Ear Plug Superstore - Official Blog

March is Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM).

Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM), a national month-long holiday observance founded by the National Association for Music Education, is a program dedicated to raising awareness about the many benefits of providing high quality music education in schools. School music programs enrich students' lives both immediately and for years and years to come. During this month-long celebration of music in our schools, we at Ear Plug Superstore encourage you and your family to celebrate by playing music and singing together, attending concerts, and supporting music programs in your local schools -- all while striving to raise awareness about the importance of hearing protection for musicians.

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: The Threat for Music Students

School-age children are quickly becoming the most likely group to suffer from permanent noise-induced hearing loss. In our increasingly noisy world, with headphone and earphone usage reaching an all-time high, this isn't such a surprise. Ignoring the problem, however, is no longer an option for savvy parents.

Noise-induced hearing loss is permanent -- and so it has become not only wise but necessary to provide hearing protection for school-age children. This is especially true if your child participates in a marching band or orchestra. While inexpensive foam ear plugs will absolutely provide the much-needed protection from noise, a pair of musician's ear plugs (such as the extremely popular Etymotic ER-20's, or the new Mack's High Fidelity Ear Plugs with two sizes of fit tips) will dramatically increase the quality of sound your child can hear.

Note that college students require proper hearing protection, too. Some universities are beginning to require undergraduate students to have yearly hearing tests and education in noise-induced hearing loss topics, including the use of hearing protection devices. For older students, a set of musician's ear plugs are a very practical must-have item, and even a very good quality, high-end pair of earplugs will still only cost a fraction of what a typical college textbook costs. Students who invest in hearing protection are making a life-long investment in their hearing. It really is that simple.

Music Educators are at an Exceptionally High Risk of Hearing Loss

78% of music teachers are exposed to noise levels exceeding the safe maximum sound levels set for an OSHA controlled industrial workplace. That means an average band teacher could actually be taking in as much noise as a worker using a jackhammer for eight hours a day!

Indeed, up to 86% of music teachers have been shown to suffer from some degree of noise-induced hearing damage. This statistic represents an incredible sacrifice on the part of music educators who dedicate their time and talents to teaching students how to play and enjoy music -- at the cost of their own ability to hear.

Fortunately, awareness about the need for hearing protection among music educators is rising. This is likely due to an overall increase in hearing protection awareness, combined with an explosion of new hearing protection products created specifically for musicians that make wearing ear plugs a much more comfortable and attractive option.

As always, any hearing protection at all is better than nothing. But for music teachers, our strong suggestion is to invest in a pair of professional lab molded musician's ear plugs. These ear plugs provide Natural Sound hearing, which means minimal sound distortion and faithful sound quality don't have to be sacrificed to get that important protection from noise. Lab molded custom fit ear plugs are also the most comfortable ear plugs available, and they're incredibly durable, making them ideal for hours of daily use, from morning band rehearsal all the way to private lessons in the evening.

Until next time, be safe and love your ears.
Sarah Bergman, Web Developer
Ear Plug Superstore

---

More Ways to Connect With Us:

Have you done your good deed yet today? We’re donating child ear muffs to needy students. Learn more & help now: http://sharetherelief.earplugstore.com/

National Sleep Awareness Week - A Follow-Up

A couple weeks ago, we posted about Holly Boettner, MPH, CHES at California State University, Long Beach, and her Sleep Awareness Week (March 2-8) events, designed to help students understand just how critical it is to get a good night's sleep. Getting good quality (and quantity) sleep can be difficult at any age -- but it's a special challenge for students living on a campus where something is always happening and somebody down the hall always seems to be awake all night. This plethora of constant noise seems to be present at every college -- and while it's definitely a colorful and exciting part of The College Experience, students just aren't getting the sleep they need.

Fortunately, Holly and CSU are working to educate students on sleep, why it's so important, and how to get more of it.

Check out these photos from the event! (We were happy to donate earplugs for Holly and her team to give away to students who stopped by her booth.)

Holly writes,

Attached are two pictures from our table today. I also posted the pictures/information on our social media accounts... The outreach was very successful your earplugs were prizes for our “wheel trivia game”.

We are planning to continue our Sleep Awareness outreach in the future. We realize the importance of sleep awareness and educating our students on better sleep habits. Plus, providing ear plugs to the students always helps!

Thanks again,
Holly Boettner

 

Thank you, Holly, for letting us help you get the word out about how important it is to get a good night's sleep!

If you want to get more sleep, and better quality sleep, check out our Sleeping With Snoring Checklist for some helpful tips and advice.

Until next time, be safe and love your ears.
Sarah Bergman, Web Developer
Ear Plug Superstore

---

More Ways to Connect With Us:

Have you done your good deed yet today? We’re donating child ear muffs to needy students. Learn more & help now: http://sharetherelief.earplugstore.com/

National Sleep Awareness Week is Coming!

Did you know that the first week of March (March 2nd - March 8th) is National Sleep Awareness Week?

