Ear Plugs / Tinnitus

[emptysea]

Thanks, Cormanus. In answer to #7, our counselor is Dr. Honda.

[LongRanger_imp]

Thanks Cormanus. That's good information.

[emptysea]

OK... I did some scouting/searching. The Sena 20s unit does appear to have a 3.5mm receptacle into which any headphones could be plugged. I found a review of this set up in another forum (thanks Google). The Bose QC20s have a rechargeable battery pack that looks pretty compact, but since they would be plugged into the Sena unit on the side of my helmet, I'd have to find something to do with the batter pack and the excess cord. I feel that this is the main issue with the secondary issue being getting the helmet on without dislodging the earbuds. I always wear either a balaclava or a buff that should keep the latter issue to a minimum. I bet I could use velcro to fasten the battery and excess wiring to the padding at the base of the helmet.

Now I just need to scrounge up $500 or so.

[Cormanus]

EmptySea, I suspect having the battery and wiring attached to the helmet might well become a problem if it rained. I keep mine inside my jacket for that reason. If it were me, I'd run an extension lead from the battery pack to the Sena and make sure the battery was dry as well as the little control unit that sits at the point where the cable splits. Yes, it's more wire, but the QC is too expensive to damage in the wet.

The balaclava or buff should allow you to put your helmet on without dislodging the earbuds.

[the Ferret]

Just picked up a new supply of silicone ear plugs at my local Kroger (grocery) store. I get the kids size. 12 resuable plugs for $ 3.47. Noise reduction rating is 21 decibles

[Nortoon_imp]

When I returned to motorcycling 4 year ago, I searched all summer for decent ear plugs. Like Rocky and LouA I found 3M E-A-Rsoft yellow neon earplugs to be the best of all ones I tried. They are soft, easy to insert, comfortable all day, and will not pop out.

They are made of soft polyurethane foam. Like Rocky and LouA, I moisten them for easy insertion. I usually stop 4 times a day and found I can easily insert a pair twice. After that they get a little puffy. So I always keep a number of sets in my tank bag pocket. The extra pairs also come in handy when people ask you about them. I just hand them a pair to try.

Before I found these, I could not use my Bell MAG-9 helmet while riding at highway speed because it was unbearably noisy. Now I can wear it comfortably all day long. These earplugs are rated for 33DB.

I bought a box of 200 pair for $40 Canadian on Amazon.ca. Each pair comes wrapped in small cellophane bag. On Amazon.com a box of 200 is US$ 24.35. That is 12 cents a pair.

[memphismike_imp]

I use http://earpeace.com sometimes i do think the windscreen can make things worse as well...maybe causes a little more buffeting.

[Nortoon_imp]

I tried the ribbed style of earplug. They did a decent job of lowering noise, but after a couple of hours riding they were as uncomfortable as a Honda seat, and would often pop loose.

Nothing worse than having you ears torn off putting on a Shoei RF-1200 helmet, and then having to take it off and start all over again because an ear plug popped loose.

[Houtman_imp]

My previous Arai did not have a chin curtain but my Arai Signet X has a curtain and this gives a big reduction in wind noise , I still wear plugs as well.

[Nortoon_imp]

My previous Arai did not have a chin curtain but my Arai Signet X has a curtain and this gives a big reduction in wind noise , I still wear plugs as well.

I added the chin curtain to my Shoei in late fall to keep the cold out. I was pleasantly surprized that it lessened the wind noise as well. I always wear my earplugs now that I have found "the good ones", and will probably use the chin curtain more often.