Roman mosaic: Odysseus and the Sirens (Bardo National Museum)
"Next you will come to the Sirens who beguile all men that approach them. Whoever encounters them unawares and listens to their voices will never joy at reaching home, his wife and children to greet him. Instead the Sirens’ tempt him with their limpid song, as they sit there in the meadow with a vast heap of mouldering corpses, bones on which hangs the shrivelled skin. Plug your comrades’ ears with softened beeswax lest they listen, and row swiftly past." -- The Odyssey
The earliest recorded mention of earplugs indeed comes from The Odyssey, in 850 BC. In the epic poem, Odysseus must sail past the sirens, creatures whose sweet voices tempt unwary (or unprepared) sailors to crash their ships on the rocky cliffs below. As the myth goes, Odysseus handled the siren problem by having his crew lash him to the mast of his ship, so that he could listen to the enchanting music without doing anything stupid. The rest of the crew handled the problem more efficiently: they used earplugs.
"I, in the meantime, sliced a large cake of beeswax with my sword-edge, and kneaded the slivers in my strong hands until the pressure and the rays of Lord Helios Hyperion heated it. Then I plugged the ears of each of my friends, and they tied me hand and foot and stood me upright in the mast housing, and fastened the rope ends round the mast itself." -- The Odyssey
Following Circe's advice, Odysseus describes creating the first earplugs out of beeswax, and stoppered the crew's ears to keep the sirens' voices at bay. Earplugs saved the day -- Odysseus got his show, while the crew managed to keep from succumbing to the sirens.
More than 2,700 years later, the story of Odysseus and the sirens -- and their beeswax earplugs -- inspired German scientists to create their own version of the earplug. Perhaps it was the German love for silence that led to this interest in evolving the earplug. 1907 saw the first Antilärmverein, or Anti-Noise Society, formed to work on the problem of modern noise; factories and cars had already created a great deal of noise in city environments, while the advancement of firearms and other explosive weaponry continued to push the limits of the volume of sound man could create on demand.
Faced with growing noise concerns, German scientists got cracking on how to build a better earplug. Opting for paraffin waxes over beeswax, they also added cotton-wool material and a soak in Vaseline. This had several advantages over Odysseus's simple beeswax solution: these earplugs were softer, easier on the tender skin of the ear canal, and simpler to insert and remove because they kept their shape better. These newly developed earplugs worked so well that everyone loved them. Ohropax company became celebrated -- and it still is, more than a hundred years later. Ohropax Classic Wax and Cotton Ear Plugs have been in production since 1907, beloved by many and practically unchanged in design.
Genius as they were, wax and cotton ear plugs still left something to be desired. By 1960, other solutions become popular, including early flanged pre-molded earplugs, and also clay earplugs -- an idea that was as simple, and probably about as old, as those ancient beeswax ear-stoppers. In 1962, Ray and Cecilia Benner came up with pure silicone ear plugs. http://inventors.about.com/od/estartinventions/a/ear_plugs.htm These were moldable, just like the wax earplugs they were replacing. However, the new material offered new benefits: most importantly, silicone earplugs wouldn't melt in the summer heat. This gave these new silicone plugs an edge up over wax earplugs, which aren't recommended for hot weather beach visits, or even hot showers! Built to protect ears from both noise and water, these original silicone earplugs became Mack's Pillow Soft Earplugs -- which, like Ohropax, were so effective and popular that they still exist today.
While other models came and went, in 1972, a new kind of earplug entered the market that would drastically change the way we used earplugs. Invented by Ross Gardner, these new earplugs were created from foam. Gardner got the inspiration from the soft foam padding that was being used in headphones at the time. Unlike other popular earplugs available at the time, foam plugs were not moldable balls of material; instead, they had to be rolled down into a tight cylinder, inserted into the ear canal, and gently held in place for a moment as the foam expanded to completely fill the ear canal. The results were great. Earplug removal was simplified, and better sound blocking was achieved. These new foam earplugs were first marketed as the E-A-R Classic -- yet another famous and important earplug that is still popular today. After the initial foam earplugs were created, they surged in popularity, becoming the most common type of earplug currently in use. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyurethane foam (UF) were each used to create different foam earplug variations: PVC plugs tend to be stiffer and more porous, while UF plugs are softer and often come with a smoother skin. Among their other benefits, foam earplugs were able to reach new heights in protection from sound, becoming an excellent choice for the noisiest, most hazardous environments.
Fast-forward to the present, and earplugs have multiplied and evolved to suit virtually any niche. Now there are specialized earplugs for a huge variety of uses: swimming, shooting, concerts, sleeping, working, studying, and a dozen other specific applications. Wax and cotton earplugs are still a popular choice for sleeping, moldable silicone plugs age still ideal for swimming and protecting those with ear tubes, and foam earplugs are frequently provided by employers at noisy workplaces. We can wear earplugs at concerts that "turn down the volume" without distorting the music, and we can wear earplugs while hunting that allow all quiet prey sound in while shutting out gunshot noises. There are more choices available now, in terms of style, materials, purpose, size and color, than ever before.
The human yearning for peace and quiet has never gone away, despite our growing cities, surging populations, and increasing exposure to noises which run the gamut from irritating, to disturbing, to downright dangerous. Ever since the ancient days of Odysseus, hearing protection earplugs have continued to help us preserve the peace and quiet we love, allowing us to stay safe in our increasingly noisy world.
Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
Sarah Scovill, Web Developer
Ear Plug Superstore
