Ear plugs - who wears them ?

thedoc46

thedoc46

thedoc46

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I do, and have done so for the last 15-20 yrs. However i now suffer from tinnitus (but do pretty much ok with it, in that i dont notice it unless i'm thinking about it) , however one thing i really notice now that when i have ear plugs in, is a very exaggerated ver of tinnitus, or a better way to describe it is white hissing noise. I'm wondering who else hears it when they have their earplugs in... I know i've been focusing too much on it and there's always been something there before i ever realised i had tinnitus, but recently i'm almost finding it distracting when riding. Its loud enough to be heard, over the wind and engine noise, (Helmet is an Arai RX-GP7) not that it should make any difference.

Wondering if anyone has noticed the hissing sound with earplugs ? 45yr old male... who did listen to loud music in his youth (who didn't) but has done a pretty good job at protecting my hearing since learning that wind noise can damage your hearing !
 
99% of the time I am on the bike I will put plugs in, I never used to commuting through London on a 125 though.

I don't get hissing, but I do sometimes get distracted by the sound of breathing, heartbeat, clicks & clunks in my neck/shoulders - but that soon goes away as I speed up.
 
I wear ear plugs every time i'm on the bike. I don't really experience any hissing - although I find the muffled sound really focuses my mind on the road ahead (lack of aural distraction??)
 
I normally wear earplugs, the Laser Lite ones you can get about 100 for under £10. My commute isn't long, so not always, but definitely on a longer ride and definitely on the Hornet.

I think I have tinnitus - I say think because I do hear ringing in my ears when it's quiet, but it doesn't bother me at all. Some people go mad with tinnitus, so maybe I have it very slightly or maybe I'm just so used to it that is isn't an issue. Had it for as long as I can remember, since before biking.

The ringing is also exaggerated when I have earplugs in, not a hissing though.
 
Where i live, most people don't even bother with a helmet, so i get to look at their ears, and rarely do i see any of them with earplugs. Crazy thing is a lot are riding big loud V-Twin Harley cruisers, that rumble away at the lights.

I have an FZ/MT09, with stock exhaust, and its a fairly quiet bike, so the hissing / high pitch whine is another way to describe it, is really noticeable on that bike.. I also have a Ducati Scramber with Full Termignoni and its loud as hell ! (cops don't bother you over loud exhausts here) and that's loud enough to cancel out any hissing, that being said, its almost nauseating, if not in the right frame of mind.. So much so, that i've actually kept the FZ09 with a stock exhaust, as its a nice change to have the peace and quiet lol yep i'm getting old !!!!
 
99.9% of the time, the only time I won't is if I'm nipping down the road on max 30mph roads. 2-3 miles at 30mph isn't fast enough to generate decent wind noise. Any other time though, always.
 
All the time now, never used to but a combination of a **** off loud exhaust and some motorway makes me wear them.

Sounds great too as you hear just the engine and none of the other random noises bikes make :P

I sometimes get a strange hissing noise if I yawn with plugs in.
 
I always wear them, it sounds paradoxical but I can actually hear more important stuff with them in as my ears aren't being overwhelmed by wind noise. It's pretty normal to hear gentle rushing noises with ear plugs in if you are in a quiet environment, it's the sound of blood moving through veins close to your ears. I can hear my heart beat as well, which is one reason why I don't like wearing them to get to sleep.
 
I hear a lot better with them in too. They block out the wind noise almost completely but let me hear everything else at a reduced volume.
 
Used to wear plugs 100% of the time, then I bought some Shure SE215's and just played music through them. They cancelled out the same amount of noise, if not more with the foam tips.
 
agnes said:
Used to wear plugs 100% of the time, then I bought some Shure SE215's and just played music through them. They cancelled out the same amount of noise, if not more with the foam tips.
Click to expand...

Interesting. and does it not hurt the ears with a helmet pressing them in a bit ? I'm thinking about getting something similar, though preferably wireless, so that i can use Waze to warn me of any speed traps ahead !
 
Never used them in 30 years perhaps I should my hearing is fine I Think lol I bought a set for a recent mri scan thou :D

But saying that my first MotorHead gig was when I was at school :)
 
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