Passes & Canyons Blog

The Auritech earplugs I've been trying out.

I would hate to be the guy in charge of marketing for the folks making/selling Auritech earplugs. These earplugs may be the very best on the market for all I know but that marketing guy has his job cut out for him making that fact–presuming it is one–obvious to the buying public.

Like me.

OK, start from the beginning.

Back in about November of last year I was contacted to see if I’d like to try out these super-duper high-tech earplugs and then write about them. Of course I said yes. The line on these things was that they effectively dampen the loud, harmful noises while allowing you to hear conversation and important things such as traffic noises that warn you of potential hazards. Or, to put it in their words, “although the Auritech’s ceramic filter does allow you to hear conversation clearly as well as be aware of surrounding traffic noise, the presence of the ear plug will dampen this slightly as all of the sound is compressed into the earplug itself. However, this should not reduce this sound too much as the filter itself is tuned to more specific low and high end frequencies to cut out excessive and damaging engine and wind noise.” What more could you ask for in a pair of earplugs?

So I’ve been wearing them every time I’ve been riding the last couple months and I’m finally ready to make my report. This is one of the toughest product reviews I’ve ever done because as much as I want to praise them and recommend that you get some, I just can’t. And it’s not because they’re a shoddy product. It’s because I just can’t tell–I just don’t have the ability to tell–if they meet the manufacturer claims or not. Which is why I say I’m glad I’m not the marketing director for the company.

Here’s what I can tell you, the tests I did and the results, such as they were.

First off, when you take them out of the package they seem very cool, very high-tech. (Not to mention that the metal container they come in is great all by itself!) They’re of a fairly typical earplug configuration (see photo) except that there is a rigid stem down the middle with, I believe, a noise filter in it. This stem makes it easy to put them in and take them out, and it is my assumption that it also is the key to letting you hear what you want to hear clearly.

Inserted, and then with a helmet on, they are very comfortable. No complaints there at all. But then I had to wonder, were they blocking much noise at all? I could hear just about anything just fine. It wouldn’t be until I took them out and saw how much louder things were that it became clear they were indeed blocking a good bit of noise. So far, so good.

What I couldn’t tell was whether they were doing what they were supposed to in blocking the bad noise while letting the good noise in. Maybe if I had the proper lab instruments, but I don’t.

I pondered this dilemma for a long time, making a point to keep wearing them every time I rode. (I also wore them just walking around the house to see what I might find.) Finally I concluded I needed to take a different approach. How about a comparison of the Auritech earplugs to the every-day foam earplugs I normally wear?

So that’s what I did. I put one of each in my ears and took off. Initially I had the foam in my left ear and the Auritech in my right and it was pretty obvious that I was getting a lot more noise in my right ear. No jumping to conclusions, though, so I stopped and swapped them. Once again, there was more noise in my right ear, though not as much.

Now, this led to a couple hypotheses. One, my hearing is better in my right ear than in my left. I’ve never been aware of that, but it could be. Two, the right side of my helmet is somehow noisier than the left. Who knows. Probably more likely the first option.

But what seemed pretty definite was that the foam earplug blocked more noise overall than the Auritech earplug. Did it block the more harmful frequencies as well or better? You would need the lab equipment to answer that question.

So then the question, as I saw it, got to the heart of the Auritech claim, that it was easier to hear in a conversation. Do I generally have trouble hearing someone I’m talking to when I have the foam plugs in? Because if I don’t, why would I spend a whole bunch more to buy high-tech earplugs when the cheapo drugstore kind is no problem in the first place.

That is the case, by the way. I don’t have trouble hearing people speak when I’m wearing the foam guys. So for me at least, Auritech seems to be offering a solution in search of a problem. And that’s why I can’t recommend them.

Now, if your answer to that basic question is different than mine, these might be exactly what you’re looking for. And maybe for a whole lot of people that is the case and there’s a big market out there. I’m just not in it.

Well, there you have it. As I said, I’ve struggled for some time now with writing this because I wanted very much to love them and sing their praises, but for me at least there just doesn’t seem to be any point. Then again, maybe they are just as great as they claim to be and I just don’t have the ability to perceive those things that prove it. Can you tell I’m frustrated?

One more time: I’m really, really glad I’m not the guy in charge of selling these earplugs.

Biker Quote for Today

Always take the long route!