That's 'cause you've never seen me get off a bike. I wear them every ride over 5 miles. Born w/ nerve deafness, then years of gunfire, power tools,and concerts (attending and playing) really took a toll. You don't have tinnitus yet? Good for you, I hope you never do...it's hell. Some people take their lives because the constant ringing drives them nuts. As far as my situation? Yeah, the damage is done, but I'd prefer if it doesn't get worse...so I plug up. As was said before, kills the wind noise, but I can still hear traffic and the voices outside of my head (the ones in my head I try to ignore anyway). Plus if you aren't being deafened by wind noise, you can every little thing on your bike, very handy when something is getting ready to go wrong.

 

Gosh Steve, I see it all the time .. an amazing number of bikers pop ear plugs in and out all the time especially on long rides ..do any research and its a serious problem, wind roar over time will ruin your hearing and give you tinnitus and yes I have a good helmet too and the plugs still make all the difference ... anyway Steve since you are probably deaf anyway I will repeat what I just said!!






WEAR EARPLUGS IF YOU DONT WANT YOUR HEARING TO SUFFER OVER A PERIOD OF TIME!!!!

 

Hearing damange is not all that funny. It builds up over time. First you get the ringing at times, and loss of extreme ranges of hearing. It builds and now I find I can hear most things, but if there are too many sounds they all muddy together and I can't understand what it was. I know there is noise, I know people are talking but I don't know what was said. It is really frustrating - meetings, phone calls, crowds - you can't hear and you get frustrated/angry because of it.

I was the only person wearing ear plugs locally for awhile - but I do see more now. Of my long distance friends, and the friends I meet up through the North Eastern states - most of us do wear ear plugs. It all depends on the circle, and honestly how "Cool" the group is. Most cool people don't. While I understand the image, and the funny "logic" about why they don't... I guess some people don't log the miles to damage their ears. Some people ride without helmets... so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

Nah, you just learned to lip read like a lot of half deaf people and just dont realise it *sticks out tongue*

Jules

 

http://www.hondahornet.co.uk/earplug.html

It's a fact that riding motorcycles can damage your hearing.
If you ride for any period of time without hearing protection you are putting yourself at risk, because as time goes by you will eventually suffer hearing damage.
This sort of damage can be anything from a ringing in the ears - Tinnitus, or total hearing loss. Hearing damage is irrepairable - it doesn't heal, it won't get better.


As motorcyclists we are subject to many different noises. Not just raffic and engine noise, but the rush of wind and the high pitch wail as it passes through the tiny gap in your visor or top vent.
Ever seen a dog react to a dog whistle?
They can hear it, it's too high pitched for us.
But some of the noise around and inside your helmet is similar in frequency to that.

^^^ Right there is your problem!!