LiveMusic! Ear Plugs

An earlier post Technology for Sound Sensitivity dated February 2, 2019 shared a case study of a student with auditory overload when in noisy environments. A variety of noise reduction options were researched and presented. While the Vibes noise cancelling ear plugs were implemented initially with the student,  there continued to be occasions that noise levels caused the student to seek the quiet of the resource room to each his lunch.  While the Vibes worked the majority of the time, the student reported whistling and noise levels that were not tolerable. A better solution was needed.

As researched and presented in the Technology for Sound Sensitivity post, additional high frequency noise cancellation ear plugs are available. Further research found flanged ear plugs recommended –  (what’s that??), which look like this:

Those flanges, which you have all seen on inexpensive ear plugs, provided a better seal in the ear.  The LiveMusic HearSafe earplugs which are flanged ( triple flanged!), were trialed with the student. The LiveMusic HF ear plugs come in sets of two,   one set with 29 db NRR (noise rating reduction) and other 23 db NRR. With application of the 29 db NRR the ear plugs were found to be comfortable and resulted in the student able to consistently stay in the lunch without being challenged by the noise or whistling sounds. With these HF noise cancellation earplugs, you are able to hear conversations with peers and teachers blocking only the loud, high frequency noises. For this student it worked like a charm!

The only challenge encountered was the student had difficulty getting the earplugs out of the tiny, narrow container provided. A different container was provided and all was good! The student now is ready for high school using inconspicuous ear plugs, able to hear conversations while tolerating the inclusive lunch or other noisy environment. Fortunately, this student was very organized and has been able to maintain the ear plugs without misplacing the tiny things! What a win!

LiveMusic! HearSafe Earplug – Available on Amazon for $28.95.

For this student, this was a great low cost, low tech solution! I wish all solutions were this simple and low cost!

More for your OT eToolKit!

Carol – OT’s with Apps & Technology