Ear Plug Superstore - Official Blog

EPSS Newsletter: Hearing Protection for a Happy New Year

We at Ear Plug Superstore want to wish you a very merry Christmas day!

By now, the presents have been opened and the Christmas season is coming to a close. But even if you're already packing up the stockings and mistletoe, we all still have one great holiday ahead this winter -- New Year's -- and it's right around the corner!

That's right folks, it's almost 2012 already. My, how time flies! And one of the very best things about the new year is celebrating its beginning. Whatever the coming year may bring, New Year's Eve (and New Year's Day) are all about kicking off the fresh new year with bright wishes and good cheer.

Of course, New Year's is celebrated differently all around the world:

• In Scotland (where "Auld Lang Syne" originated) the traditional celebration is called Hogmanay, in which neighbors go out shortly after midnight to visit each other with well-wishes for the new year; in the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration, the event is observed as an all-night street party!
• In Japan, Bonenkai, or "forget-the-year parties" are held to scrub away the problems of the previous year in preparation for the new one, and Buddhist temples strike their gongs 108 times to represent expelling the 108 forms of human weakness.
• In the Netherlands, the Dutch have Christmas tree bonfires and enjoy fireworks.
• In Denmark, participants traditionally throw dishes at the front doors of friends' homes -- the more broken dishes on your doorstep on New Year's Day, the more friends you know you have!

Still, the most common traditions, like fireworks and New Year's Resolutions, seem to occur in cultures all across the globe. And many of our familiar American New Year's traditions -- parties, fireworks, singing, and gathering with friends and family -- are popular world-wide. In England, for example, people gather around Big Ben to hear the clock tower chime midnight, much as folks here in the U.S.A. gather in New York City to see the ball drop.

Of course, Big Ben is notably more noisy, ringing in at 118dB -- that's about as loud as a jet plane taking off, and is enough sound to vibrate your body from head to toes if you're standing in the belfry!

What do all these New Year's traditions have in common?

They involve making a lot of NOISE!

With this in mind, we at Ear Plug Superstore want to make sure your new year starts safely, no matter what kind of noisy events you plan to enjoy. So here's our New Year's Celebration Hearing Protection Breakdown:

Clubs & Concerts
Live music can be moving, powerful, or just plain fun -- but enjoying loud music with naked ears isn't a good idea. Rock concerts average an output of about 120dB of sound, and even a nightclub with a DJ can top 110dB. Bring some Musician's Natural Sound Earplugs on New Year's Eve to enjoy the music without distortion, and skip the ringing ears on New Year's Day. If you're bringing the kids, invest in some Earmuffs for Children; even a sophisticated symphony orchestra can be dangerously dynamic.

Fireworks
From 3 feet away, fireworks provide around an ear-shattering 163dB! But even from a much safer distance, those loud booms and pops can be distressing to the little ones. Make sure to equip your kids with Earmuffs for Babies and Children -- they'll keep their hearing safe so the family can enjoy the fireworks together. And don't forget the dog! Mutt Muffs Earmuffs for Dogs can bring some much-needed safety and calm to the family's best friend during New Year's Eve fireworks and other loud events.

Football Games
New Year's Day football is a much-loved American tradition -- but it's also a loud one, with cheering crowds reaching 117dB of sound! If you happen to be in the stadium this New Year's, bring a trusty pair of foam earplugs along, or pack your favorite reusable earplugs -- for example, Hearos Skull Screws, tough enough hearing protection for even the most macho of fans. For a more tech-savvy solution, pick up some isolation earphones with hearing protection to listen to the radio during the game, even when the crowd goes wild.

Parades
An outdoor marching band can trumpet out up to 100dB of sound, and paired with a crowd, parades can drum up a LOT of noise -- so don't forget your hearing protection if you attend a New Year's Day parade! A pair of Natural Sound Musician's Earplugs are an excellent choice for parades, as they'll block out dangerous sound levels while allowing you to hear music and voices clearly. And don't forget to protect the kids with Earmuffs for Children; they'll comfortably fit even small infants, so their ears remain blissfully safe as the floats go by.

