On Wednesday, September 11, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Jack Antonoff did what any responsible viewer should do: he wore earplugs during Katy Perry’s live performance for good. protecting your hearing.But according to the Daily Mail, some people thought he was putting in earplugs or even AirPods to muffle the sound — and that didn’t go over well.
The internet fervor was so intense—TMZ reports that a user called him “so disrespectful” — that Antonoff felt the need to set the record straight Thursday night in a publish on X, formerly Twitter (the punctuation is by Antonoff):
“I would like to tell you straight up that I did in fact wear earplugs the other night. They were the blue brand ‘Hearos’ and I am mortified to admit that I have been wearing them for a long time, and have bought them in bulk. I would also like to be honest and upfront about this fact-”
Hearos is a popular brand of drugstore foam earplugs that you can squeeze and mold to fit your ear canal perfectly. They’re inexpensive (if at all). the bulk container Antonoff was referring to, you can get 300 for $19) and are designed to reduce noise by 33 decibels. They have more than 1,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, and reviewers note that they’re great for muffling sound—without blocking out the actual music—at concerts.
I’m someone who never leaves home without it. Loop type earplugs (Jack, if you’re reading this, consider switching to Loops! They’re reusable for years, so you don’t have to buy them in bulk!) So this is a topic very near and dear to my heart.
Protecting your hearing, especially at loud events like concerts, is important. How Amy Sarow, Doctor of Medical SciencesAntonoff, a lead audiologist at digital hearing health platform Soundly, previously told SELF that if you’re at a concert and “someone is within arm’s length of you and you find yourself having to raise your voice or you can’t hear them, that’s a sign that the place is too loud.” It’s also not rude to the performers in any way, and it’s actually pretty easy to pop in a few plugs as long as you have a pair on hand. I personally think it’s pretty cool that Antonoff whipped out his Hearos at an event as big as the VMAs, quietly proving that you can take a preventative measure against hearing loss without missing a moment of “California Girls.”
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