Dekoni Earplugz Noise Attenuators Review – 2 Efficient Volume Knobs For Your Ears
Pros — Reduce ambient noise as intended; super small and light; very comfortable.
Cons — Not cheap; easy to lose.
In this Article
Executive Summary
The Dekoni EARPLUGZ aim to attenuate ambient noise near-evenly across the frequency spectrum by 21 dB while not completely eliminating it. This is designed for situations where one still wants to stay aware of their surroundings at a reduced volume, such as in (heavy metal) concerts or simply on the bus/train on their daily commute or on the job.
Introduction
Noise is unwanted sound. We are sometimes in situations where ambient noise is getting unbearable. Some of us are sensitive towards low-frequency hums emitted from industrial installations, others cannot handle aggressive high-pitched noise from chainsaws and leaf blowers.
In this article, we are not talking about a device that produces sound but rather one that removes some of it. Noise annoys.
The easiest solution would be to eliminate most of the noise with either noise-cancelling headphones, or, much easier, with industrial-grade foam earplugs. This may work as long as we do not have to be aware to our surroundings, let’s say on the job, or when waiting for grandma’s phone call at home. Conventional earplugs also compromise our sense of balance considerably. I speak of experience as I live on a steep hill that ices up in the winter. Try descending with plugged ears…
Dekoni have teamed up with Lucid Audio and hearing-aid/hearing-protection manufacturer Etymotic Research to offer relief in such situations. The idea was to design small, light, and comfortable $30 “EARPLUGZ” that do not switch the sonic world around us completely off, but rather attenuate ambient noise by 21 dB. The user can still hear their surroundings in full sonic context but at a reduced level. The Dekoni EARPLUGZ are not designed as total noise eliminators, let’s say on airplanes or in bed at night.
Sound pressure level in dB is plotted on the logarithmic scale so that sound pressure doubles every 10 dB. If I calculate this correcetly, the Earplugz remove 75% of ambient noise, and this is claimed to happen nearly evenly across the frequency spectrum. This, if true, is amazing, as the majority of noise attenuating materials fail at very low frequencies.
Applications
The idea is noise attenuation while not losing contact to the surrounding environment, and also to protect our hearing from damage. Find a few applications for the EARPLUGZ that came to my mind. I am sure you can add a few more.
Protection from your own Activities
- Lawn mowing, vaccum cleaning
- Drilling, sawing, sanding, grinding, and other handymen chores
Protection from Activities by Others
- rock concert, movie theatres
- office noise, noisy libraries
- traffic noise, on the bus/train/airplane, at railway stations and airports
- car and motorbike races
- neighbour’s leaf/snow blower, hot tub, air conditioner, parties, barking dogs
- construction noise
- visiting mother-in-law
Physical Things
EARPLUGZ are tiny polycarbonate devices that work with the Gemini line of Dekoni’s BULLETZ foams. In the box, you find 3 pairs of Gemini foams (S/M/L), the pair of clear plastic shells, a somewhat waterproof aluminum case, a carabiner, and a lanyard. The Gemini are slow rebound foams with 3 mm bores that also fit a large number of earphones [BULLETZ fit chart]. They can be rinsed to remove earwax but need replacement every 3-6 weeks, depending on use.
The EARPLUGZ are featherlight and tiny that I do not really feel them at all. I doubt that they are easy to see by bystanders. Little handles allow to pull them out of the ear canals easily.
You find more details on the EARPLUGZ product page.
Testing
I had applied to test this product because I have several uses for it.
First, there is the crazy neighbour on the opposite site of the street who has the most aggressive sounding, high revving, 2-stroke weed whacker. When he cuts his grass, the offensive pitch travels right through our house walls.
Second, the neighbour in the attached home has an annoying air conditioner right by my driveway with a low-frequency hum and an aggressive compressor pitch in the higher frequencies,
And she also has a hot tub on her back deck that causes my (attached) house’s plastic siding to resonate, which results in a low-frequency hum inside my office.
Absolutely horrible after a while when sitting on my desk, as emitter and receiver are stationary, and the monotonous noise is excavating my sanity in the hot tub’s 2-3 hour heating cycles.
So when the first-mentioned neighbour whacked his weeds, recently, I stepped up with the EARPLUGZ. And it rounded the sharp, aggressive corners nicely off. The noise become somewhat tolerable, even at a short distance.
Similar with the air conditioner: the noice became less substantial and the nuisance essentially disappeared….at least for the time being.
The problematic low frequencies of the hot tub (120 Hz) were also not a problem as the noise was not very loud to begin with.
BUT, coincidentally, construction took place in the neighbourhood, ca 100 m away, and the ground was compacted by heavy machinery after water and electricity lines had been connected to a new house. This caused a small earthquake, and the EARPLUGZ struggled with those low-frequency seismic waves…and so did my picture frames…they moved.
On the city bus, I like to sit in the back, no the larger, more comfortable benches… right above the vibrating motor. And yes, it calmed the noise, down, too, although, in “real life”, I am using earphones on the commute.
Concluding Remarks
The Dekoni EARPLUGZ perform as intended in that they round the corners of ambient noise off. They even attenuate the low frequencies on buses and the low-frequency hum at my neighbour’s air conditioner to a tolerable level, and they really took the bite out of my other neighbour’s aggressive 2-stroke weed whacker.
Until next time…keep on listening!
DISCLAIMER
The EARPLUGZ were provided by Dekoni for my review. And I thank them for that.
Get the EAPLUGZ from Dekoni.
Our generic standard disclaimer.
You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.
