Not all wearable health tech devices rely on complex — and costly — electronics. And yet the technology can address real problems that people have. For example, changes in barometric pressure can trigger headaches: from minor discomfort to full-blown hide-in-a-cave-for-3-days migraines. When the National Headache Foundation surveyed headache sufferers about 16 known triggers, three out of four people stated weather was the most common cause. We’ve written about using neurostimulation to reduce migraine frequency and an implant that prevents cluster headaches, but another solution takes a simpler approach.

Cirrus Healthcare developed WeatherX, hypoallergenic, silicone ear-plugs with ceramic inner filters that regulate air flow in your ears. By controlling weather-related barometric pressure changes, WeatherX earplugs relieve and even stop headaches for some people. Patients report the best headache reduction results when they can anticipate a change in the weather and insert the WeatherX earplugs proactively. The earplugs look similar to EarPlanes, which are also sold by Cirrus Healthcare. EarPlanes are marketed to air travelers to reduce inflight air pressure changes. It appears that the major difference between WeatherX and Earplanes is that WeatherX includes a free app for iOS and Android mobile devices that receive alerts when the barometric pressure is predicted to change. With this advance notice, WeatherX users can insert the earplugs in time to ward off rapid pressure changes in their ears, thereby preventing or diminishing headaches.

After installing the Android version of WeatherX on my smartphone and allowing the app to access my location, I immediately received the following alert:

“Overnight tonight, there a +0.22 inHG shift that will affect your area. Insert WeatherX prior to the shift in barometric pressure.” The app lets you set the time of day to receive notifications and a pressure shift threshold. The defaults are 9:00 A.M. and 0.20 inHG, respectively.

WeatherX Ear Plugs sell for $11.95 for one pair to as many as 10 pairs for $85. The earplugs come in a small plastic compartmented case to protect them between uses.