[ChrisLucey]

I'd like to start a new thread on a topic that was sandwiched into a discussion about what helmets people choose to wear.

I'll take the liberty of quoting Covert, who posted the following:

"I agree on earplug use- the laws that pertain to earplugs were written by people who have never even SAT on a motorcycle, and I hate to sound like Biker Rebel Guy, but that is a law I will break for the rest of my life. The damage caused by high-frequency wind noise is serious, cumulative, non-reversible, and, while it's not exactly "damage", wind noise also contributes to fatigue. You have to get the RIGHT earplugs- the attenuation should focus on the "bad" frequencies, not ALL frequencies. You should still hear cars, horns, sirens, your engine coming apart... "

Now, here am I, a newbie to riding any bike that goes more than 35 MPH (at least until I pick up my Burg 400 next weekend), so hearing damage from buffeting noise never quite occurred to me as a problem before. This is an unpleasant idea both to me and to my fellow-rider/husband, who already has less-than-perfect hearing thanks to Uncle Sam's toys that go BOOM.

Can we acquire hearing protection that cuts out the bad frequency noise but leaves the good frequency stuff still audible, as Covert suggests? That would seem to be the ideal. Will simple foam ear puffs do the job? What do all you wise folks use?

 

[Michael McMike]

Ask an Airline Employee

Hi,
if you check with an airline employee - they do have special earplugs. They are constructed to cut the high noise levels but you still can hear everything else.
But remember: If you just once won’t hear a car who is overtaking you and you are turning left --- think before what sense earplugs will make.

Actually, here in Germany we drive the AN650 on the Autobahn with high-speed (absolute max!) but I never have had any doubts about getting an ear-/hearing problem!?!?
Its a scooter, not an "open sound" Harley...

Regards

 

[Edwljoseph]

When I ride any of my bikes (scoots) around town as pure commuters, I wear my helmet (always) but I don't put in ear plugs. Traveling or "canyon carving" if such a thing exists in Ohio, I wear ear plugs if I'm not wearing the helmet with the heaphones.

With ear plugs, riding is far more comfortable. As an interesting note, with ear plugs, I ride faster because it is quieter.

Ear plugs do make a difference.

Eddie

 

[gruntled]

Must be fun on the Autobahn now. When I was there I had trouble getting my R25 BMW up to speed. ( This was in the late fifties & they still only had one side of each bridge or tunnel open.)
I still remember how funny we thought the signs were. Freifahrt, durchfahrt, einfahrt, ausfahrt, usv. Well you have to obey the signs so we stunk the place up.
I can't imagine what the noise problem he refers to is. If you have a helmet that covers your ears that should provide more than enough attenuation. Of course I long ago lost my high frequency hearing from flying & shooting. The good news is that the ringing is either gone or I no longer notice it.

 

[Holger]

I think, it´s the same, when you´re driving a car.
Driving a car with noise-protected cockpit to top speed will be more relaxing than driving a loud car. But in your "low noise car" you will allways be able to hear noises of the outer surrounding area, unlike to wearing ear plugs.
In the army, we had ear plugs, which afforded an absolute noise-reduction and -protection, but I would never wear them while driving my bike. :roll:

I´ve got installed an intercom in my full-faced helmet, which allows me to listen to radio ore music from my discman. But anyhow I am able to hear passing cars, sirens ore other noises arround me. It´s a great difference, if you cut your acoustic meatus from any noise by an ear plug, ore weare a good helmet ( even with headphones in it), which only absorbs the sound.

Regards
Holger

 

[ajwood]

this is the story of my day

After several successive days of touring, wearing foam earplugs makes my
ear canals chronically moist and itchy.
Q-Tips help get the moist ear wax out but my ears still ring because I think that
plugged up ears do damage too.

Left & right foam earplugs have to occasionally have to come out to explain
gas delivery problems, ordering food or checking into a room.

Good quality plugs are so expensive that I try to keep a clean pocket ready for them
to go into and out of while remembering which side went in my ears because
fingers have to be used to re-roll them to be re-inserted back into the ear.
How many of us wash our hands every time we roll foam plugs into our ears?

Before ascending into mountain passes, I try to remove the plugs altogether
because as a rider gains altitude, the plug wants to push itself out of the ear
as air pressure decreases. A telltale sign of this “mountaintop earplug self-extraction”
is a sense of hearing louder wind and engine noise while climbing.

