It’s important to protect your hearing. You’d think that could go without saying, but apparently not. The New York times recently reported that one in five teenagers suffer from at least slight hearing loss. That’s up 30 percent from a decade ago. We suspect loud music has something to do with it, be it sourced from a loud concert, a club or cranked up headphones. But teens aren’t the only ones at risk. Musicians, construction workers, airport ground crews and anyone else working in a noisy environment also need to protect your ears.
The obvious solution is earplugs but, generally speaking, earplugs suck. Cheap earplugs either don’t fit or they block out too much of everything, including what you actually need to hear. Custom earplugs can cost a fortune, making them an unlikely solution for many.
A great earplug would be available in several different sizes so that it can fit just about anyone’s ears. It would also block out the entire frequency range evenly so that, essentially, you hear the original sound, just quieter-kind
of like turning the volume knob down on the world around you-this is essential for musicians who need to hear what they are playing and a matter of safety for others. Ah yes, we also think a pair should cost $20 or less.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, V-moda, best known for its urban-style headphones, claims they have created just such an earplug. The Faders earplugs, marketed under V-moda’s Ear Armor division, appear to be an earphone, minus the drivers. They are made of metal, come in three different colors, are packed with four sizes of silicone eartips and equipped with a “lanyard” (earphone cable?) so they don’t go missing. V-MODA claims the Faders earplugs reduce ambient noise by 12dB and evenly across the frequency spectrum. The price, for now anyway, is just $15 at Vmoda.com. And, for the time being, V-moda says it will toss a pair in for free along with any order over $50.
We have a set coming in for evaluation and will be sure to let you know if they are as effective as V-moda claims, but can you really go wrong for $15?