Again, we hope you've had a great Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!

This year, resolve to protect your own hearing, and the hearing of your little ones -- it's an easy resolution to keep, and there's no better time than the start of the new year to start protecting the little ears in your life.

Until next time, be safe, and Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman
& the EPSS Newsletter Staff
Ear Plug Superstore
earplugstore.com

How Christmas Carols Could Save Your Hearing

This holiday season, you could actually combat hearing damage by singing Christmas carols.

It sounds counterintuitive, but according to the Journal of Hearing Science, it's true. Experiments have revealed that when muscles in the middle ear are voluntarily contracted, the increased pressure on the fluids in your ears regulates cochlear sensitivity by stifling noise vibrations -- effectively helping to protect your hearing. The formal name for this effect is the Intralabyrinthine Pressure Theory.

It sounds complicated, but the breakdown is simple: by actively contracting the muscles in your middle ears, up to 30dB or more of sound attenuation can be achieved. That's about as much attenuation as a good foam earplug, and it's built right into your ears!

So where do the Christmas carols come in?

Well, flexing your middle ear muscles probably isn't something you've practiced at the gym. But if you've ever heard that soft roaring or fluttering sound in your ears when you yawned, you've already heard your middle ear muscles contracting. And in fact, a whole variety of common movements can cause this same contraction, including chewing gum and talking or singing loudly.

This means that when you sing loudly, you're actually tensing your middle ear muscles, blocking out other sounds. (This is one good reason to sing along with the band at concerts!)

So the next time you're out Christmas shopping, and you find yourself in a huge crowd at the mall, and it's so loud you can't hear yourself think -- consider bursting into one of your favorite Christmas carols! Those "fa-la-la's" and "jingle bells" not only help share the Christmas spirit, but they could also help protect your hearing, too.

Until next time, may your days be merry and bright!
--Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman

Earplug Arts & Crafts for Christmas!

Now that Black Friday has come and gone, it's time to focus on what the holidays are really all about: showing your friends and family how much you care. Whether you're decking the halls, finishing up your Christmas shopping, or just spending time together as a family, it's time to relax and enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones.

'Tis the Season to introduce our very first Ear Plug Superstore Christmas Earplug Arts & Crafts Guide! The following crafts are perfect for the family to create together, and they're safe and easy enough for even very young children to enjoy (with adult supervision). They're fun, they're affordable, they're a great way to spend time together as a family, and best of all, they turn into great holiday gifts and decorations once you're done!

After all, nothing says "Merry Christmas!" better than a hand-made gift.

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A note on red earplugs: To create these sample Christmas crafts, we used Argus hexagonal red foam earplugs. However, we've sold out of these earplugs, and have had to discontinue them in our store! So for your crafts, we highly recommend substituting Veratti Red foam earplugs. These are round, rather than hexagonal, and they're shaped just like the bright green Moldex Pura-Fit foam earplugs you'll see in the photos below. Our Veratti Red foam earplugs will work perfectly for all of the following crafts, and in most cases, they'll look even better than the hexagonal earplugs we used! Your craft projects won't look exactly like ours, but that's not the point -- after all, no two hand-made crafts are exactly the same!

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Christmas Earplug Mini-Photo Frame

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What You Will Need: 1 Mini-Photo Frame 2.5in x 3.5in Krazy Glue (or Craft Glue for younger kids) Scissors 11 Pairs of red Veratti Red Foam Earplugs 4 Pairs of green Moldex Pura-Fit Foam Earplugs Stickers, bows, foam shapes, or any other decorations you like Tip: Consider picking up a couple extra pairs of both kinds of earplugs, just in case!

