Earplugs to silence your roommates (but not the alarm)
Whether it's the neighbors' noisy sex or a roommate's late-night shenanigans, countless sounds routinely interrupt the sleep of the average New York apartment dweller. But earplugs are always a little iffy--you don't want to miss an emergency phone call or alarm. Enter Hush, earplugs that connect wirelessly to your smartphone, so you can apparently still hear the sounds you need to and silence the ones you don't. They also play white noise, ocean waves or a crackling fire to soothe you to sleep, and if you misplace them, they'll emit a sound for easy tracking. The charging dock also doubles as a carrying case and phone charger.
To arrive at the design, the founders (three engineering grads all named Daniel) say they "tested almost every foam earplug we could find on the market and 3D printed hundreds of housing shapes to find the ideal design that would accommodate a broad range of ears," as well as had test subjects sleep with prototypes to fine-tune the design.
The guys behind Hush are raising funds on Kickstarter, though they've far surpassed their $100,000 goal with 33 days to go. A pledge of $99 will get you a pair of Hush plugs at the early adopter price. They're set to retail for $150--yes, that's about the priciest pair of earplugs we've yet encountered--and ship in mid-2015.
Related:
The cost of silence in NYC? $8,000 a wall
