Do You Use Earplugs When You Ride?

[Ninjinsky]

I have hearing loss and tinnitus from being a guitarist and vocalist That will take out your hearing better than any (normal use) riding . When you first see those audiometry graphs with a huge dip between 2k and 6k it breaks your heart because you see what you will be missing for the rest of your life. Nowadays you can buy musician earplugs which treat all frequencies evenly they are less obtrusive on a bike too, it's quieter but less sensation of being 'plugged' than with the plain foamys.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HEAR-PRO-H...item1e80b1c1f9

NB Danger signal is tweaking up the treble on amps and hi fi, If you are doing that get a doc referal to audiometry.

[PHMCS]

When I first started riding, I didn't use any sort of earplug/protection. On longer rides, windy days, hitting the interstate, I would tend to have noticeable tinnitus in a Scorpion Exo-400 helmet. This was especially noticeable when going on a ride at night before sleeping.

I started using ear buds and listening to music late at night when coming home from work and more than anything, I noticed less fatigue and headaches after faster/longer rides. When I swapped in my trail tech vapor and subsequently lost a reliable tach , I needed to hear the engine but still wanted some hearing protection, so I swapped to some regular silicone shooting ear plugs (the type you can get in either bright orange or bright pink). Tinnitus and fatigue fell quite a bit on longer/faster rides, but they muffled things a bit too much, making me a bit concerned in regards to hearing traffic etc around me.

my fiance bought me a pair of vmoda faders for christmas and I think I've found the perfect product for me. They do well at blocking out wind noise and higher rpm exhaust note, but still give you a surprising amount of ability to hear the sounds around you.

[kawabama]

My company is VERY obsessive about hearing protection. We get annual exams to test for threshold shift. As a result, I have access to almost every form of hearing protection known to man. My current favorite is:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3...BC31gv%29&rt=d

They have a soft foam outer around a flexible stem. Really helps get those hard to reach places

[ally99]

I rode 3-4 years without wearing them because I never felt like the bike exhaust or wind noise were doing any damage to my ears. Hearing used to be my most acute sense, however, I now have slight difficulty hearing people on the phone or if there's a lot of noise in the background. When I started wearing plugs, I HATED them at first and bucked the idea of wearing them the first 2-3 times I tried before I started really noticing that my hearing WAS being negatively affected. Now I wear plugs 95% of my riding time to hopefully prevent further damage. Like others have said, you can't undo hearing damage once it's done. Even if you think you're not damaging your ears without plugs, you are.

[cbinker]

Ear plugs enhance the ecstasy of riding.

[ez12a]

Every single time unless I forget to bring them or lose them while I'm out.

I carry a bunch of spare hearo xtreme plugs in my jacket pocket, and use Surefire Sonic Defenders Max as my daily plugs.

[Rogue]

Originally Posted by kkim

If so, why? If not, why not?

I use them on every ride because I like my hearing. Also, I find the music on my helmet speakers sounds better if I have ear plugs in.

[hamburglar]

I just tried wearing earplugs yesterday for the first time while riding, and have to say I didn't like them. I will give it a few more tries before completely writing them off. I do need to wear them though as my hearing is terrible. Being a framer for 12 years probably hasn't helped much either with constant saw noise for 8-12 hours a day x that many years, lol.

[csmith12]

Wear them brah, just takes some getting used to.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by hamburglar

I just tried wearing earplugs yesterday for the first time while riding, and have to say I didn't like them.

Check earlier in this thread for links to those sampler packs. There are many different types of earplugs, and people can have very difference preferences about which works best / feels best for them. It's important enough to keep trying until you find ones that you are comfortable with.

[Hero Danny]

They are annoying to put in and take out, they actually fall out rather easy. But it is calming when you have them in, you can relax more and think clearly and actually become more aware.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

They are annoying to put in and take out, they actually fall out rather easy.

See post directly above yours.

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

They are annoying to put in and take out, they actually fall out rather easy.

The try a different type, brand, fit. You will know when you find the right ones.

[ez12a]

definitely worth using ear pro. I'm always kind of surprised how loud the bike is without them (both my ninja and my sv had/has an aftermarket exhaust)

[Hero Danny]

Yeah, I'm definitely going to purchase higher quality ear plugs in the future.

[SMman]

Its scary that less than 32% of riders on here wear earplugs. I can't ride even a short distance without them. I wear rubber earplugs that are very comfy. I realize it takes a bit to get used to using earplugs, but once you do, you will never ride without them and you will be very thankful that you are protecting your hearing. The wind noise is definitely damaging to your hearing. I fly with a Bose noise cancelling headset for my job and use another Bose NC headset when I am a passenger on other planes. Protect your hearing people!

[hamburglar]

Originally Posted by csmith12

Wear them brah, just takes some getting used to.

I am hoping a few more tries with them in will help. I'm thinking some more time on two wheels will help out as well. My anxiety level yesterday was pretty high already from venturing out on the highway for the second time, so I think the isolation that the earplugs provided only heightened that.

Originally Posted by Alex

Check earlier in this thread for links to those sampler packs. There are many different types of earplugs, and people can have very difference preferences about which works best / feels best for them. It's important enough to keep trying until you find ones that you are comfortable with.

