Snoring can be very disruptive to one’s sleep and has a much deeper negative impact than may be initially realized. Studies show that spouses lose more than an hour of sleep as a result of their snoring spouses.1 Also, the sleep they do manage to get is oftentimes so disrupted and fragmented, that a severe debilitating shortage of restful sleep results. There are many who may not even realize the extent that their sleep is disturbed by noise. According to the National Sleep Foundation, “Noise can jostle your slumber – causing you to wake, move, shift between stages of sleep, or experience a change in heart rate and blood pressure – so briefly that you don’t remember the next morning”.2 It’s so bad, that couples often resort to extreme measures. Almost a quarter of American couples end up sleeping in separate bedrooms in order to cope.3
Beyond snoring, there are many other noises that can disrupt sleep including noisy neighbors or roommates, and unwanted sounds of the city. In addition, tinnitus is a condition that can be quite bothersome for many individuals particularly when trying to fall and/or stay asleep. Audiologist are involved helping patients manage their tinnitus and now have a new, unique solution to offer some of their patients as a solution at night.
Hush is the world’s first smart earplugs designed to block out sound using the combination of two proven methods: 1) passive noise reduction, and 2) noise masking. Like earplugs, Hush’s foam insert earphones passively reduce outside noise up to 30 dB. In addition, the earphones wirelessly pair to any smartphone, providing the user with access to 15 soothing sound tracks that mask any residual unwanted noise. By synergistically combining an earplug with a sound machine, Hush offers your patients an elegant, economical, and effective means of blocking out unwanted noises to help facilitate a good night’s sleep.
Keep in mind, there are some things that a user will need to be able to hear while using Hush. Through the use of the Hush app, key notifications will continue to be wirelessly communicated from the user’s smartphone to the smart earplugs. The user has complete control over which notifications will be active, including selecting what phone numbers or alarms will wake the user. The added bonus is that these alarms will only sound in the user’s ears without waking anybody else.
Marketing aside, while Hush comes with a variety of tips (foam and silicone) that should find a good fit with most people, Hush will not be a perfect fit for everybody. Hush is intentionally designed to be an in-ear device that sits flush inside the concha cavum such that it is comfortable even for side sleepers, but this can vary based on unique ear shapes.
Here are two unique ear characteristics to watch out for that might compromise Hush’s comfort and practical usage for some:
- When an individual’s tragus severely obstructs entry to the ear canal, Hush will not be able to fit correctly. This is evident if somebody inserts Hush and the tragus is stretched significantly. Although a person might not initially report discomfort, if the tragus is stretched significantly, it will become uncomfortable over a few hours, making Hush not a viable option for those with tragus-obstructed ear canals.
- When an individual’s concha cavum is very shallow, Hush will not be able to sit as flush to the profile of the head as intended. If that individual is a side/stomach sleeper, the protruding Hush may become irritating over a few hours.
For more information on tip choices, see the Oaktree Products LEARN MORE document located on Hush product page on their website.
Hush values our audiologist partners highly and is completely dependent on their expertise for our mutual success. Where the expertise of an audiologist comes into play is in being
able to identify when Hush would be a good option for a particular person. Our goal with 
with Hush is to maximize the amount of user happiness which is made possible by ensuring Hush is prudently offered to those for whom it would be a good fit. Hush is available to audiologists at Oaktree Products. For product information, contact Oaktree Products at 800.347.1960 and ask for customer service, or email inquires to otp@oaktreeproducts.com Daniel Lee (pictured right) is one of the founders of Hush, a San Diego based technology company dedicated to improving lives by helping people sleep better.
2. https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/press-release/annual-sleep-america-poll-exploring-connections-communications-technology-use-
3. http://sleepfoundation.org/sites/default/files/2005_summary_of_findings.pdf
