Vibes are reusable earplugs designed for sound quality. Traditional foam earplugs are only decreasing the volume of high frequency (treble) sounds, but not low frequency (bass) sounds, which is what causes the sound that you hear to be distorted when you wear them. On the other hand, Vibes lower the volume of all sounds equally, from bass to treble, which allows you to hear sound clearly, just at a quieter volume.