No. I found for me I felt less in control with headphones in.

 

What he said mega bulk,

 

I sometimes ride with earphones. I'll keep the music at a low level where it is more of just background music. I can still hear my surroundings. Never had a problem with it.

 

I only use headphones if i'm getting straight on the highway to go out of town. If i'm on the interstate i feel like it's ok and i can more easily keep track of what's around me. If i'm riding in town i feel it's too distracting and i might miss something i need to hear. Too many idiots out there who don't observe you: it's always best if you can observe them first.
Ride Safe!

 

I wear a crappy pair of wally world specials on long rides. They only give a moderate amount of background noise as compared to my exhaust, which I like loud for various reasons. I found that on longer rides the constant exhaust tone makes me zone out more than music does and I can still hear my bike, the wind, other cars, etc... However, I completely agree that make sure it matches how and where you are riding, I have gotten much too aggressive by mistake if I am listening to fast angry music. Seems to me there are definitely safe ways to do it but isn't for everyone.

 

Sometimes I will use them, sometimes not. If i do use them, they are kept down at a volume to just be in the background. I still want to know what is going on around me. The beat of the music can definitely influence your riding style...so keep that in mind with your playlists.

 

I tried out the semi-in-ear iphone headphones that came with my iphone 5 this last weekend. As soon as I put my helmet on, the lower cheek pad pops them out of my ears. They would be perfect since you can pause/play/change volume/say commands via the button on the cord, IF they would stay in my ears...

 

+1 over here. I always use my headphones going to work. I travel about 20 miles on the interstate and there is just to much wind noise and my exhaust just makes me wanna go to sleep.

I have a shorty exhaust that I love but in the city its pretty awesome changing gears but on the interstate your at a constant rpm which makes the exhausts tone not change at all. Although I wont swap it out because it helps in alot of ways. I take off at 6:30am and its still pretty dark, but with my exhaust I can see people turning to look at me in the interstate instead of falling asleep and possibly hitting me.

If its in the city I will just use one side but for interstate I'll use both. I would always get **** from my friends about the headphones, but I dont feel that I'm not safe with them on.

 

Pretty much all the time. I actually find myself "zoning out" of the music when needed(heavy traffic, techical roads, etc). I've even "listened" to several tracks and dont even recall hearing them. For me, tunes in my helmet are pretty much just background noise for mood enhancement. Its not like I'm rocking out or concentrating on it like at home or in a car. I hear horns, sirens, skidding tires and the likes with no problem.

If you're able to do this, I dont see a problem personally.

EDIT- The only caveat I guess I should add though is that I am slightly concerned about hearing quality/loss down the road. But from what I understand, thats a risk we all take as riders, tunes or not.

 

I almost always ride with 1 headphone in. I only wear one so I can hear traffic around me. I never have my music on loud enough to disrupt my riding, it's really just there so I have something to sing along to at stop lights and what not. I also hate hearing other people's music so it helps block theirs out.