Are There Any In-Ear Earplug Devices That Allow Controlled Sound Amplification?

So, basically, I am just looking for a device that does two things. One, it acts like an earplug that turns down surrounding noise decibels by at least 29 dB (but hopefully 32 dB if possible). This is something achieved by most foam ear plugs.

However, what those foam ear plugs DON'T do is have a speaker going through them that allows you to hear stuff around you, but at a volume YOU can control.

So, for example, let's say you are in a restaurant and noise levels are up to 85-90 dB. Well, if you had this device in, you could turn that down 30 dB. THEN, simply control the volume of the speaker and have it turned to a max of 70 dB maybe. The speaker never goes above the volume you set.

I saw devices like this posted on here before.

Just curious if anyone on here has used something like this in the past or has recommendations on something that might meet the above requirements?

 

Following.

 

I don't think that this exists.

 

No and yes. I have not used any of such products, but I know that 3M offers a variety of electronic earplugs that are supposed to limit the sound levels that reach your ears without shutting you off from the environment.

However, there remains a problem that cannot be solved by such a product alone: There is no way for such a device to distinguish signal from noise. For instance, it is not possible to drown out the noise in a restaurant and only let through the voice of the waiter.

On the other hand, this does not mean nothing works. It's just that all parties involved need to use two-way communication and noise-cancelling microphones.

 

This would be great. I would buy this.

 

Nuheara IQbuds² MAX have amazing technology in them. Look at those.

 

These look literally perfect, except it is not clear how much decibel protection they actually provide. I checked their FAQ and they said it is made for consumer use only, and not industrial protection regulated by OSHA.

Is there anything like that that also provides hearing protection? Those would be near perfect if so.

 

This would be a useful device for people with hyperacusis because it can limit high decibel sounds from entering the ear, both impact and continuous. The problem is it is automatically set to 82 dB electronically. What I think would help people with hyperacusis would the ability to set the electronic attenuation to whatever dB they wanted.

So, imagine for someone with hyperacusis, the next time a horn honks, or baby screams, or something drops on the ground, this could quickly attenuate. I wonder if anyone has hacked the software on them...

 

It would be nice to have something with just a passive filter that would filter sound louder than, say, 80 decibels... sort of like earplugs for the range, except for more than just fast, explosive sounds.

I'm talking about something that isn't electronic and not so bulky. Would be nice to have a port to allow air from inside the ear canal to escape as well to eliminate occlusion.

 

These might help some people.

https://www.soundgearhearing.com/

I have used them while shooting. They work very well. I had the older generation and unfortunately lost them on a trip. I haven’t used the passive ones (non-electronic) but I think they might work. I can tell you those phantom custom ones look like they would be bad ass. My older ones didn’t have Bluetooth connectivity, not that anyone hear might want that lol.

 

The instant fit ones look pretty good. Suppresses sound at 80 dB.

 

Doesn’t the AirPods Max Transparency Mode kinda do that?

 

No. These are ear protection rated for a certain dB. AirPods and other earbuds just block out surrounding noise by blocking off noise going into the ear canal by creating a slight seal at the bud. With ear protection, the first purpose is to actually block the noise and the fit is much tighter in a sense.

Some (most?) of these custom ear protection require you to use a gel to create 100% seal, usually like vitamin E gel or like the stuff they use for ultrasounds. That is more for when doing things like shooting; I would imagine that regular day to day use for some sufferers probably wouldn’t require 100% seal.

 

I don't own either, but both do have accessibility settings to set volume of audio from output source (which all headphones do) but also set volume of the noises in the environment around you. Whether that's what OP wants, I dunno. I'm new to this.

 

@Lukee, are you still shooting? If so, have you had any changes in your tinnitus afterwards?

I stopped shooting in January because that's how I got my tinnitus.

Do you use double protection like earplugs and earmuffs?

 

I got tinnitus in January as well and haven't been shooting since. Mine wasn't from noise exposure but I believe once you get it, it reacts the same. If I plan to go this summer, I will more than likely wear over the ear protection at a minimum. Maybe double protection.

Did you get it from shooting?

 

I have AirPods Pros. And while they do have a passthrough mode, it doesn't change the volume of the sounds coming through.

 

@Lukee, I did get it from shooting. I was at the range and didn't have my earplugs in before a guy few spots down took a shot, failing to call out that the range was hot. My hearing was muffled for a day which then led to the ringing.

 

That sucks. Maybe with time it will get better but obviously you will need to be prudent with protection moving forward.

 

Have you tweaked settings of transparency mode?

 

I'm looking at the settings right now. There's no further customization other than turning on spacial audio and changing what the button on each AirPods does.