Come to think of it - Smart earplugs

Delta and Delft Integraal often write about innovative ideas that offer big promises for the future. But what has happened to such ideas a couple years on? What for instance has happened to the dynamic earplugs?

Engbert Wilmink: "People who wear earplugs at work don’t actually need to wear them for eighty percent of the time." (Photo: Hans Stakelbeek/FMAX)

Delta, 09-11-2006
Wearing earplugs all day and still being able to talk to colleagues. That will soon be possible with the earplugs created by TU alumnus Engbert Wilmink, which only muffle sound when it is necessary. 

They’re not much bigger than a pill, but the smart earplugs created by Engbert Wilmink have a lot more technology in them than one would think after a quick glance. The dynamic earplugs contain for instance a microphone that detects sound levels. The earplugs only reduce the sound level when there is loud noise higher than eighty decibels. When this occurs, a valve closes in the earplug. “People who wear earplugs at work don’t actually need to wear them for eighty percent of the time”, says Wilmink, who founded the Dynamic Ear Company. “My dynamic earplugs make it possible for them to hear everything normally for that eighty percent of the time, and thus they are able to have conversations with each other. Yet at the same time their ears are protected when they’re standing near a machine and there is a lot of noise.” The earplugs reduce sound up to 34 decibels.

The dynamic earplugs were regarded as very promising four years ago, with industry applauding the invention of Wilmink, who came up with the idea when he worked at TNO. In early 2007, Wilmink had high hopes that his earplugs would be on the market by the end of that year. But the process turned out to be much more complicated. “It was necessary to invest a lot of money in the technology of the earplugs”, Wilmink says. “We needed more investors to cover the costs, but it was harder to find them than I had expected. Investors were reluctant because they had to invest in the development of a chip, and that would not give them a quick profit.” The financial crisis made it even more difficult to get investors on board. “Last year things were very tough”, Wilmink adds.

But his company overcame that bad year and the struggle to find investors. This year started with good news: Wilmink finally found an investor. The dynamic earplugs will be available this year.

Last year Wilmink had already started selling passive filters, which are filters that can be put in a specialised earplug to reduce sound. “Our filters are cheaper than those of the competition, and because of the crisis, many companies are looking for cost-reductions, so consequently buy our filters.” Wilmink is also making new plans for other products based on the technology behind his earplugs: “If you use the technology in earplugs for phones and mp3 players, you’ll be able to reduce background noise, and therefore you will hear music and phone conversations more clearly.”

www.dynamic-ear.com