02-23-2017, 06:51 AM
I have tinnitus, pretty bad. Shooting guns at a steel target in my mom and dads basement as a kid, rock and roll concerts as a sub adult, 10 years of racing 2 stroke motocross bikes in my 20's and 52 years of street motorcycling have been very damaging to my hearing. They ring all the time, pretty loudly, 24/7/365. You kind of learn to accept/ignore it, or you would never go to sleep lol. There is no relief from the ringing...ever..well except when you are actually asleep. Then you don't hear it. Otherwise it's always there, a high pitched squeal. As I understand it from my doctor, there is no cure.
Anyhow on todays ride I experimented with ear plugs. Foam for 60 miles, and gel for 60 miles. First off, wonder if you have tinnitus? Put in ear plugs. They block out most sounds other than the ones already in your head, which are amplified as a result.
Both were easy to put in although the foam requires you to roll it between your fingers to form it into a taper, then reach over your head with the opposite hand and pull your ear canal open before inserting plug. With the gel you just roll them into a ball and mush them in there using the appropriate hand for the side.
Both did a great job of blocking out other sounds. Couldn't really hear the wind. Couldn't really hear the bike. Couldn't hardly hear my horn lol. I was on my ST and the windshield also tends to block wind sound and air pressure feel. Chewing gum sounded very..um..juicy. Wow what weird noises. Clicking my teeth together sounded like someone knocking on a door. Talking or singing out loud in my helmet was really loud...and off key a lot of times lol. Because I couldn't hear the wind or the bike rpms I found myself riding faster than normal, apparent by having to trail brake on curves I was entering too fast and wasn't used to braking on. Also by looking down at my speedo and going "Oh crap I'm way over the limit", followed by more braking.
The foam plugs hurt my ears after an hour and was glad to make the switch to gel at the 60 mile mark. The gel were much more comfortable for me. The package said they could be reused up to 40 times. Got them at Kroger grocery, they were for kid swimmers.
Have a feeling most of the time I am still not going to wear them, at least on the ST. It was a weird experience. I felt isolated from the riding experience if that makes sense. I will try them on the CB and see if there is any difference.
I would highly recommend the gel plugs to anyone who doesn't already have the damage to their ears. They are soft, comfortable, effective and reusable many times over. If I do wear earplugs again, it will be the gels.
Anyhow on todays ride I experimented with ear plugs. Foam for 60 miles, and gel for 60 miles. First off, wonder if you have tinnitus? Put in ear plugs. They block out most sounds other than the ones already in your head, which are amplified as a result.
Both were easy to put in although the foam requires you to roll it between your fingers to form it into a taper, then reach over your head with the opposite hand and pull your ear canal open before inserting plug. With the gel you just roll them into a ball and mush them in there using the appropriate hand for the side.
Both did a great job of blocking out other sounds. Couldn't really hear the wind. Couldn't really hear the bike. Couldn't hardly hear my horn lol. I was on my ST and the windshield also tends to block wind sound and air pressure feel. Chewing gum sounded very..um..juicy. Wow what weird noises. Clicking my teeth together sounded like someone knocking on a door. Talking or singing out loud in my helmet was really loud...and off key a lot of times lol. Because I couldn't hear the wind or the bike rpms I found myself riding faster than normal, apparent by having to trail brake on curves I was entering too fast and wasn't used to braking on. Also by looking down at my speedo and going "Oh crap I'm way over the limit", followed by more braking.
The foam plugs hurt my ears after an hour and was glad to make the switch to gel at the 60 mile mark. The gel were much more comfortable for me. The package said they could be reused up to 40 times. Got them at Kroger grocery, they were for kid swimmers.
Have a feeling most of the time I am still not going to wear them, at least on the ST. It was a weird experience. I felt isolated from the riding experience if that makes sense. I will try them on the CB and see if there is any difference.
I would highly recommend the gel plugs to anyone who doesn't already have the damage to their ears. They are soft, comfortable, effective and reusable many times over. If I do wear earplugs again, it will be the gels.