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Wearing Ear plugs- Yes or No?

5K views 46 replies 29 participants last post by  DallasJoe 
#1 ·
Hey guys, so I been searching the internet about wearing earplugs while riding and came across this article: http://www.bikebandit.com/blog/post/motorcycle-ear-plugs ...Interesting write up and after riding for three hours the other day I could definitely tell ear plugs would have helped. Especially since I now realize just how loud my pipes are :0 (first long ride on the Volusia)

What's your take on wearing ear plugs? Do you only wear them on longer rides only?

I hear this is a controversial topic so I look forward to both sides of the argument.

Let the games begin!

-Ben
 
#6 ·
If you want to hear as much as possible them you should be wearing earplugs.. lol
But seriously earplugs reduce the sound pressure from the wind, it lets your ears operate at natural listening levels by attenuating wind noise.
You actually hear cars, sirens, other bikes better better because your ears aren't trying to hear over the wind.
I wear earplugs on my sport bike because I have zero wind protection and I just feel better after a ride with them in, no ear ringing..
I wear them on my C50 if I'm going to be interstate riding. I wear full face helmet all the time.
 
#3 ·
Yes,ambient wind noise is the most detrimental to your hearing of any sound that you experience while riding the bike.....


Motorcycle Safety Site
 
#5 · (Edited)
I've done back to back 1000 mile days. If I didn't wear ear plugs under my full face helmet on my stock exhaust bike, I'd be deaf. The only controversy is why some states still say it's illegal for riders to wear hearing protection.

Edit

FYI, I can hear emergency vehicles just fine with my ear plugs in. As for the self absorbed soccer mom with her nose shoved in her cell phone, my situational awareness and riding skill are my primary defenses. YMMV
 
#8 ·
I would suggest wearing them ,I am almost deaf from working on a locomotive engine for 38 years then after 25 years the company made it mandatory to wear ear plugs.......after the damage was done.
asking people to repeat what they say all the time not only drives me crazy but the people I am talking to also.
I would advise you all to take whatever you can do to protect your hearing.......hearing aids are not very helpful.........huh, what,HUH???
 
#11 ·
These days - always. 100% of the time. Foam rubber disposable ones (under a 3/4 helmet with face shield). No problem hearing the motor, sirens, car horns, other bikes coming from behind, etc. At speed, I think I can actually hear better with them in, and they cut way down on "sensory fatigue". The only downside is that you can hear yourself sing, which in my case is not particularly good.
 
#12 ·
Absolutely. Wear 35 db ones, I am fond of the disposable foam ones. limit wind noise. I can still hear my music, cars and sirens
 
#13 ·
I used to have a loud stereo system and go to competitions and what not. I had a portable dB meter I could max out at 145 dB.
Anyway, one day I caught an article saying anything above such and such a value can cause damage. I remember I turned it on for fun and just driving in my s10 Blazer with all four windows down I exceeded that value.

The short answer is yes. Ear plugs.
I purchased Plugfones (www.plugfones.com) so I can listen to music. It's not as much about overwhelming volume as it is drowning ambient noises.
 
#14 ·
had the unfortunate experience of riding behind someone once who had "loud" pipes..."gave me a headache loud"...since then always keep a pair or two of ear plugs in my bags...on the flip side use headphones (mp3) which I use all the time. Never a big believer in wearing anything that could hinder the safety of the ride...had a one day 6 state ride planned and wanted something for the ride, tried it and have never regretted it. Was always worried I wouldn't be able to hear...not the case...at worst, just use one speaker.
 
#16 ·
My answer is yes and no. I have convertible sports cars that I always wear earplug while driving. The wind noise is super annoying and will eventually damage your hearing long term. On my bike, I ride with a full helmet, so the wind is moderated, but still there, but I started out not wearing them. I do use an in-ear BT headphone to connect to my GPS/Phone and still can hear plenty of sounds. I have worn earplugs occasionally on long rides and they do make things a lot more comfortable without sacrificing safety. Check your local laws.

For the self-absorbed soccer moms and other inattentive drivers, I find that my Stebel Airhorns work just fine.

Be safe out there!
 
#18 ·
Not you, Steve. You're always in the back of the pack because of your pipes....
 
#19 ·
I wear ear plugs often while riding, and have for years.

But once I was lax about it, and I paid the price.

In 2015, BearBait and I went on a road trip to West Virginia, and I was having a hard time hearing his voice through the Scala Rider helmet-to-helmet communication set we have. So an hour or so into our trip, we stopped and I removed my ear plugs. For the rest of the trip, which included 4 days riding the interstate, I rode without hearing protection.

