This might be a good start for someone who is thinking of some hearing protection. As an old guy I strongly recommend the younger/newer riders give this some thought.
Yes, you should definitely read in the motorcycle area because if any earplugs are shooting specific and work in some way other than just sticking a plug in your ear, that is not the right frequency to block compared to wind noise on a motorcycle. If you are getting more than a rubber plug, be sure it is motorcycle specific.
I saw the m/c earplug selection and I wasn't impressed. If wind noise was the only noise the foam/molded plastic would be good. I prefer a more comprehensive solution to the whole of the traffic noise. Heavy truck engines, concussive tire sound from tires hitting expansion joints and bad road surface, sirens, screeching brakes, general racket in city driving, etc. For shooters, or anyone exposed to concussive sounds, earplugs are only half the solution. Feel the heavy bone behind your ear? That bony area will transmit an abrupt concussive sound directly to your cochlea. So shooters and the like NEED muffs. Our helmets give us some nice protection from the worst of those sounds. I especially like some of the hearing protection our present day rock musicians are using. Nuf sed by me on that subject. As always, your hearing your choice. Happy Motoring.
Very good articles/ discussion, as a person that has a hearing loss due to my work history, and one that just received hearing aids several months ago, it becomes a struggle. I always ride with foam ear plugs , having a 27 DB loss at a specific frequency it is even more difficult to understand someone talking to me with my helmet on and foam ear plugs. I have just recently been made aware that I am allergic to certain materials used in hearing aids. This thread is of interest to me, as I haven't come across anything that would help me when someone is trying to talk to me, other than taking my helmet off, and pulling my ear plugs.The only thing that comes to mind is speech to text technology, visual aid.
For you younger riders who might still have 'normal' hearing - I wear two hearing aids which cost about $6,000 for the pair. They HELP quite a lot, but they're NO substitute for GOOD hearing.
Much better to protect, then to replace..., such as you can....
(Think what you can buy for $6K every few years....)
For you younger riders who might still have 'normal' hearing - I wear two hearing aids which cost about $6,000 for the pair. They HELP quite a lot, but they're NO substitute for GOOD hearing.
Much better to protect, then to replace..., such as you can....
(Think what you can buy for $6K every few years....)
I'm in the same boat (or should I say C-130 environment). I'm now the dubiously proud owner of $6K high tech hearing aids and somewhat costly ear plugs, both from my audiologist I might add. It's not a testimonial, but they are both worth the cost. As an aside, I believe my hearing aid purchase paid for remodeling one of the exam rooms.
My recurring senior moment problem is remembering just which devices I have stuffed into my ears when I put my helmet on. Actually, that comes after deciding if I have the helmet on the right way round. :grin2:
The Sena 20 has an 'ambient mode' feature where you can listen to external sounds picked up by the control unit (outside the helmet) amplified into the helmet speakers - specifically for listening to external conversation when stopped without removing the helmet. I have no experience with this, so no opinion of effectiveness. Perhaps other can weigh in with real-life experience with the model. The 10s lacks this feature. Not sure of other brands/models.
Yeah, wear earplugs. Listen to us older folks! I wish I'd worn earplugs when riding, mowing the lawn, etc. when I was in my 20s and 30s. Hearing loss sucks. Tinnitus can really suck, too, so annoying, the constant ringing in the ears - also caused by not using hearing protection.
I use ears plugs because made for more peaceful and enjoyable. I never occurred to me that would help save hearing over time. Great point. now I think I should wear plugs while mowing grass etc.
My new helmet, with the Sena unit has much more wind noise than my previous helmet, Id like to use ear protection, but guess that kind of defeats the helmet..
Me, too. After trying a few sets of the customs, and some other ones like NoNoise, I am back to foam. I have small ear canals. The ones that work best for me ar the Howard Leight Laser Lites. I still have to cut the ends off a bit, or they pull out when I put my helmet on. Bought a big box of them!
A freind of mine swears by them, but I couldn't bring myself to be that spendy...it must be annoying to find they wouldn't work for you. I'll stick to the foamies for now.
Hey I am still very new to riding only 1800km so far. I have been wearing in ear headphones for most of my riding. I really enjoyed having ear plugs in but missed having music.
Any suggestions?