Instructions:

1. Clean picture frame with soft, damp cloth, and dry thoroughly.
2. Using a small stripe of glue, attach 1 red earplug to the top left corner of the frame, making sure the earplug lines up with the edges of the frame.
3. Using a small stripe of glue for each earplug, alternate attaching green and red earplugs all the way down the left side of the frame. Align each earplug with the inner edge of the frame so you get a nice, straight border.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to cover the right side of the frame, working from top to bottom. Now both sides are done!
5. Using a small stripe of glue for each earplug, attach five red earplugs across the top of the frame. Don't worry if the earplugs stick out above the top of the frame.
6. Now it's time to decorate the last edge of the frame. Following the same method of gluing one earplug on at a time, attach five red earplugs across the bottom of the frame. It's important to make sure the earplugs don't stick down below the bottom edge of the frame, or you won't be able to stand it up when you're done! So before you start gluing, hold a red earplug in place at the bottom of the frame and see if it sticks down too far. If it does, just take your scissors and snip off the bottom of the earplug so it's the right height. Trim down all five earplugs (as necessary), and then glue them across the bottom of the frame.
7. Now you're done attaching earplugs! Allow to dry thoroughly (45 minutes for Krazy Glue, 24 hours for Craft Glue).
8. Once the frame is dry, you can now decorate it with craft foam shapes, stickers, bows, or any other fun decorations you like! We used some stickers, attaching a large "Happy Holidays" sticker across the top of the frame, and three small snowflake stickers around the frame. You can use any kind of decoration you like, gluing or sticking things right to the earplugs. Have fun with it!
9. Put in your favorite photo (you can trim down a 3x5 photo using scissors if you don't have a 2.5x3.5 photo to use), and your Christmas Earplug Mini Photo Frame is ready to display!

The Finished Product:

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Easy Earplug Christmas Tree

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What You Will Need: 7 Wooden craft sticks or popsicle sticks Krazy Glue (or Craft Glue for younger kids) Scissors 1 Star or other decoration to top the tree 18 Pairs of green MaxLite Foam Earplugs 2 Pairs of red Veratti Red Foam Earplugs Tip: Consider picking up a couple extra pairs of earplugs, just in case!

Instructions:

1. Place one craft stick horizontally (sideways) on a flat, clean surface. This will be the bottom branch of the tree. Don't use glue yet!
2. Take a second craft stick, and using scissors, carefully cut about 1 inch off the end. Try to trim the end so it's rounded, so the cut end matches the uncut end -- but don't worry too much if it isn't perfect -- once you put on the earplugs (later), it won't show much.
3. Place the trimmed craft stick above the first one so the sticks touch, centered so that the ends of the second stick are shorter than the first stick by about 1/2 inch on each side. Don't use glue yet!
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with four more craft sticks, making each one shorter than the last, and arranging each stick so it's centered above the stick below it.
5. Now the branches of the tree are ready. You haven't glued anything down yet, so feel free to adjust them until they're all straight and centered.
6. It's time to attach the trunk of the tree! Take your last craft stick, and draw a squiggly line of glue down one flat side of the stick. Make sure to leave about an inch at each end of the stick without glue.
7. Place the trunk with glue on it down vertically (up and down) on top of the lined up branches, leaving about an inch sticking out at the top and bottom. Now your tree is assembled!
8. Now that the tree is put together, allow to dry thoroughly (45 minutes for Krazy Glue, 24 hours for Craft Glue).
9. Once your tree is dry, flip it over so the trunk is on the back, and all the branches are on the front. Your tree is now ready to decorate!
10. Take all your green earplugs out of the wrappers and put them in a pile next to your tree. These MaxLite foam earplugs are the perfect green color, but you'll notice the bottoms of the plugs are a bit rounded. We'll need to trim off the bottom of each earplug to make it flat and ready to glue to the tree.
11. Take a green earplug and mash it flat! (Don't worry, it'll expand quickly to its original shape.) Take your scissors and carefully trim off the bottom of the earplug, following the seam at the bottom. One easy snip will do the trick.
12. Repeat this process with all your green earplugs. Let the earplugs expand back to their original shape, and you'll see they have flat bottoms now. Don't worry if all the green earplugs aren't exactly the same; real Christmas trees have a little variation in their branches, and so will yours!
13. Put a dot of glue at the end of the bottom branch, and glue on a green earplug so that the flat bottom is glued down, the point sticks straight up toward you, and the earplug is turned so that the two little parts of the earplug bottom that stick out are turned pointing up and down. (See the photo above for a reference.)
14. Using a dot of glue for each earplug, glue green earplugs all the way across the bottom branch until the stick is covered. Don't worry if the earplugs stick off a little at the end, or point in slightly different directions -- this is a Christmas tree, so it's fine if yours looks a little organic!
15. Repeat step 14 for each branch. When you get to a place where you'd like to put an "ornament" on the tree, just glue on a red earplug instead of a green one and keep going. You can put red ornaments on your tree wherever you'd like!
16. Now every branch should be covered in red and green earplugs, and the bare trunk of the tree should stick out above and below the branches.
17. Finally, it's time to top your tree! We used a gold glitter-foam star to top our earplug Christmas tree, but you can also use a star cut out of yellow construction paper, or a star you drew on any kind of paper you like, colored, and cut out yourself. You could alternatively replace the star with a red bow, a shiny jingle bell, a sticker, or any other decoration you like -- it's your tree, so top it with whatever you like!
18. Allow everything to dry thoroughly (45 minutes for Krazy Glue, 24 hours for Craft Glue). Now your tree is complete. Congratulations!
19. (Optional) Glue a loop of string or ribbon to the back of the tree, let it dry, and it's ready to hang up on the wall -- or you can even use your mini earplug tree as an ornament on your own real Christmas tree!

