Ear plugs or no ear plugs that is the question?

[greenthumb]

not sure if this has been mentioned, but something i recomend for those who dont find ear foam plugs comfortable.
i have a set of custom made plugs i use for work. theyre silicone and are made from a mold taken of my ear canal.

they cost me $75, which isnt cheap, but theyre very comfortable, super easy to put in, and when you buy them you have a who list of choises as far as how quiet you want them to be.

i have the quietest ones, which i find to be about the same as foamies, despite the doctor claims theyre quieter. they do seem to block sounds differently though. i can still easily carry on a conversation, but the sharp noise of my 1" impact gun is dulled down sustantially.


i have not tried them on the bike though, i listen to music, in fact i instsallled satelite radio on my bike

 

[Wh0M3]

Not sure if anyone thinks this counts, but I like to listen to my zune, and I have earbud headphones that are like earplugs. They cut down on the noise, and allow me to listen to my music at a low level, still able to hear some of the traffic noise around me too. I like to try to take care of my ears, I have worked in construction for a few years and I have a hard time hearing in certain situations because of working with power tools and no hearing protection. I've never actually tried to ride with ear plugs.

-PD

 

[dako81]

SilentEar, reuseable, work great, comfy, don't get in the way of helmet, carrying case...

Hadn't used plugs while riding really, then decided to try them. WOW, much better on the highway especially with scorps... They deaden out the right sounds, like exhaust drone, wind, etc. I can still hear other things, like transmission whine (not bad transmission whine), cars, people talking to me if they're not really quiet, can talk to myself and hear it on the highway etc...

I'd reccomend them. Try their trial pack that comes with the 3 different sizes.

 

[DrummerBoy83]

I pretty much have to wear them all the time. My ears start ringing even after a 5 minute ride around. The wind noise starts to get to me.

 

[lattin25]

I wear earplugs all day at work. (I'm surrounded by 8 guys grinding on parts so its hard not to wear them.) I can hear just fine with them in. I listen to music from my phone with them in. They take a lot of the higher pitched noise away. I can still hear lower tones and most high tones just fine. I leave them in when I head home.. I usually get a guy or two say "Hey!! You left your earplugs in!" as I'm walking to my bike.

On the road, I can hear the engine better. Much less wind noise. Hear other cars just fine. On short trips, like 5 miles, I wont bother but going to and from work (40 miles each way) its stupid not to wear them.

 

[jsw4178]

I agree 100%! My wife has her Doctorate in Audiology and she makes me wear my ear plugs if not she will:spank: me!

 

[fazerboy]

I agree 100%! My wife has her Doctorate in Audiology and she makes me wear my ear plugs if not she will:spank: me!

:rockon:dude were almost on the same level lol. yer thinking of ordering tcp seat cowl as well covers all the seat more than the Yam fac 1's . look better as well . mods 2 bros carbons , K N air filter . motrax signals (indicators) powerbronze black db screen, rear lamp change well bright recommend, head light lamps 30% brighter philips spectrum ultra blue light, sub cowl (blue), steble horn well worth it ( i may have spelt that wrong , look at treads ) rg crash bungs front and engine. thats it so far i think , could do with feed back bro on ur jucie box thinking of getting but not sure what it actually will do for me ( prob boost power at a guess without re mapping )i know it easy to fit and costs over here about £200.00
as for the ear plugs lol long rides any thing more than a street ride outs .

all bikers wish they were colour blind then we could keep on riding beyond the police lol . :rockon:

 

[DaFiz]

After 30 years of biking and electric guitars I now wear earplugs ALL the time on the bike. I use the sponge disposable ones... only I don't dispose them.
I wash and sterilize them and use them again.
Be sure NEVER to put dirty earplugs in your ears... ear infection is HELL

 

[dimitre977]

Yesterday I picked up a pair of custom fit Noise Brakers ear plugs. Went on a two hour ride last night and I was very impressed with these plugs. I had been using two different styles of the foam disposable ones. For me the new ear plugs were much more comfortable. I would always pull the foam ones out as I put on my helmet or once I got my helmet on it felt like they were being jammed into my ear drum.
The thing that impressed me the most was that with these in I could hold a conversation with my dad at a stop sign with both bikes running and he didn't have to yell for me to hear him. They seemed to block as much wind and engine noise as the foam ones also.

