ninjette.org

Go Back   ninjette.org > Blogs > gfloyd2002

Notices

Rate this Entry

Motorcycle-Related Hearing Loss

Posted June 17th, 2011 at 04:45 AM by gfloyd2002

At a recent trip to the ENT doctor, I was diagnosed with moderate hearing damage to the hearing in my right ear. The doctor believes that the damage may be related to years of riding.

The irony is that I'm wearing earplugs for the first time on my ninjette, for about 6 months before my diagnosis, after riding for a number of years on other bikes without. Apart from protecting my hearing, the difference in my riding is marked. Noise is stressful, and I ride more relaxed. I was really surprised at how much more enjoyable riding is with the earplugs. Here is a study on it if you are interested: Noise Induced Stress. My previous fears of not hearing the road, other traffic, emergency vehicles were without basis - you hear them fine - better with earplugs than you do inside a car without earplugs. The plugs just take the edge off the wind/traffic/exhaust noise. I use the Moldex PuraFit 6800 disposable. Dead cheap at $20 for a box of 200, and they get good reviews. And they are way cheaper than hearing aids.

More importantly, and I'm unfortunately a negative example, your hearing is at risk of damage to any prolonged exposure above 85dbs. That is where most of our riding is, and this type of exposure is particularly dangerous because it comes on slowly, unnoticeably, like a lobster being slowly brought up to a boil -- you don't notice the damage until it is too late. Check out this great resource talking about noise-induced hearing loss: House Ear Institute. The Institute recommends plugs for activities above 85dbs with prolonged, repeated or cumulative exposure.

You can find additional information about motorcycle-related hearing loss at:
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine study on effects of motorcycle riding on hearing loss.
Dr. Mike Coley, Otologist and Motorcyclist, recommending wearing ear plugs while riding.
University of Minnesota Medical Center says riding without plugs can easily cause hearing loss.
Facts about Motorcycle Hearing Loss.
British Journal on Sports Medicine study on hearing loss for grand prix riders, recommending ear plugs

The Royal Society study is particularly good and a must read. Here is a summary of the results:

* There is excessive wind noise around the helmet—about 90 dB(A) at 60 km/h and increasing linearly when plotted against the log of speed, to reach 110 dB(A) at 160 km/h.
* This level is well documented to cause damage.
* Modern helmets offered very poor low-frequency sound attenuation.
* Motorcyclists experienced hearing loss as a result of their noise exposure.
* There is an effect after only 1 hour of high-speed riding and a corresponding subjective complaint of tinnitus. After long periods at high speed, riders commonly report other non-specific complaints such as fatigue, headache and even disequilibrium.
* Earplugs proved effective in preventing damage.
* Earplugs were relatively safe in terms of signal detection while riding.
* Earplugs improved general wellbeing after riding.

If you've got access to a research library and are interested in this type of thing, there are a series of scholarly articles cited by the Royal Society study. Of most interest is a guy named McCombe out of the Department of Otolaryngology at Plymouth General Hospital who has done a half dozen studies on this. What does he recommend? "There is a need to raise awareness to this problem and increase the use of earplugs."

Consider this my attempt to do that.
Posted in Uncategorized
Views 13158 Comments 3
Total Comments 3

Comments

  1. Old Comment
    Alex's Avatar
    Good post.
    Posted June 17th, 2011 at 03:44 PM by Alex Alex is offline

  2. Old Comment
    Firehorse's Avatar
    Brilliant. My ride is so much more peaceful now that I wear earplugs and yes, I hear everything just fine. They seem to take away the higher pitched wind noise but everything else is still clear as a bell.
    Posted April 17th, 2012 at 09:08 PM by Firehorse Firehorse is offline
  3. Old Comment
    akima's Avatar
    Awareness achieved. I'm going to start wearing mine during all my riding... not just the long trips.
    Posted April 29th, 2012 at 05:55 AM by akima akima is offline
 

Motorcycle Safety Foundation

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:24 AM.


Website uptime monitoring Host-tracker.com
Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Except where otherwise noted, all site contents are © Copyright 2022 ninjette.org, All rights reserved.