Don’t want to freak you out…

Some of this has been taken seriously.  Take a look at Flare Audio Ltd.  They have done considerable work on this subject.  It does not appear to be a joke.

It is interesting that Flare Audio has several devices that modify the structure of the ear and ear canal.  They have one device called Calmer.  It is a soft plastic insert that goes into the ear canal something like an earplug.  The device  effectively changes the shape of the canal.  Flare suggests that it reduces sharp sounds and some forms of distortion.  Don't hold me to this, read their ads.  Some people have reported that they reduces tinnitus and stress caused by load sounds.  I am driven up the wall by tinnitus and thought that I would just try them.  They are soft, easy to install devices with no moving parts and no electronics.  They no not block sound in any obvious way, but I have found that the take the edge off higher frequencies and reduce distortion at higher listening levels.  I'm not even going down they path of why they might do this, but they do.  I don't use them when listening to my system because both transients and high frequency just are not the same..  Guess that is the point of their design.  Hope this is not too far off point.