The Ear-Protection Thread...

[gsferrari]

Although I've started a thread on this topic, I'm here because I need help.

Does anyone know where I can get 3M earplugs in Mumbai (specifically Bandra/Chembur/Thane areas). My ears are buzzing badly now that I've run out of stock and I've been riding around for a few days without the plugs. Painful!

How many of you use ear-protection...how many of you are even aware of the need to use ear-protection while riding a motorcycle?

For those of you who DO use ear-protection - name your preferred method.

For those of you who don't - use this thread to get started and discover fatigue free motoring

[Aryan]

Topic Moved to Universal Thread and Approved.

Good topic of discussion this, GS sir. I am sure many of us are actually looking for something for the protection of our ears during long, fast rides.

Will be keeping an eye on this thread, and the solutions people provide.

[Lost Soul]

ear protection ?? i thought helmet is enough to protect them .

[inder.cool]

Nice topic of discussion..

Till now i havn't been using anything..but i guess will have to start using one now..

[Praful]

Although I've started a thread on this topic, I'm here because I need help.

Does anyone know where I can get 3M earplugs in Mumbai (specifically Bandra/Chembur/Thane areas). My ears are buzzing badly now that I've run out of stock and I've been riding around for a few days without the plugs. Painful!

How many of you use ear-protection...how many of you are even aware of the need to use ear-protection while riding a motorcycle?

For those of you who DO use ear-protection - name your preferred method.

For those of you who don't - use this thread to get started and discover fatigue free motoring

I was using the ear plugs that you get on shop floors of heavy engineering factories. Very effective in keeping in reducing wind noise!

But I lost my pair just in about 2 rides, haven't been able to get one after that!

Im sure all this high speed wind noise has made me deafer by a bit...

GS, would'nt a in ear headphone be as good?

[rossiter]

I was using the ear plugs that you get on shop floors of heavy engineering factories. Very effective in keeping in reducing wind noise!

GS, would'nt a in ear headphone be as good?

LOL.. was just talking about GS about that. I use an in ear earphones when I ride, but there is a big drawback because when something (like your arm etc) touches the wire of the earphones, you get the contact sound delivered right into your ear drum. Not good at all over a 14-15 hour riding day.. trust me on that.

You have a brand name for that ear plugs you posted about?

[Aparajith]

I tend to feel sleepy after a good 2 - 3 hours of riding on the GQ/hiways! So I use an iPod with my in-ear SONY MDR-NC22 Noise - cancelling headphones with noise-canceling switched on most of the times.

[gsferrari]

Ok First up...nothing beats a good pair of foam ear-plugs. Preferably the ones 3M or Hearos makes. I found this place in Mumbai (Masjid Bunder) that sells them in bulk and I've requested 10 pairs as sample:

Manufacturers Of Industrial Hand Gloves, Stockiest Of Industrial Safety Equipments, Asbestos Products, Boiler Suit, Asbestos Blankets, Leg Guard, Mumbai, India

Once I try them out I'll provide feedback here. If they work for me - I'm getting 250 pairs and splitting them with my riding buddies.



NOW...

Why use ear protection?

If you ride fast enough and if the conditions are windy you will hear a LOUD whooshing sound through the helmet. Some helmets are louder than others but they all have one thing in common - wind noise. This noise can be tolerated for short rides but on long rides it becomes a major issue. Constant loud noises cause rider fatigue, concentration lapses and even Tinnitus in the long term.

Tinnitus is a constant ringing sound in your ears even in a quiet environment. In severe cases it can become very irritating, painful and impact your quality of life.

There are many ways to block out these noises:
- Foam earplugs
- IEMs (In-Ear monitors)
- Noise-Canceling headsets

for motorcycles though...the IEMs and Foam earplugs are the best options. Try riding with ear-protection and you will simply NOT want to go back to riding without. So much easier to concentrate on what the bike is doing. You can still hear other vehicles/horns so there is no safety concern. The MSFT (motorcycle safety foundation) in the USA recommends riding with ear-plugs.


I hope this gets the youngsters to pay attention to the perishable organs in their bodies...the ears. Unfortunately it is all to easy to ruin your hearing and premature deafness is a very challenging condition as you get into your 50s and 60s. I don't want to be in that situation...

[prajwalkashyap]

You have a brand name for that ear plugs you posted about?

I think you get those on SP Road. Dunno when I am going there next. But will check out when I do go there.