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Child's Handprint Christmas Keepsake Decoration

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What You Will Need: A piece of white cardboard, craft foam, or even a round white paper plate Red or green finger paint Krazy Glue (or Craft Glue for younger kids) Scissors Pencil Compass or round bowl to trace around 1 Star or other decoration to top the tree 11 Pairs of green Moldex Pura-Fit Foam Earplugs 11 Pairs of red Veratti Red Foam Earplugs Tip: Depending on the size of the handprint, you may need more or fewer earplugs to complete this craft. Err on the side of caution and pick up a couple extra pairs!

Instructions:

1. First thing's first: the handprint. Using either red or green non-toxic finger paint, make a handprint in the center of your white cardboard, craft foam, or paper plate. For very small children, be sure to help! Allow the paint to dry completely.
2. Using a compass and a pencil, draw a circle all the way around the handprint, leaving about two inches of space between any paint and the line of the circle. Try to make sure the handprint is well-centered in the circle. (If you don't have a compass, you can trace around any round object -- we used a glass bowl!)
3. Cut along the circle line you just drew, so you end up with a handprint in the middle of your circular cardboard or foam cut-out.
4. Now, using a pencil, trace a smaller circle about 1 inch all the way around the inside edge of the circular cutout. This will be a guideline, so draw lightly. It doesn't have to be a perfect circle; if you don't have a compass, you can carefully free-hand this circle -- just make sure to leave about an inch between the circle you're drawing and any part of the handprint.
5. Now you're ready to start decorating your Christmas handprint keepsake. Using a small dot of glue, attach one green earplug at the top of your cutout. Make sure to point the rounded end of the earplug straight toward the center of the circle, and align the tip so it just barely overlaps the guideline you drew. Don't worry if the earplug extends a little past the edge of your cutout; that's how it's supposed to be.
6. Using another dot of glue, attach a red earplug to the right of the first green earplug, so that the earplugs are gently touching. Do the same thing here: make sure the rounded tip points directly to the center of the circle, align the rounded tip of the earplug so it just barely overlaps your pencil guideline, and don't worry if the earplug sticks out over the edge of your cutout.
7. Repeat step 6, alternating green and red earplugs, until you have a ring of green and red earplugs all the way around the edge of the circle.
8. Allow to dry thoroughly (45 minutes for Krazy Glue, 24 hours for Craft Glue).
9. Once it's dry, take a loop of red, green, or white yarn or ribbon and glue it to the upper back of the cardboard or foam circle, and allow it to dry thoroughly. This will make a hanger, so you can hang your decoration up for everyone to enjoy! Your handprint keepsake is now complete. Congratulations!
10. (Optional) Once your handprint decoration has dried, you can decorate it to your heart's content! You can add stickers, bows, glitter, etc. You could even tie jingle bells to pieces of ribbon, and glue the ribbons to the back of the cutout so the jingle bells hang down below. (We left ours plain; red and green earplugs are the perfect decoration for us!)

