An apparatus for preventing hearing loss having a body made of a soft compliant material having first and second ends and a channel extending therethrough, an acoustically limp material adjacent one of the ends of the body with the acoustically limp material having a hole therein aligned with the channel extending through the body, and a component film, disc or other structure covering or sealing the opening in the acoustically limp material. The film or disc may be formed of a high-strength polymer material and may be less than 10 micrometers in thickness. Rather than having a single channel extending through the body, a plurality of channels may extend therethrough and a plurality of corresponding holes may be provided in the acoustically limp material. The film, disc or other structure covers or seals the plurality of holes in the acoustically limp material. The film, disc or other structure may be attached in such a fashion as to behave like a flap whose operation is to close in response to high energy sound waves. The flap is pressed shut from the high intensity shock wave itself. The body may cylindrical in shape or may have another shape to fit snugly in a human ear canal.
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