Misophonia is described as a disorder in which a certain sound triggers an emotional or physiological response. Some people might get irritated by the sound of someone chewing. They might go so far as to say the sound drives them crazy. The reactions may vary from panic to annoyance. For me, the sound of the deep bass of a song when my neighbours are having a party is enough to keep me awake. For that, I have a set of Alpine SleepSoft earplugs next to my bed at all times. It blocks out the low-frequency sounds, but I can still hear when my alarm goes off. Even when I travel, the Alpines are always within reach.
Other earplugs are often too hard, and sleeping with them can be painful after a while. The Alpines don’t have that problem and I can comfortably sleep with them all night. They are starting to look decidedly worse for wear but when I started looking around to replace them, I found that they were very hard to find. Luckily, Michnus and Elsebie Olivier, who run Turkana Gear, are now importing them again, so expect to see Alpine earplugs pop up all over the place again.
I also got my hands on a set of Alpine MotoSafePro earplugs to use with my motorcycle and decided to give them a go when I got to ride the new KTM 1390 SuperDuke. Before I write another word, let me say that this is not a debate about whether you should wear earplugs or not. That would be an entirely different article and one which I would rather not venture into. No, this is to tell people who ride with plugs about the Alpine range of earplugs.
Alpine started in the Netherlands in 1994 where they developed ear protection for professional applications. Be it motorcycle riders, DIY enthusiasts or just people who love to go out to clubs, there will be an Alpine set that will suit your particular need. Alpine prides itself that it is creating enough awareness about protecting your hearing that they are selling around 1.3 million pairs of hearing protectors a year. While other protectors are made of silicone, Alpine has developed its own material that is hypoallergenic, silicone and latex-free so as to avoid allergic reactions. The earplug contains an acoustic filter that reduces certain levels of sound to a more acceptable level.
They have an extensive range of hearing protectors for different applications. If you like to go out clubbing, then I suggest their PartyPlug and PartyPlugPro, which acts like a volume control for the music but you will still be able to hear a conversation. For someone like me, they offer SleepDeep and SleepSoft with exceptional noise reduction. (Yes, it also helps if your partner snores.)
For frequent travellers there is the FlyFit that reduces the noise from the plane. For my motorcycle, I opted for the MotoSafePro plugs. The kit includes two sets of plugs, one for normal road riding and one for the racetrack. Fitting them is easy enough, and they are extremely comfortable. It is amazing how much of the wind noise they cancel out and yet I was still able to listen to music through my comms. I have to admit that you have to crank the volume up quite high, so make sure you fit your plugs before you switch on your comms again!
I have been using Alpine earplugs for years now, and I can honestly say that they work as expected. Also, if you are serious about protecting your hearing over the long term, then I suggest you invest in a set of Alpines.
For more information and where you can buy them, you can visit www.alpineearplugs.co.za
