Ear Protection Poll

Unless you've got a concrete lined helmet, I'm not aware of any brand that offers adequate protection from wind noise without earbuds. My arai and shoei both supposedly are quiet helmets and I'll get ringing after a long ride.

That said any ride over 15 mins I'll grab some foam ones. Either 3M or hearos brand are fine.

There's an added benefit that you'll find the quieter ride less fatiguing.

 

I used to use the ear buds from my music device as ear protection. It actually worked as good as if not better than the little foamies which I think are great too. This way I had music as well. But since I got the Sena installed, I have been using the foamies which allow "almost" enough of the music to come through most of the time. I think my next aquisition will be to get the actual ear buds that plug into the Sena. Only downside to that would be wires hanging down from the Sena to the ear buds. Oh well.

 

The real unfortunate problem with hearing, or the loss of it, is that the damage often may not become evident until years after the abuse. You may feel comfortable riding without ear protection, then many years later, you have the hearing loss, or some degree of it.

I have very limited hearing loss. A pin drop will wake me up, but if there is fairly loud or sharp (banking dishes, pots and pans, other than the ones my wife brings down on my head) back ground noise, I have a hard time hearing the person right in front of me. I believe this is attributed to years of driving with the left window partially down and sirens whaling just beside me.

So as a side note to this great post, if you are not wearing something most if not all the time, it is time to step up and fix that. A quick lower speed jaunt to the corner store or something like that is probably fine, but out on the highway, wear the buds.

 

Any helmet that has ventilation will have noise. Agreed some helmets are quieter than others but the better the helmet, usually the better the airflow. More airflow means more noise. It may sound more muffled but it is damaging.

Noise such as what bounces around inside your helmet is actually very damaging to your hearing. Something about the frequency here. I can't say I fully understand this. My hearing specialist informed me of this. He was the one who suggested I suffered the hearing loss partly due to travelling around at highway speeds with the window "PARTIALLY" down. Sirens or no sirens. He said roll it right down or leave it right up.

I hope we have some doctors hear who specialize in hearing who will step into this poll and give us all very informed advice.

 

I was wondering if anyone used hearing protection. I can attest that wearing earplugs lowers your stress level, maybe leading to a nicer ride. I have job sites where haul trucks and excavators are wizzing around me. When I fire up my noisy welder and grinders, I like to tune out everything with a set of foam earplugs.

So I'm going to try riding with ear plugs. I only worry about not hearing horns, or more likely, sirens. And maybe having to shout at a riding buddy.

As far as stuka is concerned, I think he looks like Joe Rogan. My wife thinks Joe is sexy so that might inflate stuka's ego a bit. I'm sure he can use that :wink:

 

I wear those florescent foam plugs every day at my job driving a 100,000 lb tram....trust me you will hear a lot more the you think.....less stress on a bike as well

 

I always wear disposable foam plugs on any ride. I used to get ringing ears without them. I work in a noisy industry so hearing protection is the norm.

I agree with previous comments about protection reducing stress and I think it helps me to focus on where I am and what I'm doing.


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You will hear these for sure. It is all relative. If the horns and sirens are louder than everything around you without the plugs, then they will be with the plugs. I can listed to my music from the helmet speakers of my Sena through these foam plugs. IN the city it is fine. Higher speeds, the music suffers a bit but you can still make it out.

 

Always, every ride. Just the cheap Hearos are good enough to chop 30db which is enough to save your hearing when you get Randy's age. (That's OK, he can't see the small font) They reduce the wind noise which actually makes it easier to hear horns, sirens and things around you. Fatigue also is almost nonexistent even on all day rides. I used to get headaches and neck pain after just 3 hours in the saddle; not anymore. Think of not wearing all your gear for that 5 minute trip to the store and going down... That one time you don't wear them will be the time you need them.
:soapbox:

 

I can't see your fookin font? You fooken youngun bastard.

 

Turtle fur.....wait....what?

