The SoundOff Story

We are ordinary people who had a common problem: he snored. Really loud!  And I couldn’t get my sleep, ever!

We eventually had separate bedrooms so I could stop going to the couch shortly after he came to bed.

That was our “at home” solution.

But, when we started planning a vacation, we realized it was going to cost double the money for a hotel because we would each need our own room.

I resisted reserving a second hotel room because I didn’t want to spend an extra $2,500 on an already costly vacation. I just planned on wrapping my pillow around my head and doing my best to not hear the snoring.

He made me realize if I didn’t get my sleep, I would not enjoy the trip... and neither would he if I were grumpy every day from lack of sleep. We didn’t realize it at the time, but this is a common dilemma for over 40% of couples.

The lure of crystal-clear waters, sandy beaches and majestic mountains was calling. So...

We made a reservation for the second hotel room; I packed my suitcase and off we went on a fabulous vacation to Loreto, Mexico.

That’s when we started thinking about a better solution to the problem of a snoring partner.

Having to pay for a second hotel room could not possibly be the only solution.

Stop the Snoring

We immediately realized I was never going to stop him from snoring. He had already tried several mouth guards, multiple over-the-counter products, and even went to a dentist to see if he could offer a solution and... Nothing worked. Not even a little. We came to the conclusion we could not stop his snoring.

We then started to think about how we could prevent me from hearing the snoring.

Noise Masking was the answer.

Noise Masking

Noise Masking is when you listen to one sound so you don’t hear another sound. We needed to find a sound I could listen to and still fall asleep... and sleep all night. We quickly decided on White Noise.

White Noise:

White Noise is a consistent sound (kind of like static) that my brain would get used to and sort of not really hear after a while. This sounded like a good option.

However, while going down the road of finding the perfect White Noise, I discovered...Pink Noise.

Pink Noise:

I had never heard of it. I listened to it and found it much more pleasant than White Noise; it was smoother and much more relaxing.

Then I came across studies on Pink Noise and read about how it relaxes the brain and can actually help you sleep. The decision was made; it would be Pink Noise instead of White Noise.

Designing SoundOff

After honing our list of must-haves, we hired a team of engineers and started to design SoundOff.

It had to:

• Be comfortable
• Have a flexible ear hoop so I could adjust it to my ear
• Have multiple volume settings for:
  • Papa bear snoring for my every night life
  • baby bear snoring when traveling with my sister
  • and everything in between
• Have an On/Off/Volume button on the earbuds for convenience
• Be wireless
• Be simple in design & simple to use
  • Nothing complicated; just nice Pink Noise to block/ mask the snoring

The Result

I can sleep every night at home and every night in a hotel no matter who I am traveling with and enjoy my travels because I am getting all the sleep I need.

I can sleep when my neighbors decide to have a party that goes into the wee hours of the night.

I can sleep when camping and campground noise does not keep me awake.

I can sleep in any hotel and do not hear doors slamming with the 1:00AM crowd making their way to their rooms.

The truth is I can sleep anywhere I am. I can even sleep on an airplane traveling to my destination.

SoundOff goes straight into my travel case for every trip. It’s great to enjoy noise-free, stress free vacations -- whether I’m traveling with a snorer or on my own in a noisy hotel.

Let me tell you, I enjoy vacations so much more when I get my sleep every night.

And being able to share it with our customers and hear their stories has been amazing...

SoundOff Helps People Sleep