WARNING: The High Cost Of Riding Motorcycles On Your Hearing

Tinnitus is no joke. It's not enough to wear earplugs. You MUST wear them correctly and they must have a high enough rating to bring the noise level down to a safe range.

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[AntiParallali]

🌟EARPLUGS and STUDIES MENTIONED 🌟

STUDIES/RESOURCES

[CatalinPascaru]

0:18 "... and it's a topic I don't really *hear* a lot of people talking about"
I see what you did there 😂

[exodeus]

6:44 please don’t lick your earplugs. Horrible ear infections await you if doing that. Just read the directions on the box. Yes, you need to apply traction to the outer ear to help open the canal and the “rolled foam” plug should slide in easily. Then expand. But glad you made this video to help the masses. Seen so many people wearing them incorrectly.

[Hookmeister]

I went to a local hearing aid store and they made me custom filtered earplugs that fit deep in my ears for $105. They are wonderful for motorcycle rides.

[dbrockha]

I always wear hearing protection. It is the most common motorcycle injury.

[awesomedn]

A quick tip for putting the foam plugs in. Don’t squish them - roll them between two fingers to expel air out of the foam, then insert now much thinner plug into an ear channel. It’ll expand within 5-10 seconds giving a proper seal. You will never achieve the same result by trying to force a not fully “deflated” plug into the ear while pulling it with other hand.

Also, make sure to discard the plugs after a few rides. The foam is covered with a smooth layer of polymer that not only eases insertion, but also makes the foam harder (by not letting the air to escape the pores quickly). If you wear the same set of ear plugs - that layer wears away and you end up with much softer and thus louder foam

[Fonsie]

I´m using Alpine MotoSafe Pro. They dont block everything but especially those deep fluttering wind noises. But you still hear other people, sirens and horns. I like them a lot

[Lomv]

Hi Lali, I'm a retired machinist and a avid motorcyclist. Give the 3M 1100's a try - this is what I've worn for 42 year in a machine shop and still do when I go riding. I've tried the Blue Hearos that you showed. They are nice but my ear canal is too small for them so even after I get them in, they will work their way out of the ear canal. One of the most annoying things to happen after you start your ride is to have to pull over and re-seat your ear plugs. I've tried a lot of different ear plugs to get the right fit and I keep coming back to the 3M 1100's (these are cheep too you can get them for 25-27 dollars for 200 pair - Amazon). Also Vale is doing it right - I've taught Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) classes which include ear protection. What I find that works best for me is to clean out my ears before inserting the ear plugs. Like Vale I also wet my ear plugs before inserting them. I just don't stick them in and go, I put them in and hold my finger over the end of the ear plug until it expands... 15-30 seconds. Also the 3M 1100's are so inexpensive I just use them once and throw them away. Some people even wash them and use them again... in my experience washed one's just don't work like a fresh pair. Lastly stay away from Outrageously Loud Rock & Roll concerts - They'll make you go deaf way before riding a motorcycle will. <;-)

[mpreuss]

I use the Alpine MotoSafe Speed and love everything about them. As someone who has suffered from tinnitus without hearing loss since my pre-teen years I have to say that personally I have not found a better all around earplug. I love that they add a tool to the set to make sure that even if you do not properly pull your ear back, you still get a great seal. When using firearms I use my Decibullz custom molded and often time double up and use a full around the ear muffs, something that you really can't do in moto so no less than a full face helmet for me.

[philgman]

i'm just past 50 and have been going to metal and punk shows since i was a kid and Tinnitus is real. None of my bikes are loud and i wear a full face on long rides but a skully on short rides around town. i find that constant wind noise will cause temporary tinnitus. Glad to see you bring this up and i'd like to see more riders pay attention to this.

[elm-neo]

I used NoNoise for a year before realizing I was wearing them wrong. I used to angle them as the ear canals were angled, and the stems were always pressed against the inner part of my ear, and it used to hurt after an hour of riding. Some months back, I decided to test them further before moving to another brand and tried different ways of wearing them. Then I realised that I don't have to shove it hard into the ear canals, and I can insert them perpendicularly rather than at an angle. This cut off enough wind noise without completely drowning road noise and stopped the pain.

[nulla]

I like the Alpine hearing protection. Cheap, easy to use and work great

[richardjreidii]

One of the things that often isn’t mentioned is that hearing loss can be insidious. You don’t necessarily develop tinnitus. You just start to slowly lose your ability to hear a certain range of sounds.

Has someone who has lost most of his sense of smell due to an industrial accident, I can tell you that you never really appreciate your senses until they’re gone. (Nearly lost my vision in that same accident and was blind for several weeks while I was in the hospital and they had to perform multiple surgeries on my eyes)

When you consider that you can get two sets of three foam earplugs off of Amazon for 25 bucks it seems almost disrespectful to yourself to not use them.

[getnfocus]

I learned early on from factory work, the required hearing protection was a good thing. Don't ignore that. Also putting them in properly was a huge benefit and continue to use today when riding.
I do use a standard pair, and they do block a lot of noise, but I tend to ride where everything is out to get me. So, I'm always cautious.

[jordan]

I'm using 3M 1100 Ear Plugs, SNR 37dB for years and riding is even more enjoyable. I can hear my coms even with them.

[komalley]

I've been riding for 46 years, about 350k miles. My Dad rode and always told me to wear ear plugs. I have no hearing loss beyond what is normal for my age. (Also, wear sun screen.)

[GripEngineering]

MAX LITE, by Howard Leight (a Honeywell company).
NRR is 30. I've used these for nearly 20 years and I've found nothing better for motorcycle application.
They are a sealed, soft foam (roll, insert, hold for expansion), T-shaped to limit insertion, and inexpensive. These are green in color; the orange is for industrial use. The green allows enough sound to be safe for riding while eliminating all the bad.

I keep them in a small, flat, pill case and use them every ride. They are so comfortable I never think about them. The ride is so much more enjoyable and safer when you can focus on vehicular dynamics and traffic. Oh yeah, they'll save your hearing too, but that is actually secondary for me. I wear a helmet so I can have better vision at speed, not necessarily for crash protection. Similar logic.

[amaximus]

Excellent topic Lali. I have tinnitus. Caused from military service.
Therefore, I use hearing protection when riding and highly recommend it. Having an after market exhaust, and doing track days, hearing protection is a must in those situations.
There is a misconception between tinnitus and hearing loss. Correct, hearing loss does not always cause tinnitus, however, when you have tinnitus, and the more hearing loss the more you notice the ringing. Notice when its quiet, you will 1:28 have ringing? But when outside, the sounds of nature will mask the tinnitus. The more hearing loss the more you notice the ringing because its like turning down the volume. Although these are theories, they do make sence. 🤔
Glad you pointed out the different types of hearing protection. 😊

[stepjerot]

I started driving a motorcycle at 16 (am 65 now) always wore a helmet but never even thought about earplugs other than that they would keep the bugs out of my ears when one came in the helmet.
At 35 my hearing was tested one the job site and there was a small very specific range I couldn't hear anymore, I was convinced it had to do with the large machines I was operating and the noice of the big engines. But the man who tested me declared that that wasn't the case it was a sound range that was produced by the passing wind on the motor. From that time on I bought and always used ear protection! Stay save, please...

[shane]

I’ve had Tinnitus since I was 23 when I started my custom Sportster in a small garage & now I’m 57 years old. Its very mild, Im use to it now