Cool Hunting

There’s nothing worse than leaving a concert or a night out clubbing and your ears ring so much it’s like the bass and drums left with you.

The high decibel levels cause physical damage to your ear drums – and too much exposure can lead to permanent hearing loss. With EarLove, a professional-grade earplug, you can reduce damaging sound levels and still hear the music crystal clear.

Carolynn Travis, a trip hop DJ and former manager of Poi Dog Pondering, created EarLove after becoming legally deaf in one ear. Seeing the need for music fans to protect their hearing, she teamed with her audiologist’s husband, founder of Etymotic Research and the creator of the patented Musicians Earplugs. She now challenges people to “practice safe sound.”

I’ve used them in a small rock club in Chicago while hearing the bombastic Secret Machines as well as in a huge arena during Madonna’s tour last summer. At both shows, EarLove worked perfectly – and tremendously better than the foam kind.

Best of all, EarLove comes in a variety of colors, lives in a small, plastic carry case that you can attach to a keychain and only costs $15.