Ear plugs

tombraider2

tombraider2

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Who rides with them ? I do, can't with out on any bike. Today was a go with dry weather, I really put them bad boys deep. I couldn't really shift right, my sink was off ? Well after 50 miles and home I figured it was the ear plugs. I have to have some noise to ride.

Make sense ? Am I crazy ?
 
I dont think its the noise. If I set mine too deep at work it throws my equilibrium out of whack. Ears play a huge roll in all of that, and it's all interconnected with your sinuses.

Going way off topic. I get sinus infections every year due to a broken sinus cavity and I can always tell when I get it because of my ears, not nose...
 
I've ridden with the foam plugs for years, can't stand the high pitched mechanical clatter of a high revving Japanese engine. I'm also a serious audiophile and I see no sense damaging my hearing while on the bike so I couldn't enjoy my high grade music system. When I see guys with no helmet and no ear protection tooling down the road at 65 mph they are being very silly, even with a lower revving V-twin engine they will be suffering hearing damage long term. Sometimes you can't fix dumb. Wind noise by itself is very destructive.
 
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For me it depends on where I'm going or how long I'll be riding. I always have a few pairs of earplugs in my bike jacket pocket. 90% of the time I just use noise cancelling earphones and listen to music. I can still hear the bike through them but nowhere near as loud as without any protection.

Especially on a very long trip, the bass "drone" starts to dig into my skull from holding constant rpm/speed, so I absolutely have to have either the music or the plugs!
 
I love mighty plugs(moldable) you don't have to shove them deep in your ear to get them to stay but since I got a scala I rarely use the plugs but you are correct wind is terrible for your hearing
 
I always use the foam disposable type.
I can't stand the air noise which is especially bad on a naked bike.
I find I can relax more and my ears aren't ringing after a long ride.

Sent from my GT-I9300
 
I intend to wear them on almost every ride now, but I never did in my younger days, so it's not a habit. I usually forget to put them in. I'm not sure it's legal in IL, but I don't care. I have a scala rider G4 system. Sometimes I listen to music through that. I can hear it better with the earplugs.
 
BDazzler said:
I'm not sure it's legal in IL....
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Alas, that is true in many states which don't allow drivers (mainly car) to wear plugs or headphones. I suspect that most cops would not make a big deal of it on a m/c rider but technically it is a violation. I'll take the chance and throw myself on the mercy of the law if I was cited for it.
 
BDazzler said:
Sometimes I listen to music through that. I can hear it better with the earplugs.
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Good point Troy. Always use them with my Sena. Can hear music upto 150km/h and have a telephone conversation upto 120. Even with the plugs, the Graves full system and airbox chop let me know whether the bike is happy or not. Without the plugs , I'm exhausted after a day in the saddle. Brain feels like scrambled eggs and the hum lasts for days :-(
 
I took my first ride on a Cushman scooter back in 1951. I rode without earplugs till about 1998. Didn't give it much thought. By that time I had a 60% hearing loss in both ears. Hearing loss is absolutely debilitating. Not understand what others are saying leads to depression and isolation. Asking friends to repeat every las movoe or TV line is embarrassing to the hearing-impaired person and irritating to the one asked for the constant updating. I no longer ride around the block without them. Wearing the quietest full-face helmet on the planet will only delay the inevitable. I wish someone had gotten my attention on this matter 50 years ago. I will put on my pedagogue pants and address this issue every time a new thread comes up. Put the plugs in while you can still say, "I heard that".
 
I use the foam 33db ones, no problems with them. I do not hear music while riding so ear plugs are a must, the bikes are just too loud over longer times.
 
Home Depot

Dustin said:
Better to fight a ticket than go deaf :+2:
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I wear the orange on blue string plugs. I am wiped out after an hour on the freeway without them. Need to flush the 10 lbs of ear wax out once a month from shoving the d*m things in far enough to work.

Might try something else soon.

:thinking: :jaw drop::jaw drop::jaw drop:
 
Sactown2008 said:
I wear the orange on blue string plugs. I am wiped out after an hour on the freeway without them. Need to flush the 10 lbs of ear wax out once a month from shoving the d*m things in far enough to work.

Might try something else soon.

:thinking: :jaw drop::jaw drop::jaw drop:
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Go to a good hearing aid center and have custom molded plugs made for you. I did this years ago and liked them a lot plus I still use them for shooting guns.
Some years back I upgraded to the Challenger custom earplugs with speakers so I can listen to my I pod all day long. They send you a kit to make impressions of you ears for the plugs. Couple hundred bucks but well worth it.
 
I have a set under the seat in case I forget them when I leave home. I always wear them on long rides but usually don't bother around town. In the city I prefer to hear the cars around me as a safety precaution. On a naked they're a must on open roads.
 
My rides aren't as good if I don't wear hearing protection. Lots of wind noise and mechanical clatter that I don't need to be worrying about. Also, as I age, I notice my hearing is becoming less acute and I don't need to lose any more of it. Never noticed a "balance" issue with ear plugs.
 
Ive been riding for 30 yrs, and I never ride intentionaly without earplugs. I keep a pair stashed in my helmet lining and a backup pair in my luggage.
Hearing loss is silly since it is so easy to prevent.
 
I must give credit to stock exhausts because the little wind noise is all I get and this goes back to the sixties when I first started riding. I actually like the muted sounds from the stock pipe of my 2012 FZ1.

I was out today and a Ninja passed me screaming loud, I suppose that rider will suffer hearing loss when he is half my age. I would definitely wear ear protection on that bike or any thing with a decibel level above 80.
 
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