Riding with ear plugs?

[SnyderJ21]

What are your guy's thoughts on riding with ear plugs, I just put a Jardine slip-on on my CityX and it is loud as crap. I like the sound so right now I am between buying a set of ear plugs or a baffle. Do you think it is unsafe to wear earplugs as it may be harder to hear traffic? If you guys do ride with ear plugs what kind are they? I thought about getting these - http://www.radians.com/main/p-282-radians-custom-molded-earplugs.aspx

Curious to hear some of your thoughts.

 

[upthemaiden]

the general consensus around here is that ear plugs are a must. I wear them sometimes and have no problem hearing traffic. You still hear the same amount of things, it's just at a lower level. How much traffic you think you have hear over that exhaust anyway?

Right now I just use some of those foam cylinder ear plugs. They work but are a serious hassle. They take so long to expand that I usually debate whether I want to wear them because I've gotta stand on the sidewalk with my fingers in my ears for so long waiting for them to expand and then once they're in half the time they get pulled out when I slide my helmet on. I plan on picking up a pair of molded ones like you posted. That price seems pretty decent. I saw a pair in superstreet bike that were recommended but they were $100 so I've been a little scared to check on other prices. I'll probably buy 2 pairs for that price though, one for normal use and the other to mold in a pair of ear phones(like the picture shows with the string he used). That way I can use the GPS on my phone if I'm taking a road trip or anything like that.

The only downside I've found to using them, aside from the hassle of putting in the foam ones, is that they're awful for around town. When you're on the bike and it's running over 3k rpm most of the time they work great. If you're in stop and go traffic, like I usually am since I live in the city, it gives me more of a headache to wear them than to not. You don't hear engine noises as much, but you hear anything your body is doing. You can hear your helmet on your head, you can hear when your foot hits the ground or you move around on the bike, and the shaking you do when the bike is under 2k rpm is definitely worse. I'm not sure how to describe it. It just sounds like internal noises are getting trapped in your head. I get the same noises when I wear the ear muff things when I'm doing shop work. Either way, definitely get a pair, and I think you'll be much happier with the molded ones as opposed to foam... and thanks for the link! You saved me the hassle of having to find a pair myself.

 

[Christer]

Earplugs. [up]

 

[upthemaiden]

Cabela's has them on sale half price right now, by the way... http://www.cabelas.com/product/Custom-Molded-Earplugs/741591.uts

 

[GatorBuell]

I never ride with out them. Walgreens/CVS carries hearoes plugs cheep. Wind noise alone will cause hearing damage, add in a loud exhaust and it will destroy your hearing. I feel I can actually hear more with them in, at least the stuff that matters.

 

[xtremelow]

I opt for ear buds. My Bell Star has the head phones that mount inside the lining but for the helmets I wear that don't I wear ear buds to listen to music. Guess I opt for additional hearing loss [smirk]

 

[cb750]

IMHO I think ear plugs are worse than no ear plugs. It is like evey motor vibration comes right up through my spine and hammers my eardrums. I wish it wasn't this way. Maybe I need different plugs.

 

[prostreet]

I usually only where earplugs when I have a passenger that can't quit talking,same reason I like loud exhaust

 

[SnyderJ21]

Thanks for the input guys, I ordered a pair and can't wait to try them out. Hopefully the sound won't resonate in my head too bad. I will be disturbing some folks with my new exhaust I'm sure .

 

[unionthug]

I do. My buddy Bob just turns his hearing aids off Either is effective[smirk]

 

[theoctopus]

Having a mild case of tinnitus myself, I can tell you that earplugs are worth it. Constant ringing in the ears is a real bummer.

I don't know what silence is anymore.

 

[2004xb12s]

I don't ever wear ear plugs but maybe I should? The only time the noise bothers me is when I have to listen to that same droning tone of being on a highway for more than like an hour and a half. Other than that I love the sound of the bike and the wind around the city and backroads.

 

[BuddhaBuell]

imho earplugs are a must, when I would tear around town going from point A to B and was on BamBam for a few minutes I would not bother, any rides longer then 10 minutes then its a whole other story, if you value your hearing you'll wear them...
[smirk]

 

[yellow50]

WHAT?

 

[netty2424]

I'm with extremelow, I use ear buds and listen to music. Sometimes the thump of the bike for longer rides can almost put me in a daze. It's almost like driving at night down a two lane highway and the mundane passing of the stripes can sort of hypnotize you. I feel like music keeps me alert.

 

[andymnelson]

IMHO I think ear plugs are worse than no ear plugs. It is like evey motor vibration comes right up through my spine and hammers my eardrums. I wish it wasn't this way. Maybe I need different plugs.

Yeah, you need different ones

I never ride without them. I use the 26db ones from Walmart in the gun section- like $2/pair and they come with a lanyard so they are always attached to the little lop on the back of my jacket.

Being 26db plugs, they do not bock all noise, only reduce it by 26db. Pretty much takes care of wind noise and exhaust noise, wile allowing you to still hear traffic. Our intercoms are much more clear now too.

 

[kcbxb12]

I have worn ear plugs for over 20 years, Its a must!
[up]

 

[cb750]

They definetly cut down the wind noise. I don't think I am hearing the exhaust either, its like when you are walking around with plugs in and you hear every footstep that you take, but instead of footsteps its every power pulse of the motor. We've got different brands of plugs at work so ill grab a selection and see if one is better than another.

 

[Baal]

IMHO I think ear plugs are worse than no ear plugs.  It is like evey motor vibration comes right up through my spine and hammers my eardrums.  I wish it wasn't this way.  Maybe I need different plugs.

You do. I had an interesting discovery last week. I usually wear the yellow cylindrical ones. But, I had a pair of new ones that I'd been given at some show or something. Yellow with an orange band, and a slight taper. I'd worn them two days earlier on a bike with both more wind protection and a quieter exhaust. No problem there. So, when I went out on the Lightning, I popped those in. I got about 30 miles out, and had to turn around and come home. The low frequency of the exhaust was resonating up in my head, making me nuts. I went home, changed plugs and went back out to fuel up. Like a completely different world.

So, saying that, you need to try different plugs and find the ones you like best. I don't do a ride of longer than maybe five minutes without them. There was research a number of years ago that demonstrated measureable hearing loss under a full face helmet with or without a windshield in less than a half hour. The length of exposure increases the depth of loss. At some point some of that loss is permanent, and that point of permanent loss is remarkably short for some frequencies.

Motorcycle Consumer News did a test last year of earplugs. I've got it somewhere, but my recollection is that a couple of the Howard Leight brand plugs were the highest rated. I also seem to remember that they were more highly rated for consistent protection than the custom ones, because they were more reliably inserted.

Wear 'em.

 

[Ranger3987]

I would like to know the percentage of loss that is, I have a D&D on my bike and only wear a full face helmet and am worried about the idea of ear plugs as I like to hear whats around me