If a rider pushes an earplug far back into the ear canal at the summit of a
mountain pass then descends down a mountain, earplugs get pushed by
rising external air pressure farther into the ear canal. A telltale sign of earplug
compression on descent is to notice a quieting of ambient noise. Much ear pain
is experienced on a quick mountain descent plus the rider might have to use finger nails
to grab at the end of the plug to get them out because the plug is now far into the canal
at lower altitudes.

Temporarily removing a tight fitting ear plug to ascend then descend a mountain
pass is much less painful at the end of a day of riding rather than leaving them in
all day.

The ear drum itself pays a painful price when ear plugs are left in too long because outside
air pressure is pushing and pulling on the entire plug while the small amount
of air between the inside of the plug and the ear drum expands and
contracts during constantly changing pressure change cycles.

If a rider does not initially notice a rise in road altitude but removes the plug at
a mountain summit, pain is avoided on descent.

Vail Colorado is an example of high altitude plug management where it is possible
to exit the westbound mountain tunnel (I-70) to get the plug out at a parking
lot immediately outside the west portal but traveling eastbound past the east portal requires
several miles of descent before a safe exit appears.

 

[migz123]

I have just about completely solved the wind noise problem with increasing the size of my windsheild. With that, wind noise is reduced by (my estimate) over 90%. There is no need to use earplugs, and you can hear all the noises around you just fine, even with a full-face helmet.

 

[ajwood]

hi to low look out below

With that full-face helmet, the rider only needs to clear their eustrachian tubes
when riding up and down hills.

I have sworn off chewing gum while riding because in an accident the gum
will go down any tube it will.

 

[BertvL]

Can we acquire hearing protection that cuts out the bad frequency noise but leaves the good frequency stuff still audible, as Covert suggests? That would seem to be the ideal. Will simple foam ear puffs do the job? What do all you wise folks use?

I use earplugs from alpine. These have acoustic filters that cut the high frequencies from wind noise.
The URL is http://www.alpine.nl/, unfortunately this site is only in Dutch. You could try to send an e-mail to them ([email protected]).

Alpine states that most helmets have a noise level above 80 dB (at 90 km/hr or 56 mi/hr). On the long term this can damage your hearing ability.

With the alpine earplugs, I still can hear the engine humming on my AN 650. Sometimes when I am waiting for traffic lights, I can even here the radio's of nearby cars.

 

[bmylan]

What !!! I can’t hear you..I have been riding motorcycles since I was 13, I am now 52 and still riding ( a Burgman 650 now). I have never used ear plugs and my hearing is still almost half-way good. If you want to use ear plugs go ahead, me I go for the slight loss of hearing and mild brain damage. :lol: :lol:

 

[mactd83]

i have been listening to loud music in my cars and home for the last 15 years usually at a level anywhere between 100db all the way to my last car show measured level of 157.3db! i may only be 26 but you would think over that amount of time my hearing would be really bad...i can still hear fine the only thing i notice is a slight ringing when its dead silent also known as tinninitus if i recall. by comparison i think the wind noise from a bike is realitively quiet. i use a full faced shoei helmet with the face shield usually open. not to be judgemental but i notice most people on this forum are over the age of 50, i really dont believe the wind noise is going to cause a devastating impact on your hearing unless u plan on riding a bike till your 100 meaning i think it will take longer for your hearing to go bad then the remaining lifetime you will be riding a bike.

 

[migz123]

...i really dont believe the wind noise is going to cause a devastating impact on your hearing unless u plan on riding a bike till your 100 meaning i think it will take longer for your hearing to go bad then the remaining lifetime you will be riding a bike.

That, my friend, is a false assumption that has been disproven by Science a million times :wink:

 

[donwas]

I just remove my hearing aids and have no problem.

 

[bmylan]

Da..........I forgot what I was going to say, must be the dame bramage. :roll: :roll:

 

[Michael McMike]

Hi folks,

the Suzuki Burgman AN650 has a wind shield, wich is much to small!

If you have noise problems because you are driving the originally Suzuki wind shield - why don´t you buy a bigger wind shield, like I did in Germany? Behind that bigger Wind shield you dont hava any probs with noise nor rain nor wind....

In Las Vegas is a small company. They are producing windshiels, not expensive!

The name of that company is:

Motorcycle Replacement Airshields
Motorcycle
Fairing Screens, Windshields & Accessories LLC
723 So. Casino Center Blvd.
Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
USA
phone: 775-315-3391 Aks for the guy from Germany - Marcel, he knows about the Bugman AN650

Best regrads
Mike