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DF: Tell me a little about yourself, what path led you to Westone?

DD:  I had a friend who had been working at Westone for a few years. I was looking for a change and it sounded like an interesting company. I started as a lab technician 15 years ago, and advanced up through the company.

DF: What do you do there?

DD: I work in the Music Products division of Westone where I am the head of Artist and Dealer Relations. I am also involved in product development.

DF: Why do you stay?

DD: Westone is an excellent company. In my 15 years, I have been afforded opportunities to grow and develop in different areas within the company. Also Westone’s business philosophy parallels my life philosophy, “The Golden Rule,” treat others as you would want to be treated.

DF: Talk to me a bit about the founders, are Ron and Mickey Morgan siblings? 

DD: Actually husband and wife.

DF: How old were they when they established Westone?

DD: Ron Morgan is a veteran of WWII where he served in the Pacific Theater. In the 1950s he got involved in the fitting of hearing aids. Ron was never quite happy with the earpieces that he was fitting in association with the hearing instruments. In 1959, Ron started experimenting by baking plastic in the family kitchen. With Mickey’s help they were soon making custom earpieces. Ron and Mickey based the business on one very simple rule, “Treat others as you would like to be treated.” otherwise known as The Golden Rule. Very simple, very effective, and still Westone’s way of doing business.

DF: How did they pick Westone as the company’s name?

DD: Most of the companies involved with hearing healthcare at that time had either “tone” or “vox” in the name (i.e. Beltone, Audiovox, etc.). Since the Morgans lived in Colorado, Westone just made sense.

DF: Let’s talk generally about the products Westone manufactures, what is the life expectancy of the acrylic earpieces?

DD: 3-5 years.

DF: Do you back up your products with any warranty for theft, loss or damage?

DD: The Westone warranty deals specifically with the fit, function, and workmanship of the custom earpiece.

DF: You offer several products for infection control.  Do the products need to be sterilized often?

DD: Earpieces and hearing instruments can certainly benefit from proper cleaning and maintenance. Our infection control products are primarily used in the dispensers’ offices as they deal with multiple patients. As with any procedures involving the human body, infection control is important. Once the custom earpiece is made, however, infection control is really just a cleaning regime.

DF: Now to get into more specifics, how does the valve component of the Style No. 39 work?

DD: The mechanical valve in our style #39 reacts to the sound pressure wave of any high impact or loud sound. This trigger closes a diaphragm in the filter, momentarily blocking the loud sound. When the high sound pressure level passes, sound is allowed to pass through the earpiece with minimal impedance.

DF: The flat attenuation of the Style No. 49 sounds great for on-stage musicians, but my bandmates and I often need to communicate over the music.  Would you instead suggest a limiting component like the 39s so the loudness of our voices isn’t dropped relative to all the stage noise?

DD: The #49 was actually designed for musicians to use while performing live on stage, so communication is not an issue. Think of the earpiece as big virtual volume knob. Our 49s do not turn off the sound; just lower the overall noise levels. If you are currently able to converse with your band mates on stage by speaking louder than the ambient sound, that won’t change while wearing the 49s. It is just that the overall sound will be 15dB quieter.

DF: How do your UM2 monitors compare with a similar product, like any personal earphone monitor made by Shure?

DD: Due to the UM2’s ergonomic design and flexible cable, it is very comfortable in the ear. The ergonomic design also makes it easier to properly place the monitor in the ear, allowing the user to enjoy the full frequency response that it has to offer.

DF: I also have some general questions about Westone as a company, who makes up your largest market (i.e. musicians, elders, doctors, overbearing parents, etc.)?

DD: Westone is the leader in custom products for the ear and we have a substantial presence in the hearing healthcare, music, personal listening, military, hearing protection, and audiological/clinical supply markets.

DF: What kinds of companies buy Westone products for their employees? 

DD: Any government or political organizations (i.e. NASA or NRA)? We sell quite a few products to the military, as well as industrial manufacturing companies and airlines.

DF: It’s great that your company makes hearing protection for kids, but very often our pets are exposed to the same sonic conditions in which we put ourselves.  Could Westone ever make hearing protection for pets?

DD: While this is not our usual practice, we have been involved in some special projects to fit several different non-humans. We once created earpieces for laboratory mice involved in a hearing study. We fit a barrel racing horse with custom earplugs as the animal was very distracted by crowd noise during racing. We have also helped fit seeing eye dogs with hearing instruments.

DF: Just a few last minute things, what concerts have you gone to in the last year?  What plugs did you wear?

DD: I attend many concerts each year as part of my Artist Relation responsibilities. I typically wear 49s with the ER-15 filters   (which lower the noise level by 15db). If the concert is extremely loud, I’ll switch to the ER-25 filters for an additional 10db of noise suppression.

DF: Do any celebrities endorse or boastfully use Westone?

DD: Absolutely, please see this link for artist comments.