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Ear plugs Question

Your sense of RPM will come right back after you get used to the earplugs. You will learn to feel the bike buzzing through your whole body, not just your ears. Believe me, after a week of using earplugs every day you will feel very in tune with your bike (I personally think I sense the engine buzzing better), and no more wind noise! It's very nice.
 
f4ibri said:
So I used ear plugs for the first time while riding home from work today. I really dont think that my stock exhaust is very loud but the wind noise in my cheap helmet (seven zero seven) is bad. Problem is I ride home from work in the early a.m. with little traffic and every time I looked at my speedo I was going like 90+mph. Most of the time I try to keep it around 70-75mph on 880. I never realized how much I use my ears to judge my speed. I could hear RPM changes, but I couldnt really tell what RPM I was at without looking at the tach. I want to take care of my ears, but I also want to be in tune with my bike. I know some people wont ride without ear plugs, but I'm not so sure that I'm converted. Here's the question's for the ear plug folks.

Will I get used to the quieter engine noise and learn to hear my RPM's?
Will it help to get a helmet with less wind noise?
Will I have any need for ear plugs with a quiet helmet and stock exhaust?

I want my ears to work when I'm old!
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There's no such thing as a quiet helmet. Some are quieter than others, but that's not saying a lot.

Yes, you'll get used to it. And you can try different kinds of plugs as well.
 
Kornholio said:
I'm really curious how LEO's can get away with not wearing HPE while working motors since the noise levels completely exceed OSHA-accepted dB levels. Maybe you could weigh in on that? :dunno
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Full windscreen makes a big difference. I need to be able to hear the helmet mounted radio and talk to people without taking off the helmet. I'm typically not going more than 10 freeway miles in one stretch.
 
In my experience I am more in tune with the bike with earplugs than without. On the few occasions I start riding without I; 1:feel naked, 2:curse myself for forgetting and 3: stop and put them in. Wind noise sucks...
 
Ever notice when you pull the plugs out your hearing is hyperacute for a while?
 
Tharkûn said:
Full windscreen makes a big difference. I need to be able to hear the helmet mounted radio and talk to people without taking off the helmet. I'm typically not going more than 10 freeway miles in one stretch.
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I'd be willing to bet that a full audiological sound sample would prove otherwise, though. It doesn't take much to get to unsafe levels and OSHA doesn't allow much time for it from a sustainability perspective.
 
EastBayDave said:
I just go to the hardware store & buy a large quantity of the "foam" type earplugs every few years. That way I can toss them when they get "waxed" up, & they cheap $$$.

I didn't wear ear plugs for 30+ years of my riding, & at a recent hearing test my hearing loss was recorded at 65% in one ear, 55% in the other. I need a hearing aid bad, & quiet conversation is impossible, especially in a crowded room.

Huh? What? Seem to be me most spoken terms. Wear plugs unless you want to end up like me...
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^^What the man said!:rolleyes Noise damage does accumulate and I am in about the same condition as that Dave.

This Dave
 
Lovedoc said:
Ever notice when you pull the plugs out your hearing is hyperacute for a while?
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Yeah, it's always interesting to roll into the city at night after a ride. Take off the helmet, pull out the plugs and hear all the little noises around me.

-- Nathan
 
Kornholio said:
I'd be willing to bet that a full audiological sound sample would prove otherwise, though. It doesn't take much to get to unsafe levels and OSHA doesn't allow much time for it from a sustainability perspective.
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I'm not saying its not bad for us, but earplugs just won't work.
 
I'll never go back to riding without earplugs. The ride is so much more enjoyable with them, and I focus much better when I'm not trying to tune out wind noise.
 
f4ibri said:
So I used ear plugs for the first time while riding home from work today. I really dont think that my stock exhaust is very loud but the wind noise in my cheap helmet (seven zero seven) is bad. Problem is I ride home from work in the early a.m. with little traffic and every time I looked at my speedo I was going like 90+mph. Most of the time I try to keep it around 70-75mph on 880. I never realized how much I use my ears to judge my speed. I could hear RPM changes, but I couldnt really tell what RPM I was at without looking at the tach.
Click to expand...

What are you doing while riding if you don't have time to scan your gauges? :confused


You should be scanning for traffic all around you, while monitoring your speed and gauges when riding. The tach is right next to your speedometer, so how can you not see it when you glance down?

The more I think about it, I rarely look at my tach intentionally. If I were even close to redlining it, I would be going to jail for riding at three digit speeds. :ride
 
years ago my ears would ring so loudly at night they would keep me up at night. I bought a large bag of ear plugs from ebay for $35. each pair will last me 3 weeks or so then I toss em.
 
really? you use ear plugs to block OUT ringing? when I wear earplugs for long stretches they cause my ears to ring. interesting...
 
Kornholio said:
I'm really curious how LEO's can get away with not wearing HPE while working motors since the noise levels completely exceed OSHA-accepted dB levels. Maybe you could weigh in on that? :dunno
Click to expand...

Probably the same reason they right around in short sleeve shirts and slacks :)
 
I've mostly ignored this for years and guess what? My hearing has been slowly deteriorating. Trust me on this: you do not want an incessant high pitch tone in both your ears for the rest of your life. I've ordered the $13 ones from the gun shop, and will use them when I travel on planes too. Hell, I'll probably use them at the office and at home.

I've been using the disposable kind off and on with mixed results. Never really found a comfortable fit, and disposable just doesn't last (DUH). I have high hopes for these, though I'll likely never again know the sound of silence. And just to clarify, when my tinnitus first showed up last year it just about drove me nuts. Couldn't sleep, its was maddening. Now its become "white noise". Sitting here typing in the office I can clearly hear a lot of things. The pads on the keyboard as I type, the flow of air from the vents, people talking several offices away, a door opening and closing further than that. When I go to bed at night in Half Moon Bay I can hear the bloody fog horn miles away in Princeton harbor, I can even hear the waves of the ocean and I live on the east side of highway 1 by 5 blocks. The thing is, through all that, I also have the high pitched tone going. Most strongly in my left ear. The more quiet it is around me the more I notice it, which is a temptation to walk into the trap of putting on headphones to listen to music and drown it out. I'm going to go see an ENT again soon, because I have long had sinus problems that cause issues with drainage, which may be contributing to the problem. But I'm not fooling myself either. I've subjected myself to continuous loud noise for most of my life, whether it be concerts, headphones, or riding without ear plugs.
 
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deathbug74 said:
i have a pair of those...fairly comfy, and great noise reduction.

slightly more expensive, but worlds more comfy are these:

http://www.earplugstore.com/surefire-earpro-sonic-defenders-ear-plugs-ep3.html

earplugstore_2171_237188832


i picked them up in a local gunshop for around $13...they're like..all day comfy, and with the plugs closed, as effective as the ones above...with the plugs open, noise reduction is reduced, but you can carry on a conversation as if they aren't there.

either way, give yourself a little bit to get tuned into hearing the engine again, and you WILL adjust. even jumping off my bike (not so quiet) onto the gf's (stock) ninjette is doable. i won't do much more than a very short low speed ride without earplugs (~15 mins or less total trip).
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Thanks for the information :thumbup. I ordered a set of Surefire Plus'.
 
Stupid follow-up question but how do you keep the earplugs in (so they don't fall out) when putting on your helmet? When I put on my helmet it's so snug sliding down I feel the plugs would come out (I can't even fit my glasses on my face after putting my helmet on ...) ...
 
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