H.E.A.R, Hearing Education & Awareness For Rockers

This is a long overdue review. Kathy made me a pair of ear plugs three or four years ago that I’ve been using almost every night since to deal with my spouse’s snoring. They are terrific. Day & night difference from generic earplugs which hurt my ears and didn’t shut out noise nearly as well. Kathy was a great educator on noise and ear health and should consider herself a marriage-​saver.

I highly recommend Kathy Peck and H.E.A.R. My wife gave me a set of custom earplugs as a Christmas present — I play in a band and I like to go to concerts. Kathy is super-​friendly and knowledgeable, and passionate about protecting everybody’s hearing. I went (with my wife) to get impressions made, and then a second time to pick up the earplugs; they fit great, and I really like the sound. Off-​the-​shelf earplugs muffle the sound, but Kathy’s custom earplugs let all of the frequencies through, just at a reduced volume. I have worn them at rehearsal, performance and at a Who concert and I think they are are great! If you haven’t heard the difference it can be hard to justify the cost of custom earplugs, but now that I have heard the difference, I think they are totally worth the cost.
Thanks, Kathy!

I came here to get a set of impressions done for a pair of custom IEMs and had a great experience. Kathy is incredibly warm-​hearted, skilled, and knowledgeable, and she makes great impressions for a very fair price. I had some slight fit issues when the CIEMs came back the first time around (quite common when getting impressions for CIEMs), and Kathy immediately offered to create another set of free impressions for me and to take a look at the fit. I highly recommend this place for those looking to get plugs or molds.

Another bug thumbs-​up for Kathy. She’s the original, and went above and beyond to make sure my molds and final plugs were the best they could be. She is super nice and VERY easy to work with! I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking for in-​ear monitors or in-​ear filtered plugs.

Kathy Peck is fantastic, full of knowledge, helpful and an expert and pioneer in her field. If you’re a musician you should have IEM’s and your best bet is to have custom molds done for them. Go see Kathy and she’ll get you fixed up. Very reasonable fees. Highly recommended.

I recently went to HEAR for the 2^nd time in a couple of years. The most recent trip was to replace custom ear plugs that I had unfortunately lost. Both my experiences there have been exceptional.
Kathy is fantastic. She is casual, friendly and warm and makes you feel welcome right away. She takes the utmost care in making sure the custom molds are done perfectly and comfortably. She won’t hesitate to do it over if it isn’t completely perfect.
Kathy has been in the business for decades and she has done a lot of work advocating and instituting sound ordinances around the city in places like clubs and theaters. She is involved in hearing related research, and is a non-​profit so all your expenses are tax deductible. She runs a small operation and is happy to accommodate people. Her prices are very reasonable if you compare to what other audiologists are charging.
You can’t go wrong with H.E.A.R. Go to Kathy. :)

Like everyone else said, great service and prices. Got a custom molded pair of surfer earplugs and another for motorcycling.

Kathy is the best in the biz. Very friendly and knows what she’s doing. My custom plugs turned out great!

I went here to get ear impressions for custom in-​ear earphones (CIEM) and the quality of service is exceptional!
I would not hesitate to recommend this place to anyone looking for high quality ear impression service done in the bay area.

Kathy is the best in the biz and the most affordable because she has a nonprofit. She’s simply wonderful and my ear plugs have changed my life. I got them for stage and practice space use, but ended up also using and loving them when attending concerts. Amazing

I went to Kathy to get ear impressions taken in order to have another company manufacture custom IEM’s. She runs the business out of the front room of her house. The process was quick and painless, and we chatted about her involvement with various bands over the years, and her campaign for hearing awareness. I got the IEM’s made from her mold, and they fit perfectly.

Kathy is one of the most energetic people in the industry. The work HEAR has done has impressed me for over 20 years. Very nice people with very educated services. I just love me some HEAR.
Thanks for all the poster work back in the day Kathy. Vibe-​o-​thon. baby…

Kathy did a great job molding my ears, and when the final ear plugs got temporarily lost in the mail, she was right on top of it!
I got the ones that are designed for motorcycle riders, and I wear them in the metal shop and at loud bars. I can still have conversations with people, but my ears are safe from the cacophony.
I live above a live music venue whose shows go until about midnight. If I want to fall asleep before then, my extremely comfortable new ear plugs let me do so. And it turns out, Kathy even made the ear plugs for the folks that work in the club downstairs!

I am not a rocker, i just ride a loud Italian motorcycle. I got tired of foam earplugs and decided it was time to get something custom. I didn’t want to go for the cheap do-​it-​at-​home kits and create something that might do more harm than good so I figured I should treat my hearing the way I treat my eye sight or any aspect of my health: by going to a specialist, somebody who clearly knows what they’re doing.
Kathy was just that and the whole experience and service I received from her was simply outstanding.

