Why don't you guys just use cotton instead of ear plugs. I use it on a long ride otherwise I too get pain in my left ear.

I have not been exposed to any of the above that you have mentionned. I have almost never used headphones in my entire life to listen to music. I tried, I did not like it. I have been to 9 music concerts in my entire life, and each time I have stuffed my ears with quality ear plugs.

My father after 38 years of biking lost quite a bit of his hearing. He never knew what a headphone looked like. And he had no idea of a rock concert!!! Yes, part of his work environment was quite noisy. But for that, he was given hearing protection equipment (of what was available those days).

Let me tell you something... some after-market exhaust sellers like Akrapovic and two brothers add ear-plugs as part of standard accessories when they sell their exhaust systems. There must be a reason to do that.

I see. Well, if you feel like helmet's been causing it, I think it must be so.

Although, I've had just 25,000 kms in helmet, I'll still get some earplugs right away, for the future. I hope the common Ajmer chemist keeps them.

Guys, I have 2 updates on this matter:

1. None of the 7-8 chemists I enquired have anything remotely close to "earplugs". Thank you Ajmer! Had to get some cotton instead of earplugs.


2. Many times, I go down a specific downwards slope in Ajmer, and I go to neutral & switch off the engine thru the engine kill switch there. Each and every time, I noticed that some "whoooooosh" kind of sound was coming from the Vega Boolean helmet I was wearing. In fact, this was as low as 30 kmph!

So, point of the matter is that yes, there is definitely some wind-noise problem in some helmets, from as low as 20-30 kmph. I can't imagine what that does to our ears at 80 or 100 kmph.

You guys can go and try it. And do wear earplugs/ cotton... The topic's claim is a total fact.

1. this study is not saying anything new that a veteran biker wouldn't know of. All it says is that some helmets can be really noisy and excessive noise is not good for your hearing. Its just that we say it like "Don't buy/use a helmet which has poorly designed air-vents or you wont be able to hear a thing."

2.One research does not prove/mean anything, especially in this day and age of evidence based medicine. If its were true than eating a lot of butter makes your arteries smooth and well lubed!

3. Also there are a lot of parameters affecting such kind of study which makes all the difference in the world. Like did they have control group in this study? was it no helmet or better helmet or helmet without air-vents or something else? and how did it fare compared to the test group? why did they do it on dummy? did the helmets fit snugly on the dummy? So many question are left unanswered!

I am a doctor and I have experience in reading this kind of stuff. Personally I feel that this study is done with a very preliminary setup with lax parameters which some how managed to obtain statistically significant results. And a real statistician know that stats are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.
Read between the lines people!

Somebody suggested listening to music on ear/headphones while riding somewhere in this thread. Personally and scientifically that has been a known to cause accidents in bike riders, street walkers and even motorist. And this thing has been proven by multiple studies conducted by Emergency response workers and doctors across many countries.

Vega Boolean is really notorious for its high wind noise. Both of us should really change our helmets ASAP . These days I have started wearing my in-ear earphones *without* music when riding the bike. Really helps a lot. But still that is not a substitute for changing that noisy helmet.

Precisely the point. It's like trying to state that 100% of people who drink water die!
They have given results of the survey with no other evidence to compare it with

helmet

you never gonna become deff

I am in complete agreement with cicatrix here. Let me elaborate.

I have been riding bikes for more than 20 years now and have always ridden with helmets. First was a Vega (forget the model) then two CROSS ones.

My experience shows that there is one critical factor about wind roar - how close-fitting is the helmet. If the helmet is fitting the head as designed - a very snug but not tight fit - then wind roar is minimum even with the visor raised. But if the helmet is loose, then oncoming air rushed into the gaps, creates turbulence thru the visor if it is up and under the chin bar at all times, enters the helmet and reduces audio acuity of the surroundings.

Fighter pilots wear helmets for a variety of reasons. Other than providing space for the radio earphone cups and padding the head against hitting the sides of the cockpit during hard manoeuvrings, one function is to reduce the omnipresent roar and whine of the jet engine behind the seat.

One personal experience which debunks this incomplete, inadequate and IMO, idiotic study. At times, very seldom, I have to ride in town without my helmet - I have dismantled its innards for a thorough wash. The din of traffic - horns honking esp those jalwa horrors, engines screeching - is mind-numbing and by the time I get home, I am fatigued, irritable and plain and simple pissed-off. Contrast that to when I have my helmet on - I arrive fresh with just a bit of perspiration around the skull. This proves that contrary to helmets causing hearing loss, they actually aid in preserving hearing health. Even if the helmet is poorly designed and windy, it will still prevent the crazy traffic noises from entering the ear.

For those in the habit of wearing in-ear headphones, please wake up. There have been cases of people being run over by trains just because they were crossing a railway line with headphones on and were not able to hear even the huge volume of the train's horn. Yes, wearing these inside the helmet WITHOUT music will provide an added layer of noise insulation and can be tried out ONLY if it does not filter out the ambient sounds completely - these sounds, in a reasonable volume, help in orientating one to the surrounding environment.

^^^^ That is exactly the point, even if you are going to become deaf, there is no point in making yourself deaf by using earphones/earplugs to create artificial deafness on the road. When riding, you need all your senses to be alert including your hearing. You do not want to be ignoring the honking of bigger vehicles behind you on the highway because they get tired of honking, they will run you over and probably even get away with it.

I do not believe this research at all ... But this may be true for those who spend their time 24*7 on Motorcycle...

I think in one of the threads for Long distance riding it is clearly mentioned to use Cotton Buds to plug the ears, which I think is a good idea for those who don't like music too much or outright hate it.

All that was stated before this research.

For those who are still wondering where to buy them from
1. Local Hardware shop
2. eBay!

This is what I use :-

eMahendra - 3M 1110 Ear Plugs

They are corded and hence a little easier to manage. One pair last a couple of rides, a tad lesser if its raining.

I use them whenever I ride on 4 lane highways. For single lane highways where speeds are always sub 100 Kmph I don't wear them.