My current idea is speakers in my helmet and wear ear plugs
the noise is just the effect of air turbulences produced by the windshield.
using earplugs is just fighting the effect.... the same thing I did before...
but with the new windshield from Givi, AirFlow, I find that I have a LOT less noise, up to higher than allowed speeds.
I do use earplugs on linger rides, but the windshield protects me now very well.
I don't work for Givi.
but with the new windshield from Givi, AirFlow, I find that I have a LOT less noise, up to higher than allowed speeds.
I do use earplugs on linger rides, but the windshield protects me now very well.
I don't work for Givi.
I wear the yellow foam earplugs and can hear my engine up to about 30 mph. Any higher speeds and everything is drowned out by the wind noise, including the engine, cars, and for all I know, sirens. It is also the primary cause of fatigue for me as well.
I have experimented with removing the peak from my helmet and stuffing material around my jaw line with no positive effect. Earlier (when there were bugs) I get about the same amount of splat on my visor as is on the oem windscreen. When I duck my head down below the windscreen it is so peacefully quiet, I just can't see.
This lengthy preamble is my rationale that problem is not hearing protection selection, but that my peanut is too far above the protection of the windscreen. But, before I jump to buying an aftermarket windscreen, I want to understand why there are so many polarized reviews, especially on the givi. Is it more related to rider height or to the Model of bike? I am 6'2" with a 33 inseam.
Chid, you seem pretty happy with yours. How tall are you? Do we think the mounting config on a gen 2 would yield different results than a gen 3?
Is a Madstad going to perform significantly better or worse? Feedback of any kind is appreciated.
I have the cheap hearing aids - only $5,000 pair, but because I have fairly severe loss (-60 to - 80 dB) I use 'c-shell' receivers which are effectively ear plus as well. I don't use the open mushroom domes that most people have.
I got my audiologist to create a 'motorcycle' channel for me that has no amplification in the high and low frequencies and very minimal amplification in the human voice / mid-range.
This enables me to ride in comfort, no fatigue, etc. but still talk to people with the helmet on. I can't have a conversation without my aids (helmet or not) so riding without is not an option.
Would not ride without hearing protection. Yet, I'm usually the first to hear emergency vehicles.
In the past have used laser lites (bulk box from amazon, pairs wrapped individually so great for tossing them in luggage or gear where you might need them).
But also use Etymotic buds (er6 in the past, mc-5 now) when I want to hear gps etc. The largest foam tips they offer fit my ears great. So well that even when not using any audio source will use them for protection. Can be washed and reused many times before needing replacement.
I carry earplugs in my motorcycle vest, but I never wear them while I'm riding. On the contrary -- the earplugs and the Rolaids I always carry are to muffle the horribly loud music and counteract the greasy food at the motorcycle events I attend. Oh -- and don't forget the sunscreen!
I like the Alpine Party Plugs. They're small and instead of blocking all the noise they just lower the dB level. They come with a nice keychain case that's tiny.
I found their site and they have motorcycle specific ear plugs, these are of interest to me as they allow some speech frequencies to come thorough. With a hearing loss, my only choice for understanding what someone is saying is to use my cell phone set on text messaging with the mic turned on, have the person talk into it then I read it, let's say a PITA. So I copied their link;https://www.alpinehearingprotection.com/earplugs/motosafe/
After further reading, it may be a case that the "Party Plug" is more readily available at a better price, also found some very negative reviews for the Moto, however it was only a couple people. I guess I would ask for those that have these to point to a unbiased review. The ear plugs I use have a 30 DB reduction, I have a 28 DB loss at the 800 to 1 KHZ, so for me, I need to be able to read lips with the helmet on and ear plugs in.
I use Spark Plug brand earplugs. They have the best attenuation I have found. At work we have a variety of free earplugs, so I've tried a lot of different brands. To some extent the shape of one's ears are going to determine which plugs give the best results.
NRR ratings are based on a specific frequency distribution, biased towards higher frequencies which do more harm than lower frequencies. But if the noise is primarily lower frequencies (turbo-prop aircraft, loud V-twin motorcycles, etc), the NRR may not be valid.
