motorcycle induced deafness

[benny hedges]

ears are ringing as usual after a good ride this avvy....
but just realised why i am still deaf - i forgot to take my earplugs out lol!!!
thought it was peacefull tonight

[BarryH]

What d,ya say? Bugger thats my eyes bollox'd.......

[cliveyandrews]

I always use either plugs (earmax) - or I have a set of Motrax noise deadening earphones I use with iPhone on my commute (2 1/2 hours on shuffle)

Even with a Roof helmet, I find the noise oppressive,,,,

[BarryH]

I've never worn ear plugs. Never had a problem with noise causing any problems. I don't even like using in ear buds to listen to music whilst riding. The way I see it is wht dead'en one of your senses whilst on the bike. I've heard things coming up behind me while prople using earplugs haven't. Or is it I'm just odd?

[benny hedges]

The way I see it is wht dead'en one of your senses whilst on the bike. I've heard things coming up behind me while prople using earplugs haven't. Or is it I'm just odd?

i like my noisy cans but it gets a bit tiring after a bit, especially at high rpm for 100 mile or so...
if i dont wear earplugs on a long ride it definately deadens the senses! ears ringing, everything very very quiet when the engine stops, headache after...

i work in noisy areas all day every day so it gets a bit tedious, like when i come home and the telly's blasting, have to turn it down, loud music annoys me, screeching people annoy me, so it's nice when i'm out on me bike and for once it's me making all the din! crouton em.

1 bonus of my work tho is i get to pinch packs of different earplugs wherever i go
if you want to try some let me know & i'll pop some in the post.
imo they make your riding experience better, more peacefull.
who cares what's behind you! use your mirrors!

[Furrybiker]

I never used ear plugs until I needed to ride to Bristol, approx. 100 miles, I thought that as it was on the M4 the eyes and mirrors would be sufficient.
Well what a difference! After a few miles my hearing seemed to accommodate the earplugs, I couldn't tell much difference in what I could or could not hear, but when I got to Bristol I was much less tired than I would normally have been.
Mind you when you take them out the world is a bloody noisy place. I always want to put them back in!

These are nothing special, just pink conical foam ones from the chemist , about £2 for two pairs.

[BarryH]

Benny babbled "if you want to try some let me know & i'll pop some in the post."

Cheers chap, but I've got ear plugs coming out of my......err....ears! One of my other hobbies is shooting. Cheers for the offer though

[storminateacup]

I've been riding bikes for 50 years now, I think it must have made me deaf because I have never once heard my wife say you can't have another bike.

[vtwin]

I dont wear ear plugs, but always wonder if I should.

My main concern is that I wouldnt be able to hear a mechanical problem with the bike before its too late, also we all go to a lot of effort to make our bikes sound nice, so if you stick plugs in your ears it all seems a bit pointless.

[pariah]

I think the women call it selective hearing .

Wear ear plugs all the time, the missus on the back dont and often complains of headaches after a long trip. She's just started wearing them and can tell the difference straight away.

I've noticed the difference when one of them falls out slighlty.
I use the moldex pura-fit get 30 pairs for 3.50 delivered.

[MJONESY]

i find i ride quicker with earplugs in, so if im just nipping out without all my gear i dont wear them,

as for the dulling one of your less relevant (when riding) senses thing i personally think thats a good thing, to my mind if 30% of your concentration is taken up by wind noise then that only leaves 70% to split between your sight and feel and other senses. wearing earplugs the noise is reduced so you have more concentration on sight and feel,

we have all been there in the car trying to look out for a turning or something and turned the radio down and told the missus/kids to shut up so you can concentrate same thing if you ask me.

if you havent tried them then do

[benny hedges]

agree with that, it just cuts the background noise out.
i noticed last week my left earplug had come out but i cba stopping.
when i got home my hearing was fkt in my left ear so it definately makes a big difference.

ive been called a pussy before for wearing earplugs at gigs, but i find i can hear the music better without it being too obtrusive.
if i dont wear ear defenders at work i'd be stone deaf within a few years.
last time i had a medical and hearing test there were whole blocks of frequencies missing. it was so bad i had to do the test again, where you have earfones on and listen for tiny bleeps at different frequencies.
i noticed tho that when the machine made a bleep, a little led lit up and i could see the reflection in a pc monitor, so every time i saw the led flash i pressed the button - passed the medical lol!

a mate got quite a nice payout for industrial deafness after 20 years as a pit fitter but now has to wear 2 hearing aids that feed back like crouton - he's on a waiting list atm to have bionic ear implants.

thought this would've been dismissed as another benny spam thread, but it's really surprised me how many people don't wear earplugs, and how those who do swear by them.

if you don't, you should at least give them a try tbh and see if it improves your riding comfort

[MJONESY]

i
we have all been there in the car trying to look out for a turning and told the missus/kids to shut up so you can concentrate same thing if you ask me.

if you havent tried them then do

Duct tape works well for this too.

a punch in the gob dont do a bad job either lol

[AMCQ46]

as for the dulling one of your less relevant (when riding) senses thing i personally think thats a good thing, to my mind if 30% of your concentration is taken up by wind noise then that only leaves 70% to split between your sight and feel and other senses. wearing earplugs the noise is reduced so you have more concentration on sight and feel,

+1................fully agree with this, it takes down the background noise and allows you to focus on the other factors which your brain should be processing to ride safely. Your brain will try and process the wind noise for any important details, even if you dont want it to, so removing that distraction will improve your riding.

You can still hear the engine, sirens, horns and people talking, but the level is brought down, so its not as though you have eliminated one of your senses, just helped make the important noises more obvious above the background.

For riding I use the foam types, and they are a good compromise between reducing the background and letting you hear the engine etc. I did try some wax ones from Boots that are great for sleeping on noisy flights, but they are so good that i cant hear the engine on the bike and although it was great on long m-way stints, once I get on the back roads, I found I wasnt in tune with the bike without hearing what the engine was doing!!

[Buckers]

I have tinnitus caused by riding bikes without plugs.

I wouldn't wish it on anyone and there's no cure (currently) or way of effectively reducing it. If you ever ride over 50mph for more than 5 minutes, then I advise you get some.

The tests I had showed I'd lost a lot of top range hearing as well which the consultant said was typical of bike usage. I work in an office so its only the bike that could have done the damage

They seem odd at first but now I can only ride well with them in.

As for concentration - Valentino Rossi wears em so I think nuff said