Ear Defenders.

Author
Discussion

Bailey93

Original Poster:

524 posts

105 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
At what speed generally speaking do ear defenders become a must, motorway speeds, 70mph or higher?

I always wear them for long trips, ear defender in one ear and in ear head phone in the other for sat nav directions and swap each time I stop.. But I decided to wear them into work this morning only driving through town no more than 40mph and it felt incredibly disorientating I couldn't hear the usual cars in my blind spot etc.

Are they over kill at 40 and below

Michael_B

444 posts

99 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Every 5 years or so I buy a box of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Howard-Leight-MAX-1-Plugs...

I wear them all the time, even for the shortest rides. If your ears/hands are clean and you store them carefully, a pair will last a 10-15 outings, despite their being advertised as single-use, and a lot cheaper than those offered in chemists or supermarkets. I seem to remember that above 20mph engine noise ceases to be the main issue (although my 748R with straight-through Termignonis is not quiet!), it is wind noise that damages your ears.

I've used ear-plugs since my late 20s, on the advice of a 50 year old regular motorcyclist who hadn't, and was by then suffering quite acute hearing problems. As a loud snorer I also always carry a spare pair for any unfortunate person who has to share a room with me in a hotel/motel/hut/tent when on climbing trips. I am now 50 and still have good hearing!

EDIT: I used earplugs for all my years of commuting from Surrey to the West End and never felt the need to hear cars behind me (i) because as a bike you should be making sufficient progress as to be able to concentrate mostly on what is going on in front of you and (ii) regularly checking of mirrors plus frequent over-the-shoulder 'lifesaver' glances should be so instinctive that you don't need to hear everything that is going on. All that said, I don't like listening to music while riding as I find it breaks my concentration, and even with the above earplugs in, you can hear enough to be aware of your surroundings without feeling completely isolated.




Edited by Michael_B on Wednesday 27th July 07:59

Bailey93

Original Poster:

524 posts

105 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
I'm all for making progress don't get me wrong, if I fit I go through. But having say 20% of usual 100% hearing it was very disorientating to myself anyway. I've never worn them around town before, just from home to motorway on long trips.

I just need to get used to it

black-k1

11,887 posts

228 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Not an easy question to answer as it depends on many things including your make and model of helmet, the bike you are riding, the position of the screen (if you have an adjustable one), the position you sit in and so on. The noise from even the quietest helmet at 60mph on most bikes is greater than UK law would allow in an industrial environment without ear protection. As there will be no damage to your hearing for wearing ear plugs when they are not needed I would suggest that fitting them for every trip is by far the best solution.

RemaL

24,967 posts

233 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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As posted re lid and bike I wear them all the time

MarkRSi

5,782 posts

217 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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On my bike, 0 mph...

Bailey93

Original Poster:

524 posts

105 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
Regarding my sat nav solution, one in ear head phone and one ear defender swapped after every 150 miles or so, is this bad obviously the earphone isn't protecting as much as the defender

I assume a handle bar mounted sat nav would be the best investment for my hearing if that makes sense

powerstans

353 posts

196 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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I wear them all the time, except for the occasional 30 mph pootle into town, even then its only usually if they are in the other jacket.

Use of mirrors and life savers I find are the only way of knowing what's going on around me. I wouldn't want to be relying on my hearing and to be honest if you can hear the car behind you when you are wearing a helmet and travelling at over 20mph it must be aloud car.

Dakkon

7,826 posts

252 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Like Michael B says I wear similar sponge ear plugs for every trip

Nicky86

43 posts

119 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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I wear them all the time except a sub 40mph ride to the shops or whatever. With higher speeds I find the wind noise very tiring.

julian64

14,317 posts

253 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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I never wear them.

I'm completely happy that its affect on my hearing isn't significant, but its affect on my area perception is.

Long story short I need all the advantage I can get while motorcycling, and when the inevitable day comes when I'm lying in a hospital bed I don't want to have to think its because I intentionally dulled one of my senses

bogie

16,342 posts

271 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Wear them all the time the last 10 years, just part of normal routine when putting my gear on.

Didn't wear them for the first 25 years of riding loud bikes and a few years back was told of hearing loss, I should be wearing hearing aids now, so im looking after what I've got left

Perhaps when these new noise cancelling helmets hit the market and become common place we can forget about ear plugs.

