ear plugs

Message

D-Rider · #16 Post by **D-Rider** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:07 am

...... I can't hear you .............

Falcoholic · #17 Post by **Falcoholic** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:49 am

Can't ride any bike without em.

Never mind the Falco.

wouldn't leave home without them.

D-Rider · #18 Post by **D-Rider** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:20 am

TBH most of my riding is my 3 mile commute to work .... 50 mph max

If I go elsewhere longer and faster, I am quite likely to be wearing my noise cancelling headphones .... well, sometimes.

Aladinsaneuk · #19 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:48 am

iirc the damage to your hearing starts above 25mph .... and if it lasts longer than 10 minutes

(its not just the engine noise that causes the damage - its the wind as well...)

D-Rider · #20 Post by **D-Rider** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:55 am

Aladinsaneuk wrote:iirc the damage to your hearing starts above 25mph .... and if it lasts longer than 10 minutes

(its not just the engine noise that causes the damage - its the wind as well...)

..... doesn't take me 10 mins to get to work - I ride a Falco, you know

#21 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:43 am

I've probably done just about everything I shouldn't have to my ears.

I rode bikes for over 20 years (350 LCs and the like) before discovering earplugs.

I worked for over 10 years in a Computer room with very high ambient noise levels (air con, computer fans etc.)

I went to gigs at least once a week for about 20 years and around 10-15 years ago attended dance music events that I'd leave with my ears ringing for hours...

A few years ago I went to the local hospital and had my ears checked, as I was experiencing discomfort at gigs at volume levels I'd never had a problem with before.

I was checked out and told that I have 'advanced hearing loss'. This means that I've irreparably lost hearing in the higher frequencies above 7khz. Young people can hear above 15khz and up to 20khz if they have particularly good hearing. Conversations in crowded rooms (i.e. pubs) are now difficult and my hearing of soft, quiet sounds is far worse than before. And it's only going to get worse.

So if you don't wear earplugs on your bike you are doing irreparable damage to your hearing. Basically you're a mug if you don't use earplugs every time you ride your bike. Sorry - but that's just how it is.

Firestarter · #22 Post by **Firestarter** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 12:28 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:its not just the engine noise that causes the damage - its the wind as well...

+1 on that - the engine noise doesn't bother me, it's the wind noise that bugs me. I really notice on the odd occasion that I don't wear plugs (which is very rare). Made noticably worse if riding with the visor cracked open, there's a signficant reduction in noise when it's properly closed

I use the generic orange plugs that seem to be on the counter in every bike shop, seem to work well for me. Have tried others - the rainbow-coloured "bullet" ones work OK, had some green ones (can't remember what make) that were abysmal, couldn't get them seated in my ears correctly. Usually use them for about a week (bit of a clean each time) then bin them

Some have better noise-reducingproperties than others, but all that's irrelevant if they're not seated properly - that's why custom-moulds are so good, they fit your ear properly rather than having to expand to "fill the gap"

The pulling-your-ear trick works - although it's not your ear-lobe (the dangly bit at the bottom), it's the curved bit at the top of your ear you need (as sidestand explained), helps to open up the ear canal to allow the plug to move in, instead of getting stuck & bunching at the outside of the ear canal

HowardQ · #23 Post by **HowardQ** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:39 pm

Mango, that's strange! I can mirror a helluva lot of your experiences, (perhaps it's the Sheffield link ??), although I spent longer in computer rooms, lots of time in nightclubs and also worked next to electric arc furnaces and other noisey steelworks environments.
The results have been identical and my hearting is now damaged, in noisey offices or pubs, I might as well be deaf as all I hear is mumbling.
Like you, I now always wear earplugs as I don't want to lose the hearing I have left, hampered by the fact that age also plays a major part for me as well now.
Not sure which noise is actually worst on the Falco. At normal speeds it is probably - Induction roar first, then race cans, then wind. As you start to go quicker wind noise takes over, even with an expensive Arai.

#24 Post by **mangocrazy** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:45 pm

Hi Howard, I have to confess I'm a comparative newcomer to Steel City, only arriving in 2000. All of my youth/20s/30s/40s/ was spent in the Midlands.

At the time I gave no thought at all to my hearing - I just assumed it would be fine. It was only after I first started wearing earplugs (late 80s) that I realised what I'd been subjecting my ears to. By that time it was probably too late, anyway...

Samray · #25 Post by **Samray** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:47 pm

mangocrazy wrote:I've probably done just about everything I shouldn't have to my ears.

I rode bikes for over 20 years (350 LCs and the like) before discovering earplugs.

I worked for over 10 years in a Computer room with very high ambient noise levels (air con, computer fans etc.)

I went to gigs at least once a week for about 20 years and around 10-15 years ago attended dance music events that I'd leave with my ears ringing for hours...

A few years ago I went to the local hospital and had my ears checked, as I was experiencing discomfort at gigs at volume levels I'd never had a problem with before.

I was checked out and told that I have 'advanced hearing loss'. This means that I've irreparably lost hearing in the higher frequencies above 7khz. Young people can hear above 15khz and up to 20khz if they have particularly good hearing. Conversations in crowded rooms (i.e. pubs) are now difficult and my hearing of soft, quiet sounds is far worse than before. And it's only going to get worse.

So if you don't wear earplugs on your bike you are doing irreparable damage to your hearing. Basically you're a mug if you don't use earplugs every time you ride your bike. Sorry - but that's just how it is.

Totally agree with all you said with one proviso.
Motorbikes dont contribute much to the problem, it is only helmets that are the problem and the source of the injurious noise.
My background also included many years working in dancehalls and nightclubs, and more recently use of hand tools and plant on a daily basis on building sites.

Falcomille · #26 Post by **Falcomille** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:12 pm

So - we all ride the same bikes, all very similar ages, all like roughly the same music, all partially deaf... anything else for the list?

Did I see C&A/Tesco clothes somewhere?

Falken · #27 Post by **Falken** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:18 pm

Overweight, Bald and Drink too much

sidestand · #28 Post by **sidestand** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 7:48 pm

Aladinsaneuk · #29 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Thu Mar 19, 2009 9:21 pm

hung like a brabham bull?

pathological liar?

Falcoholic · #30 Post by **Falcoholic** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 9:44 pm

Deffo not bald and not likely to be.

Grumpy? Er can be on occasion.