NuraTrue: Earbuds Custom-Tuned to Your Ears

For someone (like me) who has suffered minor hearing loss due to excessive noise exposure and careless use of subpar earphones, NuraTrue earbuds are a revelation. 

The Nura system plays a range of tones into the ear, and then measures faint sounds that your ear generates in response, called otoacoustic emissions (OAEs). These signals originate in the cochlea and vibrate the eardrum, turning it into a “speaker.” This sound is about 10,000 times quieter than the sound that went in.

Encoded in the returning sound wave is information about how well you heard the sound that went in. Nura uses a sensitive microphone to detect this returning sound wave, and the Nura self-learning engine creates your hearing profile. All you have to do is download the Nura app, put in your new earbuds, and follow the instructions. It all happens automatically and in about 60 seconds.

The resulting sound is bursting with clarity, depth and detail. For me, the key feature is this: My hearing profile in combination with Nura’s ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) allows me to keep the volume way down and still hear everything. The output is tuned so well to my eardrums that there’s never any need to turn up the volume and risk more hearing damage.

I tested out the earbuds with the reissue of The Beatles’ Abbey Road. Listening to the songs I’ve loved since I was 16—and the most polished production and dynamic range of any Beatles recording—every note was at once familiar and freshly hand-painted. I was hearing details and textures in the side two medley that I’d never noticed before. I felt like I was sitting in the studio control room, in awe of the first playback. It was spooky.

The earbuds come with a selection of accessories—four ear tip options, two wing attachments and two foam tips. And you will want to experiment with different options. It took some fiddling with tips and wings to find a combination that made a comfortable seal in my ear, particularly when I was running. But once I found it, NuraTrue earbuds proved to be excellent trail-running companions.

I often run with them Social Mode (with one tap you can instantly reduce the noise cancellation and volume) so I can hear the music, podcast or voice call, but remain aware of ambient sounds.

More about Nura here.