Ear plugs/neck

[fireblake]

At times the wind racket on the local A roads and certainly motorways is horrendous , I think I would be much deaf'er if I had not used them for the last few years. Without them I would not hear much over the exhaust anyhow .
also reducing sensory overload is a safety issue . whatever works for you suppose!

What Bwizz says. I can still hear plenty but it just cuts down the ind noise which i find totally irritating at normal motorway speeds. Depends on lid i suppose, Arai's are just plain noisy but a Schuberth is suppossed to be a lot better?


Mickey

[manuel32]

David i cannot believe you do not wear ear plugs,, thats stupid,,if you hear the noise hat is,,without them its horrific, if they are not in properly then i cant carry on the ride.

[D4Delta]

Maybe I'm just going deaf with old age!    Will have to try them, but not yet convinced.


David.

[bwizz]

I'm a bit deaf but without them I'm sure I would be a lot deaf.
these plugs offer more sonic improvement than any helmet that i've ever tried , for less than a quid a pair !

[chawksta]

re ear plugs
not too sure but read an article in MCN some time back that police motorcyclists were trying to sue their employers as they had not been provided with ear plugs and now were suffering from tinitius as well as going deaf?
you can get up to 90 decebels in a helmet depending on the velocity you are traveling and that is bloody LOUD.
so I say wear the plugs all the time
:rolleyes

[SteveH41]

Dont forget that ear plugs are also rated to what db level they block the sound so you can pretty much fine tune how much you personally want to hear on your bike. At the moment I am using the oxford flo yellow ear plugs, 39db I think,not cheap but fit nice and block the right amount of noise.Can still hear the engine and the cagers but critically isolates the high pitch and damaging wind noise of riding. I cannot ride now without having them in, bike sounds like a tractor if I do. Someone also mentioned about the sensory deprivation aspect, it makes you look around more and use your mirrors.

[bwizz]

What i was refering to was, (In my case) sensory overload!  Basically the combination of the needing more concentration with increasing speed, , Can't do anything about your" speed induced" reduced periferal vision, So reducing the proportionally increasing racket has to be a good thing.
Earplugs extend the point where  my brain throws in the towel on the sensory loosing battle.

[Grahamm]

Never used ear plugs on a bike. Are they safe? Always thought it was important to use your ears as well as eyes when riding.

You can still use your ears when you're riding, all the plugs do is reduce the noise level by around 30db for a decent set, they don't block out sound entirely.

Given that a loud noise (over 85db or so) for an extended period can cause hearing damage and wind-blast around your helmet can get up to about 115db or more, a decent set of plugs is a really good idea.

Here's a good article on the subject.