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Earplug Christmas Tree Ornaments

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You can make earplug ornaments out of any color earplugs you like! Any foam earplug will make for a soft, fun, colorful ornament, so the only limit here is your own creativity! Here, we've made three ornaments: a large star-type ornament, and one medium and one large mosaic dot-style ornaments.

What You Will Need:

• A 1-1/2 inch to 2 inch foam craft ball (available at Wal-Mart and craft stores). The left and center ornaments were made with 1-1/2 inch foam balls; the ornament on the right was made with a larger 2 inch foam ball.
• Red and green earplugs! How many depends on which kind of earplug ornament you want to make.
• For a star ornament (far left), you'll need:
  • 16 Pairs of green Moldex Pura-Fit Foam Earplugs (for a green star)
       OR
  • 16 Pairs of red Veratti Red Foam Earplugs (for a red star)
• For a mosaic dot-style ornament (center and far right), you'll need:
  • 12 Pairs of green Moldex Pura-Fit Foam Earplugs, and
  • 12 Pairs of red Veratti Red Foam Earplugs (for large size, far right)
       OR
  • 6 Pairs of green Moldex Pura-Fit Foam Earplugs, and
  • 6 Pairs of red Veratti Red Foam Earplugs (for medium size, center)
• Krazy Glue (use with close adult supervision in a well-ventilated area!)
• String
• Scissors (for mosaic dot-style ornament)
• Tip: You can make ornaments like these out of any kind of foam earplug you like! Check out our Industrial Foam Earplugs (you can buy exactly as many pairs as you need) and our Consumer Foam Earplugs (even more to choose from!) to find more colors and designs. When it comes to Earplug Ornaments, the sky's the limit!

Instructions:

1. For a mosaic dot-style ornament, the first thing you'll need to do is cut your red and green earplugs into round discs. To do this, flatten an earplug with your fingers, then cut off the rounded tip with scissors and discard. Then cut the remaining earplug into three equal parts. The little round disks may take a few minutes to expand completely, but don't worry -- they'll grow back into circles. Each earplug makes three nice, round, flat discs. For the mosaic dot-style ornament, do this with all your earplugs so you've got a pile of earplug discs ready to go before you start gluing!
2. Now it's time to glue. From here, the process is super-easy no matter which kind of ornament you're making. Put a small dot of glue in the center of a disc or the flat end of an earplug, stick it onto your foam ball, and hold it there for about 20 seconds so the glue has time to dry.
3. Next, repeat step 2 with the rest of your earplugs or earplug discs, placing the second one right next to the first one, and so on. If you're using whole earplugs for a star ornament, try gluing a ring of earplugs all the way around the middle first, and then work outward from that ring in a spiral pattern to fill in the top and bottom. If you're making a mosaic dot-style ornament, you can glue on the dots in any pattern you like! We made one random pattern (center) and one striped rings pattern (right).
4. Tips for the star ornament: Depending on what kind of krazy glue you're using, it may take a bit longer for each earplug to dry completely and stay put. Also, don't worry if your earplugs get squished while you're working on the ornament -- they'll expand back to their original shape!
5. Tips for the mosaic dot-style ornament: We found that the larger foam ball (2 inches) was best for creating this type of ornament. With the larger base, you have a lot more room to create fun patterns with your earplug discs!
6. Allow your ornament to dry thoroughly once you've finished gluing on your earplugs. This could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the type of glue you used.
7. Cut off a piece of string about ten inches long. This is what will create the hanger for your ornament! Loop the string around your ornament; start by setting the ornament in the middle of the string, then thread the string in between the earplugs or earplug discs so it won't show, working up to the top of the ornament. When you've got your string around the ornament, tie a knot to secure it in place. Then, tie the very ends of the string together in another secure knot.
8. You're finished! Your homemade, one-of-a-kind earplug ornament is ready to stuff in a stocking or hang on your Christmas tree.

