There’s been a lot of publicity about the damage iPhones, iPods and other MP3 players can do to your kids’ hearing but less about the many solutions. So it’s good to see Etymotic, the Illinois maker of earphones, headsets, high-fidelity ear plugs and other hearing assistance technologies promoting its “Safe-Listening Earphones for Apple products” at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year.
Etymotic’s new ETY*Kids3 earphones, featuring three-button control and a mic designed for use with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, will never exceed safe volumes. Even at the maximum setting on portable players, kids can listen safely for up to four hours per day. And because they provide high-definition sound quality while blocking environmental background noise with a set of snug, sound-blocking eartips, uses don’t complain that the volume is too low.
The new line of products will be available January 30 at BestBuy.com and select Best Buy stores, Amazon.com, Etymotic.com and authorized retailers worldwide. And visitors to CES in Las Vegas can try out the products at Etyotic’s Booth #4014.
ETY*Kids are available in two versions — the ETY*Kids3 headset that works with Apple products, with an MSRP of $79; and the ETY*Kids5 universal earphone that works with any portable device, with an MSRP of $49. The ETY*Kids3 headset will feature AWARENESS! for Etymotic, an app that “listens” to users’ surroundings and mixes any noise louder than normal background sounds directly into the earphones, so kids can hear traffic, announcements or any other important sounds while they are listening.