Flare Audio Reviews 

First discovered Calmer on Facebook. After going to the website, I knew I had to give it a try! My daughter and I get overstimulated when it comes to loud noises. The design is very simple and comfortable. I almost forget that I have them on. Went to sleep with on last night and woke up refreshed. So, not only are they good for reducing loud noises but also for noises in general without causing a disturbance in hearing.

Calmer Performance are excellent at what they do. I ordered them because I had already tried the original Calmer product and found that it just didn’t fit my ears, they kept falling out. These fit much more like conventional earbuds, and stay in the ears fine. There’s one caveat to that, which I’ll mention later.

The product works by changing the flow of sound into your ear, to reduce harshness and promote clarity. The reason I bought them was for sound sensitivity, which was the purpose of the original Calmer. I can report that they definitely work for that too. I wore them in a crowded and very noisy cafe, with terrible acoustics, and the second I put them in, the feelings of overwhelm just disappeared. It was like magic. I’ve taken to using them at work pretty much full time. They reduce the harsh sound quality you can sometimes get on calls, and they soften the sound of all the fans and things my computer has going on. They even take the edge off when my cat won’t stop yelling, which is quite often. She is a drama queen.

The only thing I would say is that I think the sizes of tips provided by default is a little on the big side. I have medium to large ears but only the smallest tips fit comfortably in my ears. Something to bear in mind if you try the larger sizes and find them too big. The smaller ones should fit better. They’re not going to get lost in your ears, it’ll be fine.

Flare Immerse feels like a brilliantly designed and executed scam. I'm glad to see that it's now been removed from Flare's website menu and shows as "sold out". I feel really stupid for believing that some 3D-printed plastic can magically enhance the listening experience and improve the quality of sound that's coming out of a cheap source. The only thing it actually does is muffle the sound. I find it incredible and suspicious that so many celebrities including Stephen Fry were talked into providing testimonials for this product.

I own 3 pairs of Flare Audio sound reduction plugs. Two pairs are the softer calmer version and one pair of the mini's.
When I say these have changed my everyday life, I am not exaggerating. I didn't realize how much background noise was effecting my ability to focus and how much energy I was using trying to filter it out mentally. These allow me to hear clearly, without occlusion. What sets them aside from other brands is the lack of occlusion; other brands I have used, block everything too much, and create an uncomfortable pressure in my head when I speak. Flare brand does not occlude any of my necessary hearing range, lets my voice sound natural to myself, and reduces background noise. I no longer grind my teeth when wearing these which has greatly reduced my headaches.
The "mini" is a pair I reserve for less noisy environments. These are very small, which work for me, but might only recommend this size for a child typically. They do seem to block less for my ear canal which might help some who.just need a slight change to their environment.
There was such a noticeable change on days I would forget to use them that I purchased multiple pairs to keep in my purse and car as well, so that I always have them available. I highly recommend trying these if you're someone who just wants to reduce some of the more distracting frequencies in your environment without removing your whole scope of hearing.

Received my Flare Immerse and was justifiably excited about the prospect of ’hearing’ music like never before. Well it certainly changed the music - dull, lifeless and without any clarity. What a way to turn a £400 set of headphones into a £4 set. To give you an idea, the free set of headphones you get on a plane have a better sound quality.

What really grips my sh*t is the use of Stephen Fry acting as if he’s been deaf all his life and suddenly he can hear. Either great acting or he removed some earplugs, whichever it is disingenuous and shameful. Sending them back for a refund. It’ll be interesting to see if I get a response to this?

The earplugs noise calming/reducers are fabulous and very comfortable. I do not like a lot of noise when out in noisy environments so these are brilliant for cutting down extraneous noise. Different sizes of earpieces in the pack so pick and choose.

THESE WORK! I've been using my set of Calmer for over a year now. I used to question whether it was a psychosomatic effect or not, but now I don't care because it just WORKS.
Volume remains the same, but I find I'm less (or not at all) irritated by noises so much. This can be infuriating sounds like a person eating or overwhelming sounds like the constant raised voices of kids or too many people talking at once. When I find myself starting to get irritated (ie murderous), I pop these in and it all just all goes away. And when I know I'm going somewhere with too much noise, I put these in beforehand to mitigate the effects. I have them in the clear and many people don't even notice they're there. These are incredible.