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We hope you enjoy these Christmas Earplug Arts & Crafts ideas from Ear Plug Superstore. These crafts will make wonderful gifts for your family to enjoy making and giving this holiday season.

Take the time together to enjoy some Earplug Arts & Crafts with the whole family, and you can make some truly unique hand-made treasures you can enjoy this Christmas --and every Christmas for years to come!

And from all of us at Ear Plug Superstore, we wish you Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Sincerely,

Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman
and the EPSS Newsletter Team

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Have earplug craft ideas of your own that you'd like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Email us your earplug arts & crafts ideas any time at sarah@earplugstore.com (please include photos!), and your craft ideas and photos may be featured on our site, in our blog, or in future newsletters jut like this one!

Three Unique Gifts for Everyone On Your List!

Gifts for KIDS

The EarSaver Volume Limiter plugs into between any standard sound source - iPhones, MP3 players, PCs, etc - and any pair of earphones or headphones, preventing the volume from being turned up harmfully loud. This is the perfect gift to accompany any kid's first phone, iPod, or other music device.

Silenta Kid Earmuffs are comfortable, light-weight, and come in two bright colors. These earmuffs are ideal for kids, and let babies, toddlers, and children safely enjoy live music, fireworks, and even NASCAR races. These colorful, effective earmuffs are suitable for even very young babies, and are sure to please kids and parents alike.

Pink Plush Headphones are pink and fuzzy! These luxuriously soft headphones make a perfect winter gift for any girly-girl. These headphones deliver good-quality sound with a very inexpensive price tag, and they're some of the only headphones that can make an ear-warming fashion statement.

Gifts for MEN

Radians Sound FX AM/FM Radio Earmuffs provide the ability to listen to music while protecting your ears from harmful or irritating noises. Available in black or blue, these earmuffs allow built-in radio listening, as well as having an audio jack so he can plug in his phone or iPod! This gift will definitely make his Honey Do list a whole lot sweeter.

ZonkOut Premium Foam Earplugs for Men are one of the only earplugs designed especially for men. With a larger size, these super-soft foam earplugs are designed to block out even the biggest of noises. Perfect for study, concentration, a nap on the couch, and ensuring he gets a good night's sleep.

Skull Screws Earplugs take hearing protection to the extreme! These earplugs are shaped like screws, and you literally screw 'em into your ears. Not only is the design cool, but it's also optimized to suit the way people naturally want to insert and wear earplugs -- making this extreme hearing protector an ideal gift for any guy.

Gifts for WOMEN

Sleep Pretty in Pink Earplugs are some of the softest, most comfortable foam earplugs available, making them the perfect hearing protection for her to wear while sleeping. These earplugs will block out snoring and other disturbing sounds so she can sleep soundly anywhere.

Remington M22 Hunter/Shooters Earmuffs for Women prove that being a girl isn't confined to sugar and spice! These stylish pink-and-black earmuffs come with a stock cut-out and an adjustable ventilated headband, making them the perfect gift for the woman who loves to hunt or shoot recreationally.

Mack's Dreamgirl Earplugs are made specifically to fit women with small or sensitive ear canals. The unique hollow and flared design maximizes comfort, especially during sleep. These earplugs feature a soft, small, silky smooth, contoured design that makes them ideal for sleeping, reading or concentration, loud events and travel.

Gifts for COWORKERS

Got Ears? Plugfones Workers Isolation Earphones are designed specifically to be used to safely listen to music in noisy workplaces. The earpieces are made of replaceable foam earplugs that surround the speakers, providing noise protection, comfort and music right in your ear.

Howard Leight Sync Stereo Earmuffs are the worker's friend! Now you can enjoy listening to music while on the job in OSHA regulated workplaces as well as the home workshop, the NASCAR racetrack, or other noisy events. A perfect gift for coworkers!

Marsona SoundScreen White Noise Machines provide pure white noise, and were designed for an office setting. One SoundScreen White Noise Machine can complete change the atmosphere of an office or cubicle. White noise blocks unwanted noises and aids concentration.