I'm of the belief the more attenuation the better. Some sound is going to be transmitted through the bones in the skull/jaw, so it will never be silent no matter how perfect an earplug may be. And I never have trouble hearing sirens or traffic with earplugs in.
I wear 3M 1100 foam plugs because they fit my ears and do the job of blocking unwanted noise, yet I can hear my engine, sirens, horns etc perfectly well. The model 1100 do not suit a riding buddy's ear channel yet he wears the rubber re-usable type that I cannot wear.
The point being one size/type does not fit all, and you may need to experiment with various materials and models.
I also wear them mowing grass, vacuuming the house (yeah, I know, but my dog won't do it) and at loud music events. Years ago I was at a bar listening to a very loud band. I wore my ear plugs and it was very interesting. I could hear conversations, shouting really, very clearly over the music which was crystal clear. An acquaintance was yelling at me so I told him in a normal voice that he need not yell, I could hear him perfectly. He yelled back at me "I can't hear you!"
Earlier on he had kidded me about the "golf tees" in my ears. He wears hearing aids now.:grin2:
I have recently tried Mighty Plugs. These are the most comfortable ear plugs that I have ever worn. I am happy with these and will continue using them (no more sore ears).
I use some OVC active noise suppression ear buds, about $50 at Amazon. They are particularly effective with lower frequencies. Really cool when you turn them on, it gets instantly quiet.
I had issues with low frequency noise coming through the foam plugs, to the point of feeling pain. Givi shield helped some but the OVC cured all issues. 60 hour battery life and OK music sound though I don't do music or phone while riding.
This is something I am looking for if it functions the way I think it does. I wear hearing aids, also a full face helmet. The hearing aids come out when riding and foam plugs go in. Needless to say when riding with others they need to yell into my helmet to barely be able to understand what they are saying. My question is what function does the mike play and can it be turned on and off. My second question is do you wear a full face helmet as I would be concerned about pressure from those exerting on my ear canal.
I tried different stuff to lower the noise on my rides, different ear plugs, I even bought the Quiet Ride Ear Muffs and I destroyed a helmet (they work, but is getting too hot and it blocks the other traffic noise that you don't want to)
With the OEM windshield (2015 VERSYS) I couldn't hear the engine noise above 70km/h.
I bought the Givi Airflow, and it's amazing. It has a second part "a lip?" and it pressurizes the air coming over the main windshield and it pushes it over the rider, creating a "bubble".
I am 6 feet and now I can ride at speeds above the speed limit and hear the engine (I'm listening music and it's the engine noise now that covers the music, and not the air noise)
I also like that fact that I can see over the windshield.
I keep it at mid-level, so I think it can cover another 2'' for you.
I feel a lot less tired now on longer rides.
I think it is better to avoid the noise created by the airflow, than trying to block it at helmet level, it works a lot better for me.
I can also use the Sena to talk to my passenger a lot better, without cranking up the volume.
@Victor Vector, I'm 6'2" and ride a 2011 V (gen 2) with a Givi windshield that has an MRA X-creen added to it. I also have 2" bar risers, a Corbin saddle, and BarkBusters Storm hand guards. I sit upright and have a lot of turbulent air around me. I wear a Scorpion EXO AT-950 helmet and have been trying to reduce or move the turbulent air so I can use the peak, in addition to reducing the buffeting and noise the turbulence causes. I've been wearing No-Noise ear plugs and like how the filter in them functions to reduce wind noise while allowing other sounds through. I have Tinnitus and find that very quiet conditions, as created by most hearing protection, aggravates the symptoms - I require some background noise to preserve what sanity I have left...
With the windshield in the highest position, the turbulent air was catching me above the forehead, which was just fine without the peak. I can move the turbulence higher or lower using the X-creen, but I can't get it forward enough to allow the peak to be in clear air. With the peak on the helmet, the buffeting was bad enough to blur my vision by 100 kph (60 mph).
With the windshield in the lowest position, I can move the turbulence low enough that my helmet is in clean air. This worked for the bug free fall season, but I know there is no way I'll be able to endure a buggy summer out in the countryside where I live. I have to pass through a couple marsh areas to get home...
In the spring I plan on testing the windshield in its vertical position to see if that will have the turbulent air forward enough, and above my head. Hopefully without having the windshield or X-creen in my line of sight.
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