Holly Boettner, MPH, CHES at California State University, Long Beach is preparing a whole event to help students at her campus become aware of 1) how crucial it is to get a good night's sleep, and 2) how students can improve their lifestyle habits to get the sleep they so badly need.

Holly describes her Sleep Awareness event:

"Would you like to be less stressed? Have better grades? Be sick less? or Just be in a better mood? Well, then you might just need to go to bed! That’s right! Sleep is important for a number of reasons and we want you to get a better night’s sleep. The Student Health Center would like to announce that it will be hosting a Sleep Awareness Campaign on Thursday, March 5, 2015 in concurrence with National Sleep Awareness Week. The goal of this campaign is to inform our college campus about the importance of a good night’s sleep. For the college-age population, we are focusing our sleep awareness information that is relevant with campus current lifestyles, such as: Caffeine and Sleep; Diet, Exercise and Sleep; Food and Sleep; and Napping 101. Also, we will be highlighting sleep benefits, sleep tips, napping, sleep myths, and with Daylight Savings just around the corner, we will provide information how not to lose too much sleep. There will be an opportunity for students to test their sleep knowledge by taking a short Sleep IQ Quiz and to participate in Sleep Trivia to win prizes such as ear plugs or eye masks."

If you happen to be in the area, this great event will be taking place Thursday, March 5th from 11am-1pm near the CSULB University Bookstore and The Nugget.

For those of us elsewhere in the world, Sleep Awareness Week is an excellent time to consider whether we are really getting the sleep we need. If snoring or other noises are keeping you awake at night, now is the time to take action to get better sleep.

Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
Sarah Bergman, Web Developer
Ear Plug Superstore

---

More Ways to Connect With Us:

Have you done your good deed yet today? We’re donating child ear muffs to needy students. Learn more & help now: http://sharetherelief.earplugstore.com/

Press Release: Share the Relief Program is Live, EPSS to Donate Ear Muffs to Needy Students

 

August 12th, 2014

Does your child's school provide noise protection ear muffs to students who need them?

Summary: Many children in school classrooms are unable to concentrate because they suffer from Acute Noise Sensitivity. The simple solution is to provide the kids with child sized ear muffs to protect them from the pain noise causes them. Schools cannot afford to buy all the ear muffs they need, so Ear Plug Superstore has launched Share The Relief: For each MyTMuff we sell, we will donate another one to an elementary school for use by their students.

Does your child often cover his ears with his hands? Does he run screaming from the room when a particular part of a song plays on television? Does he have trouble settling down in the classroom to do his work? These and many other indicators may suggest that the child has ANS.

A growing segment of the world’s population suffers from Acute Noise Sensitivity (ANS), meaning they are hypersensitive to general or specific sounds -- a very difficult condition to have in our increasingly noisy world. Sounds from concerts, loud parties and raucous conversations that people with normal hearing can enjoy often cause physical pain to those suffering from ANS. As a result, these unfortunate people -- including very young children through all ages of adults -- live a constrained life: one without concerts, parties and other loud venues. They cannot enjoy even the most mundane amusements, because so many of them include sound levels which those with ANS find physically painful. As a result, these people are often socially withdrawn, depressed, and miserable. Especially troubling are the young children who suffer this condition, without their parents, teachers or care-givers even knowing about it.

Many children with ANS remain undiagnosed throughout their school years, suffering physical pain from the ordinary sounds found in every schoolroom. Children with autism spectrum disorders, as well as those suffering Meniere’s disease and Hyperacusis, which can occur as a side effect of dietary imbalances as well as from a variety of illnesses and health conditions, all may suffer from ANS.

For children suffering from this condition, each day can become a terrible struggle, and because this condition is not out there in the public awareness, it is quite likely in most cases that the child is simply left to suffer in a painfully noisy world from which they can rarely escape.

The simple solution is to provide the child with a pair of child-sized noise protection ear muffs. With this inexpensive and perfectly safe hearing protection, your child may get the relief he needs to experience life in a whole new way.

Some enlightened school administrators have begun to equip their classrooms with ear muffs for use by all their students, for when the kids are taking tests. They have found that simply giving the kids relief from distracting noises enables the children to perform much better on their exams.

At Ear Plug Superstore we have created Share the Relief, a program in which we donate a child ear muff to a school for each MyTMuff we sell. We invite you to learn about our program and help us get the word out about this crippling disorder and the simple solution for those who suffer from ANS.

Be part of the answer: Help us Share the Relief today.

Tom Bergman
Vice President
Ear Plug Superstore

Be Responsible: Always Use Protection - Spread the Word

When it comes to getting the message out there about how important hearing protection really is, getting people to listen can be difficult. Hearing loss is a real threat in our noisy world. Hearing damage slowly accumulates over the years as you're frequently exposed to dangerous noises, and the noise-induced hearing loss that results is permanent and irreversible.

Get a "Be Responsible - Always Use Protection" t-shirt and help everyone around you get the message!