Prajwal

[Praful]

LOL.. was just talking about GS about that. I use an in ear earphones when I ride, but there is a big drawback because when something (like your arm etc) touches the wire of the earphones, you get the contact sound delivered right into your ear drum. Not good at all over a 14-15 hour riding day.. trust me on that.

You have a brand name for that ear plugs you posted about?

Exactly my reason for not using any form of earphones while riding. Its a real PITA when one of the wires get tugged at accidentally.

I dont remember the brand, it was some standard issue stuff given to people working in the L&T heavy engineering division. I got it from a friend working there.

I would be interested in know what all brands are available and where can we get em?

Once I try them out I'll provide feedback here. If they work for me - I'm getting 250 pairs and splitting them with my riding buddies.

Thats great news. I think a ride is cooking up to collect em...

[rossiter]

Just to add a point, if you have a helmet which keeps out the wind-noise to a large extent, that in itself is a huge reduction in the risk towards some permanent damage. The Arai and luckily the GP One that I have are good at keeping the wind noise out.

@Apar: Now that your R15 is spruced up by Joel, I would imagine you would get to your destination a lot more faster, so why would you be sleepy?

@gsferrari: Youngsters?!

[Aparajith]

Am not sure of the tugging part on ear-phones. I normally place the iPod inside my jacket and the cord goes all the way inside the helmet. With sufficient slack, I have not faced this issue. If u do want to remove the helmet, then it may be mis-aligned.

Am not sure of the wind noise protection in the GPR's/AGV's. But I sure feel a lot of noise without headphones!

@Apar: Now that your R15 is spruced up by Joel, I would imagine you would get to your destination a lot more faster, so why would you be sleepy?

He he he yeah, and he's made it a lot more louder too now!

@Gs: Yeah, youngsters?

[gsferrari]

I was using the ear plugs that you get on shop floors of heavy engineering factories. Very effective in keeping in reducing wind noise!

Those are the best ones actually. They even have those little strings on the end to make it easier to get them out.

Im sure all this high speed wind noise has made me deafer by a bit...

You will be surprised how quickly wind-noise can affect your hearing. There are bikers who have only 30% useful hearing left after just 5 years of riding without a helmet. Of course these numbers depend on your age to begin with...younger riders having more tolerance. But the results aren't pretty...

GS, would'nt a in ear headphone be as good?

Well...they are an improvement over using nothing at all but I don't like the idea of listening to music or using a mobile phone while riding. I do it sometimes on those long GQ rides but I find my concentration starting to drift and then it is back to good 'ol foamies for me

Also IEMs don't offer as much noise protection as the foam plugs do. Even 1dB difference in protection can be felt after a 10 hour ride.

LOL.. was just talking about GS about that. I use an in ear earphones when I ride, but there is a big drawback because when something (like your arm etc) touches the wire of the earphones, you get the contact sound delivered right into your ear drum. Not good at all over a 14-15 hour riding day.. trust me on that.

You have a brand name for that ear plugs you posted about?

That sound is called "occlusion" and it is a big problem with IEMs. You cannot run with them because you'll hear the sound of your feet. You cannot sleep on an aircraft if they touch any part of the aircraft including the seat or the wall panel because the entire noise of the aircraft will get conducted through your IEMs and into your ear. I still use them but I make sure my IEMs don't touch the seat head-rests.

The IEMs I like are the ones made by Shure and Etymotics. Haven't tried the more expensive ones. I've been using my Shure E2C for close to 7 years now and it is going great!

Once people try out IEMs and Foam-Plugs - they will simply forget regular headphones and riding without ear-protection.

If you are simply listening to music - since the IEMs block out most of the outside noise - you tend to listen at far lower volumes than you would otherwise have to. In a noisy environment you have to pump up the volume to get the music...to get the thump. Think about it - you now have LOUD music + a loud environment - how are your ears going to cope? IEMs reduce the stress on your ears in a BIG way.

[v_310]

have been using IEM's for almost 5 years now. Started off with Shure E3c, used it for a couple of years before it broke. Switched to a Sennheiser CX300 (crappy quality!), threw it. Then moved to Ultimate Ears super-fi EB (awesome, but again got damaged!) and now to a philips IEM (not sure about the model, it's pretty decent).

Definitely cuts out all the outside noise, keeps me less irritated in peak traffic and has kept my ears in good condition

[jd666]

if you guys have friends in the airlines, working in engineering, they can easily get you earplugs with a thread joining them. much more difficult to lose. and they are by 3M