Ear, ear – this headphone fits
Are your ears too small for headphones? Do stylish ear buds fall out during physical activity? If so, Hearing Dynamics has a customized solution for you. The company, with joint headquarters in Phoenix and Cresskill, N.J., sells headphones that are molded to the shape of your ear.
Prices range from $220 to $800, depending on the type or quality of speaker embedded in the earphone.
After ordering your earphones at the Hearing Dynamics website (www.hearingdynamicsusa.com), head to one of six Miracle Ear hearing clinics in metro Denver, says Neal Eley, vice-president of sales for Hearing Dynamics.
“You go in and take an acrylic impression of your inner ear,” he said. “We send it to a lab in Cresskill, and they manufacture the speaker, which is inside the mold.”
The impression process takes about 10 minutes, and the headphones arrive within two weeks.
The company is marketing the headphones to motorcycle riders, as the tight fit easily allows for a helmet. The headphones can be purchased at four local bike shops.
CEO Beth Orliss came up with the headphone idea “because she rides a motorcycle and didn’t like the earphones that came with the iPod,” Eley said. “Other headphones fit loose in your ear, and when you’re running or jumping, they fall out. And you get a lot of outside noise interference.”
While other companies make earphones that meld to your ear, Eley claims the speakers used in the Hearing Dynamics ones are of higher quality.
Those worried about dirt, take heart. The company sells a “Dry Aid Dehumidifier” kit ($19) for those who “sweat in excess” and an “Ear Wax Cleaning” loop ($2) to rid your phones of waxy buildup.