Gifts for MUSIC LOVERS

Etymotic ER-20 Ety-Plugs feature patented Hi-Fi technology that lets you hear all frequencies clearly, just as if you had no plugs in, but at a lower volume level. These reusable earplugs feature triple-flange tips that seal out sound without distorting the music. The prefect gift for anyone who plays in a band or loves live music.

Plane Quiet Platinum Active Noise Canceling Headphones are the newest ANC headphones from Plane Quiet. These headphones actually listen to ambient noises and emit an inverse sound wave to cancel them out -- so all you hear is the music. Comfortable enough for the longest flights, these work great anywhere noisy.

Westone UM1 Single-Driver Musicians Monitor Earphones are the perfect choice for musicians and audiophiles. The UM1 features a single balanced armature driver in each universal-fit earpiece. The UM1 provides truly excellent sound at an entry-level price, and is a surefire way to put a smile on any music-lover's face.

Gifts for HUNTERS & SHOOTERS

Walkers Bone Collector Digital HD Torque BTE is one of the most cutting-edge hunter's hearing aids on the market. Designed for all hunters, the Bone Collector Torque BTE sits behind the ear, providing sound amplification and protection from dangeous noises. Hear game or voices clearly, and still protect your ears.

Pro Ears Pro 300 Electronic Sport Shooter's Ear Muffs bring much of the power of the top-of-the-line Pro Mag model into a less expensive, lighter-weight, low-profile design. These earmuffs bring all the features hunters/shooters love -- without breaking the bank, making them a top choice for gifting this Christmas.

Peltor 30 Caliber Soft Foam Earplugs are is uniquely packaged like actual ammo; each plug is bullet-shaped, with a deep-insertion design created specifically to provide optimum protection for hunters and shooters. These earplugs are effective, fun, and promise to make for a delightful gift for the hunter/shooter.

Gifts for NASCAR FANS

NASCAR Team Series Earmuffs are officially licensed by NASCAR, and feature the color, number, and signature of your favorite driver. We only have a few of these collector's items left, and when they are gone, they're gone forever -- so pick up a pair for an unbeatable gift for your favorite NASCAR fan today!

Moldex Spark Plugs Foam Earplugs are an official NASCAR endorsed product! Made of extra-soft, extra-light foam, they offer the best noise protection available from an earplug, and they come in fun swirled colors! A great gift for anyone who loves to go to the races. (They're good for concerts, too.)

Plugfones Racing Fan Isolation Earphones are designed specifically to be used to safely listen to a scanner or radio while watching NASCAR or other noisy motorsports events. Plugfones work great for mowing the yard, too! Earpieces are made of replaceable foam earplugs that surround the speakers for comfy noise protection.

Gifts for MOTORCYCLE RIDERS

Windtamer Motorcyclist Earplugs provide variable noise reduction that increases as the volume increases. This means you can clearly hear voices and other traffic sounds in low noise environments, then instantly and automatically get the protection you need in the presence of dangerously loud noises, such as the wind noise at highway speeds.

Sensorcom Microbuds are tiny earbuds with such a low profile that they practically disappear into your ears. Because they fit easily under a wide range of hats and helmets, and their thin wires won't chafe or binde, these have been a favorite music-listening earphone for bikers for several years.

Alpine MotoSafe Natural Sound Professional Driver's Ear Plugs are the top-selling motorcycle ear plug all across the European Union! MotoSafe reduces volume evenly across all frequencies. This means that you can clearly hear your your radio, radar detector, voices, and traffic without distortion, but at a reduced, comfortable volume.

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If you still aren't sure what gift to get your favorite person this Christmas, feel free to drop us a line at info@earplugstore.com or call us anytime from 9am - 5pm (U.S. Central Time) at 918-478-5500. We'll be happy to help you pick out the perfect gift!

From all of us at Ear Plug Superstore, stay safe, stay warm, and have a very merry holiday season!

And until next time, be safe and do the right thing.
--Tom "Dr. Earplug" Bergman