Don't second-guess anything - just buy them.

I have been using Calmer for only a couple of days and they are amazing! After seeing a video by someone who was not paid to advertise I thought I'd give it a try. With misophonia, regular earplugs don't work. They may block out the sounds, but it's all external sounds and then your own sounds, like chewing, breathing, etc. are magnified. With Calmer, I still hear external sounds, but they have no effect on me. When I hear any of the trigger sounds, I keep waiting for the rage to set in and it doesn't! They are comfortable to wear. I barely notice them. I've even ordered a second pair because the price is fairly reasonable. I recommend these to anyone with noise sensitivities 100%. Just to be clear, these are not noise blocking/cancelling ear plugs. I still hear everything normally. Nothing is muted or muffled.

As a person with sensitive hearing and possible ADHD, I ordered and tried it.
I used to walk with earplugs morning to evening, and last couple of years I’m often with TWS earphones on active noise cancellation.

Now I often use calmer - especially on family time and events. It serves the purpose of “something in the ear” (like earphones)

It also reduces pain on the ear on high volume (ear usually vibrates without it, on high volume)

And it does remove something, hard to point out.

Also adding that it really helps me on loud events (children, closed spaces, clappings, etc.)

Before it, I felt incapable, during peek volume. Now - it’s bearable and I can normally participate.

This is a response to Mark Waters below, who claims the Flare Sleepers are a great sleeping product. I also started with the Isolate but immediately had to throw them away. They were painful to wear, and the metal inside was not helpful in blocking sound. It just meant the foam had to be too thin to provide comfort or sturdiness—the foam broke on the second use.

The Sleeep from Flare Has undergone multiple revisions over time but according to the independant product reviews on Amazon, it's a poor product. And with reason. All iterations have included a component that juts out of the ear, causing pain for side sleepers and a poor fit.

You will never find anyone commenting on "I had problems with these earbuds when sleeping on my side" for any other earbud. That Mark even needs to make the point confirms that for many people, including me, Flare products are not comfortable for side sleepers.

The science is just poor. Earbuds should not stick out of your ear.

I've tried many different earplugs over the years, but after finding Flare Audio, I won't go anywhere else now! I work shifts, and these are brilliant for trying to sleep when on nights or if you have to go to bed at 5pm, particularly in the summer (or if the grandkids stay over, or a partner dreams if being a tractor......!) I started with the Isolate 3 years ago, and have since progressed to the Sleeep, and I've never looked back! They are comfortable, they don't hurt my ears, (I'm a side sleeper), they don't fall out, and the amount of noise the block out is incredible! If you work shifts, these are the earplugs for you! They sell different sizes of foams so you can get the perfect fit for your ears too!

If you work shifts, I would 100% recommend Flare Audio - you won't find better! (I haven't!)

I have actually not used my Flare Earshade replacement tips yet (got them for when mine DO need replacing), but they are identical, feel, shape, and otherwise, to the ones I already have, so am giving them five stars. They are the best earplugs I have used for both blocking noise and staying in (others I've used either did one or the other, but not both, well). One caveat - I do not use the little metal stems anymore as I could not figure out a way to get them not to touch the cartilage around the ear, which was painful. Not using the stems has not affected my ability to properly insert the plug or to easily remove it; but I am small, have somewhat small ears, so it might not be safe for someone with larger ears to use without the stems to help remove the plug . . . although a person with larger ears also might not have the issue with the stem touching the cartilage around the ear.

Love my Calmer Soft! I have misophonia and was desperate for a solution to the triggering sounds that made it stressful to eat with family and deal with various irritating noises at work and in my commute. As soon as I put them in I no longer felt the need to leave the room during dinner because of the noisy eater next to me. I even barely noticed he was right there as we sat, ate and watched TV! It's a game changer for me. Also makes my commute easier when it gets too noisy especially if I'm taking the subway (I work in NYC). Thank you for such a great product!