 

[Copes]

I can strongly recommend getting customized ear-plugs. Not only are they a lot more comfortable, the main feature is that they allow all sounds below a certain level in, an keeps those above the damaging level out.
I have been riding with the cheap foam plugs from the pharmacy, and in my opinion they block my hearing too much for me to feel safe in the traffic.
But these custom ones allow me to hear cars, pedestrian shouts, honks and, of course, the nice roar of the engine, without leaving the ringing at the end of the ride.

 

[fz6alain]

I use those yellow sponge disposable ear plugs that I get from work. Makes the ride way more enjoyable.

 

[aclayonb]

Took a set of headphones and pulled the rubber bits off. Added a set of hollow triple flange earplugs over top of em' so now I have hearing protection and can hear my audiobooks on my hour long commute - even at 80mph. Be careful to remove them with a finger before pulling your helmet off. It hurts.

Poor mans plugphones.

 

[fastar1]

I can't believe the number of people who don't wear ear plugs when riding! I wear them when I'm vacuuming the house, trimming my hair, riding the subway, at the movie theatre, or sleeping in a noisy hotel. I'd go bonkers without them.

And no, there is absolutely no safety risk from wearing them.

 

[sxty8goats]

I actually add to the noise by listening to music on trips. gotta love that rush of taking a curve perfectly while listening to your favorite song.

maybe one day I'll invest in a set of noise-reduction earbuds, and that will help.

Simmilar to jfreakman. I wear head phones with foam ear buds that are the same material as foam earplugs. It allows me to keep the music pretty low but still blocks wind noise. I adjust the volume so that I can hear my motor at idle. I figure that is as safe as not wearing them or simply wearing plugs. I can still enjoy the music but can also hear other noises like car horns and screeching tires.

 

[motojoe122]

Simmilar to jfreakman. I wear head phones with foam ear buds that are the same material as foam earplugs. It allows me to keep the music pretty low but still blocks wind noise. I adjust the volume so that I can hear my motor at idle. I figure that is as safe as not wearing them or simply wearing plugs. I can still enjoy the music but can also hear other noises like car horns and screeching tires.

I don't remember the brand, it might be the same as yours. It's the foam ear plugs with the speaker in it, I discovered that they work good over all. The music is a little tinny but does the job and cuts out most of the wind noise.

 

[Shawn]

I use some shure noise isoloating ear buds. I like the music and it cuts out a lot of the wind noise on a highway drive.

 

[tejkowskit]

I always use earplugs unless its just a short ride in town. These are my favorite ive worn so far. Howard Leight | Fusion Earplugs They last a long time, dont dislodge while donning my helmet (big obstacle for me when trying to find a good pair), and very comfortable even on extended rides.

Prolonged wind noise takes a toll on hearing. Definitely suffer hearing loss in the long run. There are plenty of studies and articles on this. They also help prevent fatiguing as rapidly on long rides. Before i started wearing ear plugs i would get off my bike after a long ride and my equilibrium would feel off. Not anymore.

 

[aclayonb]

I made these and they cancel noise and push sound really well (since they're real headphones). Most people have a set of these lying around anyway so the cost is really low to make your own.

I used a set of military grade triple-flange earplugs because we have millions at work:

Next, pull off the goofy cheap-o plastic tips from your Samsung headphones that came with your phone. Pull apart the triple flange plugs you scammed from the supply sergeant and press them into place. Voila, noise cancelling in-ear headphones that work under a motorcycle helmet (unless you have helmet speakers).

Ooooh.... side note. If you use the military grade, make sure you get the ones that have the hole all the way down the center. They're for operational use and are used to allow normal volume talking in hummers, etc. They become normal earplugs once on the headphone, with the exception of whatever outside sound the headphone housing transfers. You can open the housing on some headphones and give em' a shot of hot glue to add some sound deadening from the outside but it isn't really needed.

 

[Def]

I now have a set of custom made earplugs for myself. After several years of riding without, I now have a constant ringing in my ears all the time! Tinnitus I believe is what it is called. Probably too late for me but I would highly recommend earplugs at all times to save yourself the annoyance of constant ringing.

 

[Fazer'd]

I use Surefire EP4's and they work incredibly well. They have ports in them that you can open up. With the ports open it blocks most of the noise and harsh sounds but still lets me hear a little of whats going on around me. I can't ride without them anymore. Best purchase I've made related to my bike so far.

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Surefire-Sonic-Defender-1-Pair-Medium/dp/B004DH65RI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1375369650&sr=8-2&keywords=ep4]Amazon.com: Ear Pro By Surefire 4 Sonic Defender Ear Plugs (1-Pair) Black, Medium: Sports & Outdoors[/ame]