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Why It Matters

Loud noise is dangerous.

“Noise pollution kills thousands each year, and could be shortening your life by six years.”

World Health Organization (WHO)via The Guardian

Noise pollution and hearing damage have been linked to…

  • Stress & Hypertension
  • Heart Disease
  • Isolation & Depression
  • Dementia
Impact

Hearing damage is the most common workplace injury

The WHO estimates that in western Europe, traffic noise alone results in an annual loss of “at least one million healthy years of life”.

600

People at-risk worldwide

183

Annual cost to employers ($USD)
What Is Needed

Workers need better earplugs.

Noise-induced hearing loss is endemic because of poor compliance. Many workers don’t wear earplugs correctly, or at all, because they are uncomfortable, painstakingly difficult to fit, dirty, and wasteful.

Everyone needs better earplugs.

Workers aren’t the only ones at risk from noise. The World Health Organization estimates over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices and that by 2050, one in every ten people will have disabling hearing loss.

Our Story

A quest for quiet.

Our founder, Tony, has spent a lifetime in noise. He grew up on air force bases in Australia, with jet noise a constant interruption. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force himself and worked as a flight test engineer. He did his PhD in jet engines and worked as a rocket scientist for NASA. He went on to lead a project to develop a new helmet for Navy aircraft carrier flight deck crews. A keen swimmer, surfer’s ear left Tony with tortuous ear canals and difficulty with fitting earplugs. Out at sea on the USS George Washington, he found he was not alone in his difficulty with current earplug offerings. After trying every pair available, foam, flanged, and custom, he set out to develop something better.

A new and better earplug.

Tony founded Paxauris in 2016 to bring a better earplug to market. We are engineers, musicians, creators, and innovators. Comfort and ease-of-use are our guiding principles. Also persistence. Finally, after years of prototypes and testing, we have come up with an earplug that is even better than we’d ever dared to hope for. After wearing our latest Fluid™ earplug prototypes on a fourteen-hour flight to Australia and then diving into the Bondi surf with them in his ears, Tony emerged satisfied and deemed them ready for market. We love them and think you will too.

Fluid™ Earplugs

Our patented earplugs offer unmatched comfort, fit and protection

Instead of rolling a foam plug, or forcing a flanged plug, just slip the soft silicon stem into your ear and push the bulb to inflate the tip for a comfortable seal.

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Fluid™ Hearable

Paxauris hearables provide a complete solution

Transparent hearing protection that measures exposure to noise, impact, blast, and heat.

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Our Team

Meet the people behind Paxauris

President

Anthony Dietz, Ph.D.

Tony received his undergraduate degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Sydney and his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has served with the Royal Australian Air Force as a Flight Test Engineer and worked as a research scientist in the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at the NASA Ames Research Center. At Creare, Tony led numerous successful research and development projects on a variety of applications, including hearing protection for the Navy, acoustic height sensors for the Army, and biomedical projects related to spatial disorientation for the Air Force. As President and founder of Paxauris, Tony is passionate about bringing innovative hearing protection and hearable products to market.

Chief Executive Officer

John Dietz

John received his Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering and Bachelor of Economics from the Australian National University. He has more than 6 years’ experience as Chief Executive Officer and another 7 years as General Manager for companies with multi-billion dollar delivery programs. John is passionate about innovation and has spent much of his career responsible for shaping companies delivering cutting-edge technology solutions for the Australian Defense Force and improved community outcomes through innovative land development and housing solution programs.

Chief Medical Officer

Susan Pepin, M.D., M.P.H.

Sue received her B.A. from Yale University, her M.A. from Oxford University, and her M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco. She completed a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at Harvard University and a Master’s in Public Health at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She practiced as a neuro-ophthalmologist for over 20 years before moving into executive roles in philanthropy, public health, and collaborative clinical research on increasing access to care in rural communities. She is an educator and academic physician with skills in building community and collaborative partnerships, mentoring and fostering talent, and putting equity and inclusion at the heart of her work. Sue has over 20 years leading teams and building the capacity of individuals and organizations to reach their goals through innovation, quality work, and shared knowledge.

Project Engineer

Tristan Ramey Ziegler

Tristan received her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire in 2015. She worked at Creare for five years before joining Paxauris. Tristan has extensive experience executing and overseeing acoustic testing and data analysis (in accordance with ANSI Standards and internal specifications) for hearing protection, communication, and health assessment devices.

Embedded Systems Engineer

James Atwell

Jim received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He has extensive experience in consumer product development, including embedded hardware, firmware, and software, as well as taking products from concept to mass production.

Biomedical Engineer

Connor Thompson

Connor received his Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering from Arizona State University in 2023, followed by a Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the same institution in 2024. Connor started working at Paxauris as a summer intern and later transitioned to a full-time engineering role after completing the bulk of his Master’s coursework. He has previous experience working in both medical and aerospace manufacturing spaces and is continuing to gain experience in process development, product quality analysis, and acoustic testing.

Pre-order today! Protect your ears with most advanced hearing solutions available.