Our fave custom earplug maker, Crystal Guardian, will be back at our NYC studio tomorrow (9/20) taking ear impressions for plugs. DM @crystal_guardian on Instagram to set up your appointment.

CG also recently launched a new line of earplugs called 'Savory Silence' that are "solid -32dB custom earplugs, featuring your favorite dried culinary ingredients embedded in silicone". Now, instead of glitter, you can choose items like red peppers, rose petals, poppy seeds and more to fashionably protect your ears with.

We gathered questions from our Hii engineers about CG's new line to get the inside scoop on 'Savory Silence'.

Which of your earplugs would you most like to eat?

Lavender!

Have you found that the food type filling has anything to do with the sound reduction the earplugs provide?

I don’t imagine the different ingredients affect the decibel reduction. The silicone is put in a pressure pot to cure, so they’re all quite solid.

Are there any fillings you want to try?

Yes!!! Many, but I need to do new rounds of testing. It would be fun to release a new line every year with different fillings. To reveal one ingredient that’s been on my mind: rainbow sprinkles!

What was the development process like? Any food types that didn’t make the cut?

I had fantasized about a culinary ingredient earplug line for a while, after the idea of crushed red pepper earplugs popped into my head. I started asking friends for ingredient suggestions and eventually narrowed down a list of about a dozen. After procuring the ingredients, I just mixed them with silicone to see how they did and was quite happy with the results for the most part.

Yes, there were a few that didn’t make the cut. One was matcha powder because the high-speed polishing the silicone requires before lacquering immediately burned and discolored the lovely bright green, unfortunately.

Were there any surprises in the creation of this line?

Definitely. I ended up only offering the culinary ingredients in solid, non-filtered silicone earplugs because I found out that drilling out the canal needed for filtered earplugs burns the ingredients!

Also, I had no idea how much oil was in crushed red pepper flakes. This required the most rounds of testing and problem-solving to ensure it wouldn’t seep into the silicone at all—but I finally figured out a secret formula!

Are there any earplug shapes you’re interested in exploring?

I feel more restricted with shape since custom earplugs are the shape of one’s ear canals, but I do have a vision of a wearable glitter silicone ring-earplug hybrid, where you could show off the shape of your ear canal when not wearing them in your ears.

Your earplugs are both functional and a fashion accessory–what are your predictions on earplugs with regard to fashion as more and more functional things turn into an opportunity for self-expression?

Besides ever more glitter, more wearable earplugs! Earrings, rings, necklaces, earplug chainmail clothing, belts, belly-button piercings, earplug croc charms!!

Sounds by Quiet Quest - Study Music channel on YouTube.