I guess if you "only" did 30min journeys at sub 40mph with a standard exhaust it wouldn't be so bad when compared with say 2 hours per day each way at 70mph in a noisy helmet

Bailey93

Original Poster:

524 posts

105 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
julian64 said:
I never wear them.

I'm completely happy that its affect on my hearing isn't significant, but its affect on my area perception is.

Long story short I need all the advantage I can get while motorcycling, and when the inevitable day comes when I'm lying in a hospital bed I don't want to have to think its because I intentionally dulled one of my senses
This Is what I was getting at in the OP, I felt like I was riding in a bubble

OverSteery

3,586 posts

230 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
julian64 said:
I never wear them.

I'm completely happy that its affect on my hearing isn't significant, but its affect on my area perception is.

Long story short I need all the advantage I can get while motorcycling, and when the inevitable day comes when I'm lying in a hospital bed I don't want to have to think its because I intentionally dulled one of my senses
If you do long motorway journeys you will almost certainly damage your hearing. Look up tinnitus, not funny. Your attitude sounds like a heavy smoker being "completely happy" that he has never had lung cancer. The evidence of hearing damage is compelling.

I used to ride with foam plugs, but have been converted to Auritech, which are far less 'isolating' but still give protection.

julian64

14,317 posts

253 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
OverSteery said:
julian64 said:
I never wear them.

I'm completely happy that its affect on my hearing isn't significant, but its affect on my area perception is.

Long story short I need all the advantage I can get while motorcycling, and when the inevitable day comes when I'm lying in a hospital bed I don't want to have to think its because I intentionally dulled one of my senses
If you do long motorway journeys you will almost certainly damage your hearing. Look up tinnitus, not funny. Your attitude sounds like a heavy smoker being "completely happy" that he has never had lung cancer. The evidence of hearing damage is compelling.

I used to ride with foam plugs, but have been converted to Auritech, which are far less 'isolating' but still give protection.
Look up motorcycle accident, not funny.

I think you'll find my opinions on lung cancer and smoking would be a little different.

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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Ear plugs come in different flavours. Some are very heavy attenuation and only needed in the loudest environments. EAR classics are very good, but they give near total silence when in and may make people feel isolated from their surroundings. I like Laser Lites, I have to wear then in work occasionally, depending on which factory I'm in and where I go. Slightly less attenuating are the blue Christmans tree jobs, these are easy in and easy out and useful if you need to remove one to talk to someone. There are even some that are designed for use by bar staff in nightclubs, they retain speech intelligibility. The difference in attenuation between different types will not affect the hearing protection significantly, unless you are in a very noisy environment, but those that trim noise less will enable you to still hear what you wanyt to hear.

tl;dr
Try other brands until you find some that you like.

mgv8

1,631 posts

270 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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I did not like them at all, but got some customer ones and it was better. The first 5 rides I would only have them in for the faster parts. But now its not a problem and feel fine with them in. They do not cut out all sound but just keep out the wind sound and takes the edge of the rest. After getting used to them I did find after a long ride 6h+ I was feeling a lot better and more relaxed.

I did try about 5 diffrent ones before going for finding the ones that worked for me.

Mud_

2,924 posts

155 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
julian64 said:
I never wear them.

I'm completely happy that its affect on my hearing isn't significant, but its affect on my area perception is.

Long story short I need all the advantage I can get while motorcycling, and when the inevitable day comes when I'm lying in a hospital bed I don't want to have to think its because I intentionally dulled one of my senses
I think you'll catch flak for your opinion, but it might be a legitimate choice depending on what riding you do. Even just the difference choice of screen makes on my bike (including whether it's spaced up to avoid buffeting) is considerable. I get the impression my helmet (HJC FG-ST) may be one of the quieter ones.

Prof Prolapse

16,160 posts

189 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
quotequote all
You get disorientated wearing ear plugs, what are you a bat?

I do think at low speeds it's fairly quiet, but the bottom line is earplugs are proven to reduce hearing loss, and the noise from riding without them is proven to cause real perceivable damage.















Golgarth

380 posts

197 months

Wednesday 27th July 2016
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If you are totally blocking the noise buy better ear plugs, each one has a different amount of reduction, the idea is to remove the highs and lows, not remove all sound.