The "Be Responsible" tee features a clever, attention-grabbing slogan that will make your friends and family look, laugh, and start thinking about protecting their ears. Available in sizes S to XL. Get your t-shirt today and be a part of something good.

Want to be famous? Sure you do! Send in photos of YOU in your EPSS Be Responsible t-shirt, and you might get to see yourself in our newsletter, blog, store website, Facebook, and more! Email your photos to [email protected] -- we can't wait to hear from you!

 

Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
--Sarah Bergman, Web Developer

---

More Ways to Connect With Us:

EPSS "Be Responsible" T-Shirts Now Available!

We at Ear Plug Superstore are thrilled to announce our very first t-shirt is now available!

Our Be Responsible tee features the motto, "Be Responsible: Always Use Protection," along with images of foam ear plugs. Printed front-only (blank back) in full color on white.

Now you can spread the word about the importance of hearing protection by simply wearing this fun T-shirt! Amuse your friends, and turn heads everywhere you go with the awesome power of knowledge.

 

Buy the shirt now!

 

 

Want to be famous? Sure you do! Send in photos of YOU in your new EPSS Be Responsible T-shirt, and you might get to see yourself in our newsletter, blog, store website, Facebook, and more! Email your photos to [email protected].

Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
--Sarah Bergman, Web Developer

---

More Ways to Connect With Us:

Get Involved: Free Child Hearing Protection Flyers from EPSS

The other day, our customer support department got this message from Rita, a long time customer and Baby Earmuff Wall of Fame champion:

Hi Amber,

Do you have a flyer for your infant/child ear protection??? I would like to hand them out at our local dirt track. There was an open practice today and I lent my phones to a kid who kept holding his ears. I thought if you had a brochure/order form, I could hand them out to the moms and dads who need to buy some. The track sells the foam plugs but the kids ear phones are so much better and nicer.

Thanks!!

Rita

Not only did we make up some flyers for Rita to use, but we thought, hey, what a great idea -- let's make the flyers available to everybody! That way, everyone can help spread the word about how important baby hearing protection and ear muffs for children are!

So that's exactly what we did. Here's the flyer (available in both color and black&white versions):

Feel free to grab your copy here: Flyer - Ear Muffs for Children and Babies. Print out a few on your home printer and take them to your next playdate, PTA meeting, or local concert or sporting event -- and you could make a life-long difference in the hearing health of the children growing up right in your own home town.

Pass it on!

Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
--Sarah Bergman, Web Developer

---

More Ways to Connect With Us:

Hearing Health Foundation Cyndi Lauper Benefit Raises Over $900K

Congratulations to the Hearing Health Foundation for the fabulous success with their recent benefit gala featuring Cyndi Lauper! The event sold out, raising over $900K for the Hearing Health Foundation. The mission of the Hearing Health Foundation is to prevent and cure hearing loss through groundbreaking research. We at Ear Plug Superstore are proud we could contribute to the event by donating -- you guessed it -- ear plugs for the guests' gift bags.

Check out the photos!

Cyndi Lauper and Richard Kind

The Gift Bags - Including Ear Plugs from EPSS (in round white cases)

Congratulations to our friends at the Hearing Health Foundation for an excellent event to support a very worthy cause! We just wish we could've been there :)

Until next time, be safe and do the right thing!
--Sarah Bergman, Web Developer

Outreach: Update from Jillian and the University of Florida NSSLHA

Back in October, we at EPSS had the opportunity to donate some foam ear plugs to the University of Florida's chapter of the NSSLHA (National Student Speech Language Hearing Association). Our contact with this organization, Jillian, just sent us this fabulous letter and photos of her and her group handing out free ear plugs at games, concerts, and around campus. This is great!

Jillian writes:

Hi Sarah!

How are you? NSSLHA has had a fun past few weeks handing out ear plugs 
to students! We have handed out probably half of the ear plugs you 
donated so far. We went to an open Mic Night on October 11th, and the 
performers and audience members were so appreciative of the ear plugs. 
Yesterday and today, we had our members hand out free ear plugs on 
campus, and we got a lot of great feedback from students as well. Here 
are some pictures from the events! I also went to a concert last 
night, and I brought along with me my handy dandy ear plugs! We 
weren't allowed to hand out ear plugs at this concert because they 
didn't allow outside vendors or any outside products in the venue, but 
luckily I brought a few extra pairs for the people around me :) 
Everyone was so thankful because the venue was SO loud, and we could 
still enjoy the music with our ear plugs in.

Thanks again so much for everything! The website looks great! I am so 
happy we were able to work together to reach out to student to protect 
their hearing. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Best,
Jillian

Aww, that sounds wonderful!!

Too cool! Thanks for setting such a great example for others, Jillian, and for working so hard to help educate young people about the value of hearing protection! We at EPSS are proud to support all your hard work, and we hope to hear from you again soon!

Until next time, be safe and love your ears!
--Sarah Bergman, Web Developer

---

More Ways to Connect With Us: