This invention comprises a non-electric, passive method and device for establishing a spectrally-tunable attenuation profile, including most notably a near-flat or uniform attenuation profile, for an ear insert device, such as an earplug used for protecting the ear against the harmful effects of noise. As such, as compared to conventional passive hearing protectors, the invention affords improved hearing of sound frequency cues in noise, with little or no distortion of the pitch balance. This is accomplished without the requirement of complex damping networks, resonators, or valving. Furthermore, by easily altering certain parameters of the design, the attenuation spectra of the device can be controlled, or "tuned", to various decibel levels as a function of frequency.