Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Friendship bracelets, heart-shaped sunglasses, LED wristbands \u2014 when Taylor Swift takes her Eras Tour to Edinburgh this weekend, expect to see attendees bedecked in all the key Swiftie accessories. Look closer, and you\u2019ll notice many wearing another item that\u2019s on the way to becoming a concert must-have: earplugs. Yes, earplugs. From standard-issue \u201cfoamies\u201d to specialised custom models, hearing protection is making the jump from workplace PPE to big-night-out mainstay. It\u2019s a shift happening thanks to wider awareness of the importance of hearing protection \u2014 and to the rise of brands intent on turning a utilitarian product into a stylish lifestyle accessory.Maybe you\u2019ve already spotted someone wearing black-and-red earplugs at a Formula 1 event (probably Alpine\u2019s Racing Pro model). Perhaps you\u2019ve seen a carrying case with Earpeace, Blox or Eargasm branding dangling from a friend\u2019s keychain. But the earplugs you\u2019re most likely to spot at a show, on the London Underground or at Glastonbury come from Loop, an Antwerp-based start-up that\u2019s given hearing protection a glossy makeover \u2014 in part because their products are designed to be seen. \u201cWe\u2019ve never tried to hide something that cannot be hidden,\u201d says Loop co-founder Dimitri O. \u201cThe visibility of the product is part of the style.\u201d We like to compare it to sunglasses. When the sun shines in our eyes, we\u2019re going to put on sunglasses without even thinking about it\u2019Their design \u2014 like metallic or pastel Polo mints that nestle behind the tragus \u2014 makes Loop earplugs look more like a next-level piercing than staid protection. The company has sold more than 10mn pairs of earplugs globally since its launch in 2016, and ended 2023 with revenue of \u20ac126mn, up from \u20ac42mn in 2022. Growth has been particularly pacy since the pandemic, when people working from home sought ways to block out noise; TikTokkers recommending Loops have also helped build brand awareness. Its products resonate with Gen Z and Millennial customers in particular \u2014 a spokesperson said that around 85 per cent of buyers fall into the 18- to 40-year-old age range. They\u2019ve even inspired an accessories market, with Etsy creators and small brands offering ear cuffs and chains to prevent wearers from losing a plug in a crowd. The rise of earplugs stems partly from a marketing pivot, with brands positioning their wares as lifestyle enhancements or wearable tech. The mass adoption of Apple AirPods and other wireless headphones also helps, insofar as it means that people are already primed to accept the idea of tucking something into their ears. Dimitri O sees another parallel. \u201cWe like to compare it to sunglasses. When the sun shines in our eyes, we\u2019re going to put on sunglasses without even thinking about it,\u201d he says. \u201cUltimately we will be successful when people wear their Loops just as naturally as they would wear their sunglasses.\u201d For O, hearing protection is a personal issue. Both he and fellow co-founder Maarten Bodewes are former engineers who enjoy motorcycles, car racing and raves \u2014 \u201ca lot of fun but loud stuff.\u201d Both have hearing damage as a result; in O\u2019s case, hearing loss and tinnitus. Once he realised the damage he\u2019d incurred, he understood he\u2019d have to wear earplugs. None of the products on the market at the time seemed comfortable, secure or stylish enough. Audiologists and hearing researchers welcome the wider acceptance of earplugs. \u201cIf people ever used earplugs at concerts before, they probably had the experience of being given disposable foam earplugs,\u201d says Dr Ian Wiggins, a senior research fellow at the University of Nottingham and lead technical author of the WHO global standard for safe listening venues and events. \u201cThe problem with those is that they\u2019re terrible for sound quality. Yes, you\u2019ll protect your hearing, but you won\u2019t enjoy the event.\u201d With the rise of reusable earplugs, however, \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more people experiencing a decent quality earplug that\u2019s actually designed for listening to music. It\u2019s so important.\u201dWhile custom-moulded models remain the ideal, Wiggins says off-the-peg versions are also effective. \u201cIt\u2019s a case of finding ones that suit your ears. They do need to fit snugly.\u201d He adds: \u201cI hope there\u2019s a greater acceptance that if you enjoy music and enjoy sound, it\u2019s in your interest to be able to continue to enjoy that for a long time.\u201dNot that concerts are the only places people use earplugs. Writer Eleanor Cording-Booth relies on them to mitigate the effects of her misophonia, or acute sensitivity to sound, when in her flat in London\u2019s Barbican. \u201cFor me, the worst thing is when I can hear other people through the walls when I\u2019m at home. It makes me so anxious. Earplugs help.\u201dChild-sized earplugs offer neurodiverse kids a way that\u2019s more discreet than bulky ear defenders to manage stimuli during the school day. Then there\u2019s urban life in general. Taking the Tube into central London one night last week, a woman sat beside me wearing Loop\u2019s tell-tale yellow-gold Polos. (I wished I\u2019d thought to do the same: London is one of the noisiest cities in Europe, and the section of the Northern line between Camden Town and Euston stations, which we traversed, ranks among the loudest in the network.)The standout reason to wear ear plugs, though, remains attendance at festivals and concerts. Research has shown that exposure to sounds of 100 decibels for just 15 minutes without protection can lead to hearing damage. Most festival sound levels are around 97db, nightclubs 100db and rock concerts 104db. \u201cTaylor concerts have a reputation for being even louder,\u201d O says, \u201cnot because of the music necessarily, but because of the singing of the fans.\u201dA few days later, with the memory of O\u2019s decibel warning (figuratively) ringing in my ears, I threw a pair of Loop\u2019s gold Experience Plus plugs (\u00a339.95) into my carry-on and flew to Stockholm for the Eras Tour. I tucked them into place as Taylor made her entrance to \u201cMiss Americana\u201d and the screams and shrieks of her fans instantly receded. The music wasn\u2019t dampened or muffled, but somehow clearer, in a way that told me my ears wouldn\u2019t ring the morning after. Less welcome was the way my own singing along seemed amplified in my head.Looking around, I saw a lot of people declining foamies from wandering earplug vendors, and a lot of empty ears. Loop co-founder O said he estimates that even with the uptick in earplug use, only a small minority of concertgoers wear them. \u201cSo 90 to 95 per cent are in effect without hearing protection in a setting where they really need it. There\u2019s still a lot of work to be done.\u201dThen there was the Swiftie I spotted with a pair of serious-looking black earplugs hanging from a cord around her neck. \u201cThese? They\u2019re a must,\u201d she said before the show got under way, and went on to tell me that she flew in from Boston to attend two consecutive concerts. \u201cI want to go hoarse singing, not go deaf.\u201d I heard her, loud and clear. Find out about our latest stories first \u2014 follow @financialtimesfashion on Instagram \u2014 and subscribe to our podcast Life & Art wherever you listen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Friendship bracelets, heart-shaped sunglasses, LED wristbands \u2014 when Taylor Swift takes her Eras Tour to Edinburgh this weekend, expect to see attendees bedecked in all the key Swiftie accessories. Look closer, and you\u2019ll notice many wearing another item that\u2019s on the way to becoming<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-109335","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-tech"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109335","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globetimeline.com\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}