As far as fit goes the foamies were ok. I wear earbuds a lot so I am used to the feeling of having something in my ear. The thing I think that threw me off was like I stated above, the isolation. It was almost to the point of being dead quiet, couldn't hear the bike revving until 9k or so, little puffs of wind noise at around 70, etc.. I am going to try experimenting and see if maybe pulling them out just a hair will allow more sound in and maybe gradually work up to the "isolation"

[flitecontrol]

Originally Posted by hamburglar

I am going to try experimenting and see if maybe pulling them out just a hair will allow more sound in and maybe gradually work up to the "isolation"

Foam earplugs need to be inserted past the tragus. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_ear Otherwise, they tend to come out. Rather than pulling them out to hear better, look for a set of plugs with a lower NRR (noise reduction rating) and insert them properly.

[JohnnyBravo]

My bikes to loud not to wear ear plugs wind noise, link to data, done

[ds650rida]

Just curious, these name brand earplugs you guys buy, are they washable/reusable?

[Worldtraveller]

Originally Posted by ds650rida

Just curious, these name brand earplugs you guys buy, are they washable/reusable?

I work for a big helicopter company, so I have access to all the earplugs I could ever use. I generally use a single pair about 20 times or so before I go to the hangar and grab some more.

[ds650rida]

Originally Posted by Worldtraveller

I work for a big helicopter company, so I have access to all the earplugs I could ever use. I generally use a single pair about 20 times or so before I go to the hangar and grab some more.

I get silicone ones from work. Im just wondering if I could reuse these or not. I also saw a pair of fancy ones in a magazine that were like $20 so considering if its worth the investment

[flitecontrol]

Originally Posted by ds650rida

Just curious, these name brand earplugs you guys buy, are they washable/reusable?

From personal experience, the foam plugs are. Others may be too. Rinse well after washing to get all the soap out (run mine through the dishwasher), squeeze the water out and let dry.

[AmyF]

I just started wearing the ear plugs after reading a lot about them online. Wow what a difference I can still hear what I need to hear but the wind noise is lessened. I have a 3/4 helmet with the face shield so I get a fair amount of wind/wind noise at higher speeds.

I got the orange foam ones from Home Depot.

[NevadaWolf]

I tried some disposable foam ones that are NRR 32 dB. My thought was since I was going to be on the bike so long, may as well block what I could.

A day later, I was back to my reusable flanged 25dB plugs. I was shocked at the difference. Maybe I wasn't inserting the foam ones correctly, but it seemed like there was more noise and less comfort.

Helps to try out several different styles and types to find the ones that work perfectly for your ears.

[Ralgha]

Many people don't use earplugs correctly. They go waaay into your ear canal, with most people, there shouldn't be any of the earplug protruding farther out from your head than that little raised flap on the front side of your ear.

On some people they won't go in that far, but usually they will.

[snot]

So, I tried this the other day. Riding alone it would be great, riding with a zx14 with Brock's megaphone exhaust not good. The sound from the exhaust almost put me to sleep.

[wardie]

yes all the time.

[cadd]

For those who have a Bluetooth headset (in the helmet), are you still able to hear with earplugs in?

[Alex]

Yes.

[NevadaWolf]

Originally Posted by cadd

For those who have a Bluetooth headset (in the helmet), are you still able to hear with earplugs in?

Yep. The nice thing is you don't have to have it turned up all the way to combat the wind noise. I don't have the speakers right up against my ears, they are set back into the little recess so where I could get my fingers between them and my ears. Key when wearing glasses.

In my SparX, a fairly noisy helmet, even with ear plugs I would hear a lot of wind noise and so had to adjust the music volume to over power that noise.

In my LS2, a much quieter helmet, I found that I could easily turn the volume down, still hear the music and still hear the surround traffic.

Course, anything above 70 is noisy no matter what so the music needed to be cranked up again.

[LittleRedNinjette]

I need to find a set thats easier to put in. The foam ones i use work well but are a pain in the ass to put in.

[AmyF]

These are the ones I use. Granted I just started using ear plugs a couple days ago and love them. A big difference for me.

[ds650rida]

I get pretty good quality silicone ones from work for free and they come with a string to attach the 2. I have no reason to not wear them anymore.

[SpidermanGeek]

Put in some ear plugs for the first time on a ride out to my dad's place yesterday. Ever since we bought the bike though, one of teh first things I did is fill an emptied Altoids tin with disposable ear plugs and stuck it next to the tool kit. Wasn't sure if I'd ever deem a ride noisy enough to justify wearing them. Well yesterday was that ride. Most of the distance to my dad's is done on the HWY, so after riding at 120 kmh for about 5 minute, I pulled over and put ear plugs in. It became a much more enjoyeable ride. I'm sure I'll be using earplugs on HWY rides from now on. Too much of a hassle to use when just riding around town though.

[AmyF]

I love wearing the ear plugs now - I try to wear them all the time (unless I happen to forget to bring them). The pair on a cord would be nice I could just sling over the handlebar - otherwise they tend to come into the house and I forget them.

[LittleRedNinjette]

I keep them in my jacket pocket so i dont forget them.

[Worldtraveller]

Yeah, I've bought a few pair over the years, so I have a small round canister in every set of gear so I never forget them.

My track gear bag has a whole bucket of earplugs!

[M42]

I always ride with earplugs, except very rarely when I go around the block to warm up the bike for maintenance or whatever. Without fail, every time I'm not wearing the plugs, I think like 10 things are broken on my bike because everything is making noise and buzzing and being loud. "What the HELL is this noise. Jesus christ what is that. What's clattering. Are my fairings broken? Is my transmission wrecked?"

[Sirref]

I misplaced my earplugs after my ride yesterday and my ears were ringing a bit when I got to work

it reminded me that they're a necessity to riding a motorcycle really