Abstract: A system to block ears to suppress or attenuate sound from entering the ears includes ear blocking structures which are movable between a first position which does not completely block the auditory canals of the user, and a second position which causes the auditory canals to be substantially blocked. An actuator is connectable to the ear blocking members and moves the ear blocking members to the second position upon instruction. The instruction is created by the user causing a switch to be closed signaling the actuator to operate. The ears are semiautomatically blocked without the requirement of the user to manually insert an earplug into the ear, or place an ear cup over the ear.