Do you wear earplugs?

Went for a blast out yesterday wearing earplugs and decided again that I don't like how quiet things are.
I can just about hear the Versys exhaust and I mean only just a very faint sound.

I don't like how vulnerable it makes me feel, the wind noise disappeared though and that was a welcome relief but just not worth it for me.
I thought about cutting the plugs in half to let more noise in but keep the wind out.
May try this later.
 
I've ditched the mighty plugs and gone back to foam. For short rides they are fine, and definitely more comfy, but on a longer ride they eventually break the seal, which means nearly all the noise comes through again.
 
Sagalout said:
I've just received a pack of these to try:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003G5W3KG

It basically feels a bit like blue tack or plasticine. Feels hard at first then you roll it around and it goes soft and pliable to put into the ear. Haven't tried them on the bike yet, but a trial fitting in the house suggested they are pretty good!
Click to expand...

They look about half the length of normal ear plugs, is that just a misleading pic?
 
Sandycheeks said:
Went for a blast out yesterday wearing earplugs and decided again that I don't like how quiet things are.
I can just about hear the Versys exhaust and I mean only just a very faint sound.

I don't like how vulnerable it makes me feel, the wind noise disappeared though and that was a welcome relief but just not worth it for me.
I thought about cutting the plugs in half to let more noise in but keep the wind out.
May try this later.
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need a louder exhaust ;)
 
Sandycheeks said:
Went for a blast out yesterday wearing earplugs and decided again that I don't like how quiet things are.
I can just about hear the Versys exhaust and I mean only just a very faint sound.

I don't like how vulnerable it makes me feel, the wind noise disappeared though and that was a welcome relief but just not worth it for me.
I thought about cutting the plugs in half to let more noise in but keep the wind out.
May try this later.
Click to expand...


Just to say the earplugs I used are the laser lites, I borrowed them from work as we have a great big box of them.
My dislike of earplugs is such that I will not be wearing these even though they're free.
 
I'm a convert, bought the sample pack from Amazon and the moldex contour small fit great for me. I must have small ear canals as I've always struggled getting ones that fitted but these are great.
 
Dogbreath said:
They look about half the length of normal ear plugs, is that just a misleading pic?
Click to expand...

Yeah, kind of. They are a bit like plasticine or putty, so you actually mould them until they go soft and then push into your ear. When sealed they are great, but as there's no foam pushing out wards, eventually the seal breaks :(
 
After trying all the ear plugs in my posts above, I've settled on Moldex Spark Plugs 7800.

They're the only ones I found that don't become impossible to compress for more than a few seconds after a few uses. They're also soft and comfortable enough to sleep in.
 
I've used PlugFones a fair bit recently during 20+ hours of my DAS. Really comfy, great noise reduction and even can't fault the audio for the money (£12).

Plugfones---Yellow.jpg


(I pull my neck tube over them and they've never budged)
 
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Sagalout said:
I've just received a pack of these to try:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003G5W3KG

It basically feels a bit like blue tack or plasticine. Feels hard at first then you roll it around and it goes soft and pliable to put into the ear. Haven't tried them on the bike yet, but a trial fitting in the house suggested they are pretty good!
Click to expand...

I use them for camping when I want a good nights sleep. Can get similar in boots 3 pairs for about £5 and they seem to last a few nights. But yeah wouldn't want to use them on a bike, would fall out. Also if it's raining when you go to put them in then they won't stick.
 
Yeah, for sleeping I can imagine they are great, as they would be a lot more comfortable than foam when resting your head on a pillow.

I tried them on the bike as they were marketing them on ADV Rider as the best motorcycle plugs you can buy. Ah well, worth a try!
 
To every one not currently using ear plugs I can only offer advice and suggest you start using them.
Wind noise inside a helmet can easily exceed 105db and just 5 minutes of this can permanently damage your hearing! (any one suffering from tinnitus like me can vouch for how annoying it is)

"Internet hero rant over :)"

I've used a lot of different ear plugs over the years, many of the ones listed.
For work I always fall back on my Peltor ear muffs.

For motorbike riding I found foam plugs annoying to use,they would often pop out when putting my helmet on and they didnt give a great deal of protection from noise.

I'm now using these and they are by far the best in ear style plug i've used.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUSTOM-MO...UCH-SPATULA-/151387218575?hash=item233f61a28f

Extremely comfortable, very efficient at cutting down noise levels and if looked after will last for years.
Admittedly they do take a bit of getting used to getting them in and out but they are worth the effort.

Comparing these to the "professional" ones you often see at motorbike shows at nearly £100 (which I also have a pair of courtesy of work) they are just as good (as long as you take care when moulding them)

for under a tenner its worth getting a couple of packs in case you mess up, though you should easily get 2 pairs of plugs out of 1 pack.
 
Unless it's a 5 minute ride at 30mph max, I cant ride without earplugs now - I'm not sure if its my helmet, but everything just seems so much louder without earplugs!! It's almost as if the helmet is amplifying everything. Or maybe I'm so used to the noise level with earplugs in, that without them seems faaar too loud.
 
I rode without plugs yesterday. Didn't anticipate going through the Rotherhite tunnel... Bloody awful, sat at 20mph max all the way through and the exhaust noise was actually painful by the end!
 
With tunnels I find going slower is a lot louder then going quickly. Probably due to resonant frequencies or some other guff.
 
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