I have bought 3 sets of the ‘calmer’ earplugs. The first 2 sets worked well to reduce my stress levels (PTSD with hyperacusis). Continuously being startled by noises is exhausting so they make a great improvement for my daily stress levels. However they fall out too easily. I have just bought the latest ones and they are more secure. I have noticed that wearing them increases the tinnitus which is annoying.

I, too, feared that this was just snake oil, but my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered anyhow. Sadly (thankfully?) there was a $40 customs charge to collect the package at my post office so I returned to sender without ever opening. Flare still charged me the shipping fees btw.
This is truly a scam. But how did they trick their endorsers into the glowing reactions and reviews??: When they sent them the product, they also sent them the CHEAPEST, SHITTIEST, WORST sounding headphones that they could find and insisted they use those for the test. This seems to be the only scenario these devices do anything positive. Hence the mind blown reactions. The endorsers should feel cheated that their reputations have been put in question and consumers should avoid this company. Why would any audiophile care about a device that makes $5 headphones sound better... a device that costs more than the cost of a decent set of cans that negates its use entirely. Completely redundant and pointless.

The Flares pro helped me drastically with my overstimulation. I just pop them in at the end of the day when I usually get overstimulated and they block out the piercing noises but still allow you to hear.

I have tried Calmer and Calmer 2; this is life-changing technology. As a Highly Sensitive Person who also experiences Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, even going into my small local town to get groceries can be an ordeal. When I wear my Calmers, I do not feel so overwhelmed by the everyday soundscape, and it has decreased my anxiety when out in the human-constructed world tremendously. They have genuinely expanded the realms of possibility for me.

I allso bought these with a friend who might be considered as having "less extreme" conditions. She said that she didn't realize how much certain constant sounds were wearing on her nerves and has been enjoying her days significantly more since using them.

All people can benefit from having a better sensory experience. I know Calmers have made a huge difference for me. Thank you Flare Audio!

Recently, I was on A four hour flight and there was one child who was not being consoled by their parent.
I’m an ex teacher and I’m used to noisy children, but this child was whining and cry talking at a level that was triggering for me.
I remembered I had my flare plugs with me and put them in. This was sanity, saving for me and I was able to enjoy the rest of my flight without cause.
When I saw the ad for flares three years ago, I bought them on a whim. Doing lunchroom duty the kids were reaching decibels of up to 83 to 85, which are ear damaging.
Not to mention, it was stressing me out to the point where I’d come home and have to take a nap!
Once I got my flare plugs, This truly was a game changer. It enabled me to Stay calm and very loud situations and to navigate through them.
I was a skeptic at first but him a true believer. These totally work and are worth the cost. On my second pair because the first ones were too small for my ears.
Who would think that something so low tech would work in such a high-tech way?
Now I don’t travel anywhere without them, because you never know when you’re gonna run up against stressful noises.

Another poor review for the immerse product I’m afraid.

It’s a very poor product because:

1) I was only able to get anything like the performance claimed by using my own memory foam tips. The supplied tips fail to give sufficient seal. They therefore lead to the muffled and deterioration of the musical immersion that you experience once you take them out.

Even my memory foam tips only worked temporarily. If the seal weakened, which it inevitably did, everything was muffled and horrible again.

2) Even for the short time I could get them to work as advertised, what had happened was that I had effectively just turned a pair of excellent over ear phones into a standard pair of IEMs.

What’s the point in that?

At least the promised return and refund was provided with no fuss.

Like others I truly think this product should be withdrawn. One has to question the ethics of a company that launches such a poor product with such fanfare.

It would be interesting to know how much investment was required to procure the endorsement of the various celebrities and producers.

I think we should be told.

Takes the edge off
Calmer 2 prototype.
I suffer with hypervigilance. One of my main triggers is noises. For example when I'm trying to shop I can get overwhelmed by all the noise that's going on around me, checkout till beeps, trolley wheels squeaking and crashing about, people talking, kids screaming, air-conditioning, cutlery clanging from the cafe etc, a few times I've actually had to leave because the noises become overwhelming. The Calmer 2 still allows me to be aware of my surroundings and sounds but they seem to be placed more in the background and less harsh making what would be an ordeal for me much more manageable. I actually slept with them in because they ARE actually calming. Very happy with this purchase and can see these getting a lot of use.