Earplugs: putting on / keeping in

Message

Fast Eddy B · Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:06 am

acritzer wrote:I hate to sound like a idiot, but why do you guys where plugs? Highway noise?

Wind noise on highways. 70 mph to 90 mph for long enough adds up to a headache.

paul1149 · Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:41 am

Wind noise, yes. Also, they filter out the low tones of the engine, leaving only the whirring of the gears. Sounds like a smooth lear jet. Very cool sound. I love wearing the plugs.

p.

acritzer · Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:52 pm

Do you guys ride with face shields? And full face helmets? I don't really notice much noise if my shield is down.

paul1149 · #14 Unread post by **paul1149** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:16 pm

I have a modular helmet, Mossi; very nice for the price, but there is a fair amount of wind noise. I'd be interested in the name of a quiet helmet. (I really like modular but I understand the hinge bolt makes them quite unsafe)

Thanks,

p.

#15 Unread post by **Skier** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:49 pm

acritzer wrote:I hate to sound like a idiot, but why do you guys where plugs? Highway noise? I don't do much highway riding, but I've never felt like I needed ear protection.

acritzer wrote:Do you guys ride with face shields? And full face helmets? I don't really notice much noise if my shield is down.

Even with the quietest fullface out there, anything over 35 MPH or so for more than 15 minutes causes permanent hearing damage. Very slight, but it's there. Add up tons of hours of freeway riding without earplugs and you get lose hearing pretty quickly. It sneaks up on you, too.

Don't forget wearing earplugs reduces mental fatigue. This means more safe riding in a day, which is always a Good Thing.

High_Side · Wed Oct 17, 2007 3:05 pm

paul1149 wrote:I use compressible foam plugs. You have to roll them to compress them evenly. Then pull the ear upward with the opposing hand coming from over your head. It might help to hold that position a few seconds while the plug expands. You should hear the sound deaden as they retake their full shape. If in properly, helmet rub won't be an issue.

At -32db the plugs claim to be the best available. There is some very minor pressure when they're in, but the only time there's actual discomfort is when they haven't gone straight into the ear canal and instead are bunched up and crooked.

It took me some time to be able to put them in with regularity, but now it's pretty easy.

GB,
p.

More detail than I could bother with, but spot-on. Properly applied even the cheap plugs won't fall out. Even though I used them at work and while sleeping for the years that I worked shift, it took me a long time to catch on to using them while riding. Thanks to the buddy who convinced me of the benefits, I am nowhere near as fatigued at the end of the riding day.

acritzer · Wed Oct 17, 2007 11:39 pm

Well, shoot....being my overly cautious self...and a musician, you guys just added another step to my routine. Better safe than sorry of course, and since I already have a nice pair of ear plugs I might as well use them.

Tennif Shoe · Thu Oct 18, 2007 2:10 am

I wear them at work all of the time

Wordherder · Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:14 am

Wow, great discussion. I'd always figured the ear plugs were for bikes with loud pipes. But yeah, being in a band AND riding a motorcycle, well, y'all talked me into it. I think ear plugs are going to be standard equipment from here on in.

Paul1149, can you expand on your comment about the hinge bolts on modular helmets? I've never heard that before. I have a Nolan modular, seems really well-constructed to me.

paul1149 · Sun Oct 21, 2007 11:52 am

Yes, earplugs are really worth it, and not too much trouble. Wish I used them during my construction years.

About the modular helmets, I came across an opinion on the Web somewhere where the guy's friend had an accident that barely messed up his helmet but which almost totaled his skull at one of the temples. The guy came up with the theory that the hinge bolt that the jaw swings on transfers the impact force directly. He did some research and found that there are no modulars that have Snell approval, or that have even been submitted for same. Then he further found out that DOT approval is to a large extent self-regulating, with the DOT only checking helmets after the fact on a random basis.

So his theory is that the lack of padding at the hinge bolt causes impact to transfer directly to the skull, and that's why no manufacturer even bothers to submit a modular to Snell for certification.

I can't prove any of this, but it makes sense to me. That's too bad, because I really like the modular's convenience. I'm still using mine.

p.