Biker hearing problems.

[yamaha_george]

Hi,
Ok so trolling thro my race tech mag. I spotted that bikers in later life ie about my age suffer from hearing loss worse than the standard 'erbert on the street.

Any one use ear plugs if so make ,bike specific etc.

The only guys I know who use them are Pro's so they get theirs free but here in the UK they seem to be about 150 UKP a pair

[shift]

this topic was just being discussed on another forum i use. here's a little of what i learned from that discussion:

at 40mph, with a helmet, wind noise becomes the DOMINANT sound at 90dB.

NIOSH limits are a little different...but safer. they use a different methodology but i think it is more accurate for our purposes...at 100dB only 15mins of exposure is allowable. for every 3dB, the time limit is cut in HALF!







i should really start using hearing protection. between the competition worthy car stereo i used to have as a teen == which left my ears ringing for an hour or two like i was at a concert, riding and racing bikes and working around aircraft, my hearing has taken a hit. i have a constant light ringing in my ears, known as tinnitus. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

short rides seem to be ok with no protection, but longer rides, esecially with higher speeds traveled will contribute to hearing loss. those with d&d cans should probable be wearing double hearing protection. LOL

[yamaha_george]

this topic was just being discussed on another forum i use. here's a little of what i learned from that discussion:

at 40mph, with a helmet, wind noise becomes the DOMINANT sound at 90dB.

NIOSH limits are a little different...but safer. they use a different methodology but i think it is more accurate for our purposes...at 100dB only 15mins of exposure is allowable. for every 3dB, the time limit is cut in HALF!







i should really start using hearing protection. between the competition worthy car stereo i used to have as a teen == which left my ears ringing for an hour or two like i was at a concert, riding and racing bikes and working around aircraft, my hearing has taken a hit. i have a constant light ringing in my ears, known as tinnitus. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

short rides seem to be ok with no protection, but longer rides, esecially with higher speeds traveled will contribute to hearing loss. those with d&d cans should probable be wearing double hearing protection. LOL

Shift,
yup your figures quoted are much the same as what I was reading about 96dB at 70mph so only 38 mins of riding whilst at 50 you can get a whole 2 hours of saddle time..

Hmm those ear defenders are beginning to sound cheaper, trouble is I hate the sound of cash registers taking my money

[TomGun]

I recently read perhaps the same article. I often wear corded ear plugs which are quick to put in, and cost a few dollars. I've seen them sold in a pharmacy (I got mine here at work). I find that when I wear them I'm less fatigued after a long ride.

These are what I use

[shift]

the messed up part is, i wear earplugs every single night when i sleep. (i'm an extremely light sleeper) i have many pairs, free from work, but i never really liked using them on the bike. yeah, i really should start.

[yamaha_george]

the messed up part is, i wear earplugs every single night when i sleep. (i'm an extremely light sleeper) i have many pairs, free from work, but i never really liked using them on the bike. yeah, i really should start.

Hi,
The odd thing is that those corded plugs are not recommended as most folks do not fit them properly in the first place according to my article...............

[TomGun]

the messed up part is, i wear earplugs every single night when i sleep. (i'm an extremely light sleeper) i have many pairs, free from work, but i never really liked using them on the bike. yeah, i really should start.

Hi,
The odd thing is that those corded plugs are not recommended as most folks do not fit them properly in the first place according to my article...............

They're made of a expandable foam. You squeeze them to fit in the ear, and they expand to fit the contour of your ear. There are other type of corded ear plugs that are just made of soft rubber, and I would think they wouldn't be as effective or comfortable as the (squishy foam ones) I also wear them to sleep, because my girls like to set their alarm clocks at five in the morning. I don't hear a thing, (including my alarm clock) and they're very comfortable.

[shift]

yeah, i never liked the corded kinds. i've been using these for sleeping and working with power tools:



i believe they have a 30 or 32 db rating. out of the 4 or 5 types i've tried, they feel the best and give good noise reduction.

[manveru]

I wear ear plugs, the corded foam ones. stock bike

[YAM93]

I've worn them twice. At a Damn Yankees concert in 1992 and once last year on MX track. The helmet tends to drag them out while taking it on and off.

I really need to start using them also. Only reason I don't on street as much is because of hearing ambulance / fire / police sirens.


I dunno where my wife got cheap disposable little green ones, I'll ask her.

[tommyj27]

Crazy that you would start this thread Geo, I was thinking about it last week. I started wearing plugs (foam disposable ones, I got them at some concert) for my commute last week and I've got to say that they're wonderful. Everything is blissfully quiet; toned down wind noise, exhaust is muffled, don't notice when things breaking off the bike (ok, maybe not that). When I took my safety course, the instructors recommended plugs after the class, I just finally got around to trying them.

I've tried a number of different earplug types and the foam ones seem to be the most comfortable. I have a pair of the rubbery ones that don't seem very comfortable (maybe $1 from harbor freight, i've never worn them very long). I also picked up a pair from a music shop that were a rubber surrounded metal doodad (~$15 IIRC). I wore them to a concert and had to take them out halfway through because my ears hurt so bad.

[bweight]

I usually wear em when I'm on a long ride if my mp3 player dies.. In town I usually listen to my tunes so it takes some of the bike noise away..

Depends though, sometimes I just wanna listen to the sound of the bike, sometimes I don't wanna hear a thing.

[yamaha_george]

Crazy that you would start this thread Geo, I was thinking about it last week. I started wearing plugs (foam disposable ones, I got them at some concert) for my commute last week and I've got to say that they're wonderful. Everything is blissfully quiet; toned down wind noise, exhaust is muffled, don't notice when things breaking off the bike (ok, maybe not that). When I took my safety course, the instructors recommended plugs after the class, I just finally got around to trying them.

I've tried a number of different earplug types and the foam ones seem to be the most comfortable. I have a pair of the rubbery ones that don't seem very comfortable (maybe $1 from harbor freight, i've never worn them very long). I also picked up a pair from a music shop that were a rubber surrounded metal doodad (~$15 IIRC). I wore them to a concert and had to take them out halfway through because my ears hurt so bad.

T,
Seems my hearing is so good i could here you thinking all that way away loL

I would like to say one of the reasons i brought this up was that I was shocked at the fact that according to the studies done the "ordinary man on the street" cannot actually fit his / her ear plugs properly so that they actually work as they should.

this fact alone is why I asked for comment. One lister says that the helmet actually pulls his the corded plugs out.

I have found that no matter what insert so far that I have used they will work well in one ear and come loose in the other.

[abs929cbrrr]

I have to use them, i have a bad ear. once you ride with them you wont go back. i use cheap little orange throw away ones that come in a boc full of them.

[tommyj27]

I have to use them, i have a bad ear. once you ride with them you wont go back. i use cheap little orange throw away ones that come in a boc full of them.

+1 on that, I love wearing them. I need to go pick up a crate of them; this pair is looking pretty nasty after a week or so of use.