 

1. Yes.
2. Depends. In a pinch I'll use tissue paper if I have to! or borrow some from a friend (Thanks Stuka) I used to use the 'Hearos' brand ones you get at Cycle Gear and a few times I got some of the generic foam plugs from Revzilla or other online outlet. Lately though I wear 'Natural Earplugs' from Beneficial Products Inc ( www.earplugsonline.com ). These are made of beeswax, pure lanolin and cotton. They are "tunable", very comfortable and forms to your ear. Although a little pricey for how many you get, you can double the amount if you cut each individual plug in half. If you want more or less sound damping, use more or less material, hence the term tunable.
3. Depends on the helmet and the trip. When I had my RF-1100, I had to wear them. The helmet was/is too noisy not wear them. If I'm wearing the Schuberth (commuting) and I'm staying on the street, I may not use them if I'm going to the corner to get gas or to the bank, but I do if going anywhere above street speed limits. Although the Schuberth is quiet, it is only at lower speeds but earplugs are preferred. As a side note, I can play music through the helmet speakers and not only hear the music really well, but even traffic noise too. Those afraid of tuning everything out by wearing ear plugs shouldn't be.
4. Hmm, never noticed before...

For those who take their hearing for granted, don't! My wife suffered severe hearing loss due to an illness. Long story short, she was just about one foot in the grave (in a coma for 10 days) and when she finally came out of the ICU and woke up, she had lost almost all of her hearing! It took her a while to get used to it, and being only 36 years old at the time, it was a huge shock. She joined a hearing loss support forum and the number of soldiers that were joining the forum who lost or losing their hearing due to NIHL (Noise Induced Hearing Loss) was staggering. As mentioned before, you may not notice it at first but it will happen eventually. The worst part of some hearing loss is tinnitus (ringing of the ears), some who suffer from this have a really hard time coping with it. One of my financial consultants has to lay down as he gets dizzy and feels really nauseous at times.

Here is a snip-it I took from a NIHL pamphlet my wife gave me. I have the pamphlet for downloading here too:



NOTE: Most helmet manufacturers do not put a dB rating on their helmets, except maybe Schuberth, they claim the C3, C3 Pro and S2 have dB ratings of 84db, 82db and 85dB respectively (@60mph on a naked bike).

Pamphlet link:
[DLMURL]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/30586170/NIHL%20Pamphlet.pdf[/DLMURL]

 

I now wear them all the time.
Just the disposable foam type, enough to stop the loudest part. I have a Staintune with no baffle.
It was only a recent discovery, of how much better the ride becomes using them.
I also like to hear what's going on around me, but can no longer put up with the ringing in my ears after a ride.
I don't like listening to music while riding, I just like to immerse myself on what is happening on the bike.
And now I feel much better and can concentrate for longer on the long rides.

 

Never have never will...... Spent 7 years in a Oil Field Fab shop and all day it was grinders, Sledge hammers on metal,welding and equipment running. I have a small automotive Customizing, Restoration and repair shop and I'm using Air tools, Grinders, Plasma Cutter, and power tools all day long since 1991. Went for a hearing test about 6 month ago (for a part time job I do) and passed with still having full range of hearing. I don't think my bike(s) or any of my cars/trucks are loud and I enjoy the sound of the engines as I find the sound soothing on long trips. I'm also an Audiophile and I set up car audio systems for people. Now granted I did have a set of liquid filled shooters muffs when I had my guns and was competing in Car audio SPL (hit 121dbs) but that was the only time I used them.

 

I appreciate your post a great deal. I have been exposed to a lot of loud music (playing in rock bands), and do have tinnitus, but could never understand why my hearing was not damaged much worse. (BTW I am always the one fruitlessly telling everyon to turn the volume down.) My experience dictates that "loud" does not linearly translate to hearing problems (it is a problem, just not in itself.)And I think you hit on the siginficant factor, the frequency. Vaccuums have always caused pain for me, as well as yard equipment, and drum cymbals. Reflecting on your post, the wind noise from the half-down car window has always significantly bothered me! I can never stand it, so I do not do it. Like my chiropractor says, if it is uncomfortable then it is bad for you. Listen to your body, it will tell you.

I will continuously re-evaluate what I do based on this. I am spending 80% of my time on the local roads and parkways, and 20% on the freeway. I will have to decide if I want to wear protection for those high speed jaunts.

Also, I am considering a small Double Bubble replacement for the current GIVI touring screen. That will exacerbate the wind problem. The big factor is I am dying of heat on the hot days. I could end up getting the small screen, then beginning to wear ear protection for all rides. That might solve all of the comfort problems.

Thanks Randy, et al.