Selective nonlinear attenuating earplug

Abstract

The present invention presents a selective nonlinear attenuating earplug. The earplug is tunable by the wearer and permits the wearer to select the performance of the earplug. The earplug of the present invention can function either in a selective attenuation mode or a maximum attenuation mode. The selective capability of the earplug permits a wearer to select the degree of desired sound attenuation depending upon the particular environment surrounding the wearer. In the selective attenuation mode, sound attenuation is low for a specific range of intensities and increases for sounds with intensity above those in the specified range. Selective attenuation is especially effective for the loudest noises. The advantage of a selective attenuation mode is especially realized when the wearer wishes to receive an intelligible speech transmission while being situated in a noisy environment while still protecting the wearer from dangerous noises. The present invention is particularly useful when the noisy environment is caused by high continuous or pulsed noises, such as gunshots or those noises generated in an industrial setting. In the maximum attenuation mode, the hearing protector stops all sounds throughout the frequency range, regardless of their intensity.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.