In 2008, Jay Clark, Founder and CEO of EARPEACE, spent a week in Trinidad for Carnival and Mas, enjoying two full days of dancing next to 18-wheelers that had been converted into rolling speaker stacks. On the third day, he was sitting on the beach in Tobago and realized the ringing in his ears was louder than the waves crashing. It was frightening. He loved live music, festivals, and traveling, but he knew there was no way he could enjoy a party like that again without really good hearing protection.

After coming back to the states and trying everything on the market, it was apparent that not only was there a lack of awareness about Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), but there was no good solution for discreet, comfortable hearing protection that didn’t interfere with the experience. In search of becoming part of the solution to this health problem (and making sure he didn’t miss out on any of the music), he began developing EARPEACE technology.

In 2010, Jay launched EARPEACE at SXSW as a solopreneur. At that time, high-fidelity hearing protection was a completely new experience for most people. He worked with a handful of clubs to hand out hearing protection and speak with as many people as he could about the importance of protecting our hearing.