Of the 22 who responded, 18% wear no earplugs (one uses his AKG in-ear headphones for music, which will offer very little noise reduction yet need to be loud to be audible at speed).
Custom earplugs were popular with this sample set, riders commenting that the prices at shows were coming down, and that they can offer more comfort than foam plugs – one member has scar tissue in his ears that foam plugs press too hard against.
Whatever works best for you, hearing protection is essential for all but the slowest city commuters. I’ll leave you with Test Team member Dave Smith’s comment:
“I just wear disposable earplugs, but for the guys who don’t use anything; I genuinely have hearing damage caused by wind noise from bikes.
“A small ‘slot’ is missing from my audiogram in both ears that equates to the frequency of the wind noise. The decline in hearing is gradual and permanent, but the real kicker is that if you lose your hearing, you also lose the cognitive ability to understand sound in the affected frequencies.
“Despite now having a hearing aid, which does help, I still struggle with eff, ess, and shh speech sounds, so often miss-hear people.
“Wise up dudes, get some plugs in! Oh, and tinnitus is a bitch!”
read More: how to prevent tinnitus for motorcycle riders?
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