My hearing was damaged by one week of steady exposure to wind/highway noise -- not too badly, but permanently. I'm convinced it was that time on the interstate that did it.

Riding for 14 years with ear plugs most times = hearing OK.
Riding for one week without ear plugs = hearing damaged.

.
 
#25 ·
I just got a set of Bluetooth Plugphones. I had a set of their wired ones and loved them for the long days at the hospital for tests. But they came out with a set of wireless ones I had to buy a set. And they worked great for cutting out the excessive wind noise at highway speeds, but hated fighting with the cord to my jacket. I haven't tried the BT ones on the bike but setting it up I can carry the phone in the windshield bag now or my pocket and have tunes on the go. I'm working to get another ball mount for my Ram Mount to set up the phone someplace so I could change songs or even use GPS if need be. I set the phone to auto send my calls to voice mail when I ride.
 
#26 ·
always. not just because of the pipes and wind pressure, but to prevent noise fatigue.
 
#27 ·
Hey guys, so I been searching the internet about wearing earplugs while riding and came across this article: http://www.bikebandit.com/blog/post/motorcycle-ear-plugs ...Interesting write up and after riding for three hours the other day I could definitely tell ear plugs would have helped. Especially since I now realize just how loud my pipes are :0 (first long ride on the Volusia) -Ben
Excellent article and I enjoyed reading and thinking about it. Being deaf in one ear, I have always been aware of wind noise. Ear plugs, sometimes, especially freeways or long trips and solo rides. Two up we use bluetooth so plugs do not work. While my state forbids earplugs, I know that I can actually hear traffic better with them in. I am willing to be the test case for Washington State.
The article was concise and covered the topic well.
 
#34 ·
Let me know if you have issues as I'm in WA as well and never been bothered but I've never listened to music before as well. I usually just corked my ears and tossed on the helmet. But I'm like you I am 45% deaf in my right ear at certain frequencies, and the earplugs actually help me hear sirens etc. I didn't know if WA had a law forbidding them. I got in trouble a year ago for talking on the phone in my daily even with it linked to the stereo. I had to manually search for the number looking at the stereo and that's all it took for the officer to light me up. And I was at a full stop as well. Said I needed to be pulled over and in park to use the phone..I'd never use the phone on the bike even with voice command, but music I'll be jamming too.

Fatigue from wind noise that is a new one but I know my ears have been a lot more sore after going back to an open face even behind the windshield and my lowers instill get enough noise it's like going to a concert. Definitely going to keep wearing earplugs now.
 
#29 ·
Ken, your only deaf in one ear and you ignore your wife in the other one. >:):surprise:

As for the tinnitus, yup got that too. in the off occasion that it goes a way for a quick second or minute. It is blissful.
 
#30 ·
Well, in view of the content of additional posts since my original one above, I see that I need to modify my stated opinion (somewhat)

The topic of earbuds and ear phones use while riding brings up an additional source of hearing damage - mp3/iTunes music played directly into the ear.....

In my OHS classes I routinely talked about earbuds/ear phones and the hearing damage caused through the use of them. Students always had these with them and were more than willing to demonstrate my point by setting the volume to their normal listening level and then having the sound level measured with a decibel meter.... invariably the sound levels were well in excess of 90 decibels at the ear canal distance from the earbud.

Basically said.... if the person standing next to you can hear the music from your earbuds (without the helmet cover) - you are definitely exceeding the safe sound limit for the sake of your hearing.



The standards say that AT 91 DECIBELS THE EXPOSURE LIMIT IS 2 HOURS. The 94 dBa limit is 1 hour.

The hearing protection threshold to prevent hearing loss is 85 dBa.

Since noise exposure is cumulative, an 8 hour exposure window is used for a measuring comparison with an 16 hour recovery and sound levels under the 85dBa level, however excess noise outside of that 8 hour window adds to the noise dosage and also contributes to hearing loss.

I won't belabor the point here by doing a noise dosage calculation but even if you never exceed the exposure times at the various decibel levels, your 8 hour noise dosage can be excessive and causing hearing damage.
 
#32 ·
What???????????????? :biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh::biglaugh:
 
#37 ·
So technically? the Plugphones are legal. Good to know.
 
#38 ·
No connected buds or plugs, si plug phones would be NO. I read the laws then several motorcycle related topics. You need to read those for yourself before deciding whether any electronic ear piece is legal. I see that as No. Brings up the question of noise cancellation plugs or even hearing aids. I just google and found that ear plugs that do nothing but block noise are legal.
 
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