I had the pleasure of working w/​Kathy Peck & H.E.A.R. a few years ago to craft my very own set of custom earplugs… and I had the pleasure again just this past week b/​c I am a careless doofus who lost 1 earplug & needed a replacement
I’m an AVID concert /​theater-​goer, averaging 100+ shows each year for at least the past 4 years. Not bragging, just a fact
Protecting my hearing has been my number one top priority b/​c I want to continue enjoying all these great shows for many years to come…& how lucky was I to find H.E.A.R.
Custom earplugs are the bees knees! Mine are purple glitter ’cause yeah, that’s how I roll.
Custom molded to my ears, these babies ensure the highest level of protection, yet I can clearly hear what’s going on around me = no distortion! And w/​the different filters you can get for your earplugs, you’re set for all kinds of entertainment loudness
ER-​30s automatically come with the order but do yourself a favor & get the ER-​15s & the ER-25s…they’re super-​comfy (I wear them for HOURS with no earaches) & they come in handy for all kinds of situations — for example, movies today have become so loud I’ve been known to whip out my earplugs to block out the movie-​talkers sitting all around me & bring the decibel level of the actual movie down to a tolerable level. I’m also prepared for musical groups like the Sleigh Bells & every situation in between… it’s awesome!
And the best part is that H.E.A.R. is a non-​profit which means the $$$ I spent on my earplugs is completely TAX DEDUCTABLE!!!
Kathy founded H.E.A.R. in 1988 & receives support from legends like Pete Townshend of The Who, Lars Ulrich of Metallica, & Les Claypool of Primus, to media giants like MTV, Guitar Player Magazine, Bass Player Magazine, Keyboard Magazine, and MIX Magazine…
She was also instrumental in passing the October 2002 sound ordinance where clubs & venues *must* provide hearing protection to their concertgoers
So if you didn’t know it’s Kathy who’s been looking out for you… now you do!
When I was there, Kathy had just completed a set of earplugs for the drummer of The Black Keys as well as a cellist for the SF Symphony (she does the whole Symphony)
Surrounding herself w/​musical greatness, it’s GREAT to know my hearing is protected by the best materials, created by the BEST resource!

There is nobody who cares more deeply about your ability to play or enjoy music than Kathy Peck of H.E.A.R. Two aspects of her approach come immediately to mind.
The first is information. She wants you to know how important it is for you to protect not only your hearing, but that of your family and fans. Armed with information from Kathy I had a talk about the damaging overuse of earbuds with my then 15 year old niece. She is now in recording school, putting her hearing to good use.
The other is community outreach. There are plenty of places that will test your hearing and order custom plugs for you, but Kathy will really personalize it (will hound you– in a friendly way, of course), make it possible for you to get it done and will follow up. She has a truly generous spirit and the whole organization follows her lead.
H.E.A.R. is one of the most community conscious non-​profits you could ever want, and they are truly deserving of your support.

Kathy gave me so much good information. She made me feel at ease about some of the questions/​apprehensions I’ve been having. She also is a musician herself so she loves helping others who are in the same position as she is. She offers free hearing exams on her computer and a lot of different recommendations for other services if you need further assistance. I may come back to get fitted for some customized ear plugs. I want to go back to going to shows without fear of messing up my hearing even more. This is a great service for anyone who is curious if they’re losing their hearing. Whether you know it or not, the noise around us, affects us.

Mark me as another satsfied customer. Kathy is incredibly nice and she is great at what she does.
I needed some serious ear plugs for playing in a band, and that is exactly what I got. Kathy walked me through the process and did a wonderful job of answering questions. If you are exposing youself to loud noise all the time, or even some of the time, the custom plugs are for you.

For the last few years Kathy Peck (founder and executive director of H.E.A.R.) has come to my place of business (an audio company in the bay area) to fit many of us for custom ear plugs. I have 2 pairs of custom ear plugs that filter out different dB levels, which are very helpful at loud concerts or jam sessions.
Custom plugs come in ER-​9, ER-​15 or ER-​25 filters. It’s really important to order the right type of filter for your needs. I first ordered the ER-​15 ear plugs, but found they blocked out too much volume and I had a hard time playing music with others because I couldn’t really hear well enough. So, I use the ER-​9 when I’m playing music with others so I can hear what I’m doing and still block out much of the harmful volume. They aren’t cheap ($ 170.00 on sale), but they are worth it because protecting your hearing is REALLY important.
Kathy Peck provides a fantastic, award winning service to help people protect their precious hearing. Those of you who would like to protect your hearing should contact her and buy some great fitting/​comfortable ear plugs.
If the company you work for would be interested in having Kathy Peck come down to fit its employees for ear plugs you should tell your HR Department about her. Kathy may even provide a discount, as she did at my company because of the large quantity of people who purchase H.E.A.R.- made ear plugs. Any company whose employees may be exposed to loud noise or whose ears are important to doing their business should consider H.E.A.R.‘s services. We are lucky H.E.A.R. is a bay area company.
I have known Kathy Peck for over 25 years when we were both in different punk bands in SF in the early eighties. She is a great person who is doing a fantastic and important service for musicians and others in the USA.
You go girl!

H.E.A.R. is an organization that promotes the protection of my dear ears. The headquarters is also the local place to get a custom set of musician’s plugs made and your hearing tested. Thanks to the handy dandy plugs and the interchangeable filters I acquired here in 2003, I have been able to spend extended periods of time in a recording studio’s live room, front row at a concert, on stage working a show and several other such scenarios without damaging my hearing or deafening myself to the point of not being able to work/​enjoy the event. Good stuff. You’ve seriously never experienced a good concert to its fullest until you do so without walking away deaf or with a pounding headache. Any audio professional, musician or active concert-​goer should invest in a pair. The filters are a flat cut-​off, so it’s good for professionals and regular folk alike. I keep mine in my purse and cannot tell you how many times they’ve saved the day (and my ears). They’ve held up well and there’s no shame in avoiding not-​so-​fun stuff like hearing loss and tinnitus.
Check out the website for more info.