel disoriented, the Isolate Pros will help you retain your sense of spatial awareness and avoid that submerged-in-water feeling. They’re designed to block just enough sound, without interrupting your experience. In fact, wearing the Isolate Pros can help you hear some sounds better than without them. Now you can stand front row at The Weeknd and hear every detail without having to escape the painful shrieks of the crowd around you.
1. They’re titanium. The Isolate Pro’s secret to success is that they’re made out of titanium, which allows you to hear details in sound through bone conduction. Bone conduction—let us Google that for you: It means that the titanium vibrates in coordination with your skull to help those smaller details in the sound travel into your inner ear while reducing the more harmful noise levels with the foam used for the tips.
2. Comfy as hell. You can sleep soundly (literally) knowing that you can wear these at an all-day music festival and keep on wearing them as you head to bed. Small ears? No problem. Flare makes the Isolate in a mini version as well.
3. Cool and colorful. Don’t let the traumatizing years of stuffing neon orange foam into your ears dissuade you from these. We think the brushed titanium looks pretty great, but if you’re looking for something a bit more colorful, Flare makes their aluminum version in every color of the rainbow (or, if you’re feeling particularly fancy, gold).
4. Easy to carry with you. No one wants to be carrying anything more than they have to at an event. The Isolate Pros come with a soft pouch that is perfect for stuffing into pockets or a bag.
These are a favorite among musicians because they’re relatively inexpensive and block just enough sound. Since they block less sound than the Flares, the Hearos are especially good if you tend to lurk in the background at concerts (we get it, you just want to be near the bar). The Hearos are a bit uncomfortable after a time, so we weren’t able to set-it-and-forget-it the way we did with the Flares. They may not be the best earplugs, but they are the best deal, especially if you’re prone to misplacing things.
You know that guy who sits next to you at work? Yeah, the one who always chews his salad way too loud and breathes through his mouth. What if you could tune him out? The Here One is one of those new pieces of tech that seems ridiculous until you try it. The Bluetooth earbuds pair with your phone to create an augmented listening experience. Through the app, you can effectively dial real-world sounds up or down. They’re technically not earplugs, but they’re capable of earplug-y greatness. So while Ed (we see you, Ed) continues to mouth-breathe through his day, you can continue listening to the office around you but dial down the noise from his direction.
