Hearing Protection on a budget

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Ulvetanna_imp

Road warrior
Thread starter
Ear Protection

This piece has all the standard recommendations about protection for one's hearing, but I wonder about the real altruism of the effort; the author recommends an $800 helmet as a solution.

New riders are the ones who need to learn about these things and few of those can even dream of a helmet costing nearly a grand. Just like Norton, borrowing 7.5 million pounds sterling and then developing prestige-oriented bikes for collectors. Nothing for the common man or woman. (And despite being a 1200cc V4, the Kawasaki and BMW superbikes make more power; figure that one out, for $50,000 you'd think a few more horses would be in the stable.)

If this author was really knowledgeable he'd have pointed out that a [url=http://www.nojgear.com/Quiet_Rider_Deluxe_Helmet_Skirt_p/qr03-1.htm]NOJ Quiet Rider can turn any helmet into the quietest helmet available. I use these on several helmets, and not only do they greatly reduced dB levels (along with earplugs, of course), they cut the freezing wind to almost nothing.

And the deluxe version is about $50.

How about providing solutions for people on a budget? There is getting to be too much elitism out there.
 
I purchased a NOJ Quiet Rider years ago but had extreme difficulty shoving my large head through it when donning my helmet. I removed it and stashed it in the back of a closet somewhere. Great, simple, and inexpensive idea; it just didn't work for me.
 
I'm big on ear protection. I'm not big on spending $800+ on a helmet. I think your helmet skirt recommendation should have been included in his list of strategies, but the helmet option was only one of several that he listed and, I suppose, if you didn't purchase an after-market and loud exhaust, you may might save enough money for the $800 helmet so maybe his recommendations are not so extravagant.


Use Protection. Store-bought foam earplugs can substantially lessen sound pressure in your ears. <-- pretty frugal solution

Find a Quiet Helmet. Schuberth promotes the C3 Pro as “one of the quietest helmets in the world,” while Sena’s Smart Helmet has built-in noise-canceling technology. <-- pretty expensive solution, unless there are other benefits than noise reduction to the particular helmets (fit, weight, etc.)

Consider the Wind. Among road bikes, nothing is quieter than a full-fairing tourer. <-- Not a bad solution, but involves a major decision on what kind of bike you want to ride.

Keep it Stock. Want to hurt your hearing? Swap out OE intake and exhaust systems for great-sounding free-flowing components. <-- Doesn't cost anything unless your bike is already loud.


Personally, I think the author could have done, or at least looked up, some research on the topic and given a few brand options, especially for the earplugs.

Here's a couple links that might be more helpful. They were for me.

Best Motorcycle Ear Plugs Reviewed - Read Before You Ride

Hearing Protection for Motorcyclists | Rider Magazine

http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/erme.html

NoNoise Motorsport Hearing Protectors Review | Rider Magazine

Great post...you can keep your hearing AND your money if you do a little research and, of course, commit to actually protecting yourself
 
Thread starter
EmptySea_imp said:
I'm big on ear protection. I'm not big on spending $800+ on a helmet. I think your helmet skirt recommendation should have been included in his list of strategies, but the helmet option was only one of several that he listed and, I suppose, if you didn't purchase an after-market and loud exhaust, you may might save enough money for the $800 helmet so maybe his recommendations are not so extravagant.


Use Protection. Store-bought foam earplugs can substantially lessen sound pressure in your ears. <-- pretty frugal solution

Find a Quiet Helmet. Schuberth promotes the C3 Pro as “one of the quietest helmets in the world,” while Sena’s Smart Helmet has built-in noise-canceling technology. <-- pretty expensive solution, unless there are other benefits than noise reduction to the particular helmets (fit, weight, etc.)

Consider the Wind. Among road bikes, nothing is quieter than a full-fairing tourer. <-- Not a bad solution, but involves a major decision on what kind of bike you want to ride.

Keep it Stock. Want to hurt your hearing? Swap out OE intake and exhaust systems for great-sounding free-flowing components. <-- Doesn't cost anything unless your bike is already loud.


Personally, I think the author could have done, or at least looked up, some research on the topic and given a few brand options, especially for the earplugs.

Here's a couple links that might be more helpful. They were for me.

Best Motorcycle Ear Plugs Reviewed - Read Before You Ride

Hearing Protection for Motorcyclists | Rider Magazine

http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/erme.html

NoNoise Motorsport Hearing Protectors Review | Rider Magazine

Great post...you can keep your hearing AND your money if you do a little research and, of course, commit to actually protecting yourself
Click to expand...
OK, that is truly good for a chuckle! You make such a great point about the suggestion to buy a bike with a full fairing. Those bikes are always more expensive and the kind of newer riders who haven't figured out earplugs are a must unless you want to go deaf are not buying bikes with fairings, they're getting the naked bikes, the retros, and so on.:beerchug:
 
Used my health insurance and bought some custom ear plugs from an audiologist, now I can't ride without them. Am on Senas' email list for when their helmet (in collaboration with Bell) hits the market but expect the price will not be for the faint of heart.

After forty plus years riding, always in full coverage helmets, I do suffer from a noticeable hearing loss. Who knew way back then?

Used various grades of disposable and semi disposable plugs for a short while before getting frustrated with their spotty performance and exploring the custom plugs. Several companies offer moldable plugs reasonably and a few also have moldable plugs with earbud capability.
 
$12 for a bucket of 100 foam earplugs, I don't go 1 mile without them. For full day and spirited rides, I have custom, formed ones I had made at the NY bike show a few years ago. Superb. You don't need an $800 helmet, but my sense is that (admittedly stereotyping) many who balk at that are the ones who wouldn't blink at an $800 groovy cafe jacket.

The Schuberth is an eerily quiet helmet, but there are a number of lids that are less expensive and perform well.
 
I use foam plugs a lot (I reuse them until they start to degrade then toss). But I can't wear them for hours as they irritate my ears.

Finally upgraded to the molded silicone plugs last year. Work very well and much less irritation.

Bees wax, tried this on the recommondation of a friend. Takes some skill to prep then stuff in the ear. Better than foam for long hauls, not as good as the molded silicone.

Just got a helmet skirt, have not ridden with it yet. This new product is very interesting. I have discovered, especially with the MRA screen a LOT of noise comes up under the helmet. Going with a bikini fairing reduces turbulence and noise. Wearing the tube turtleneck helps with the under helmet noise.

I also find that a lot of noise comes in via your bone structure so stuffing the ears only goes so far. But it's the low hanging fruit. Between my HJC FG-17, a Bell full face and a Bilt full face (or my expired Shoie) one helmet was not appreciably quieter than the next.

At times I do wish I could pull on the ear muffs I use in the shop. However; I need to take them off from time to time to relieve pressure on my head. They are Peltors and I can wear them for a good 5-7 hours at a time though.
 
What hearing protection device is good for motorcycle riding? I want to buy a new device. Who are providing best hearing protection device?
 
All the solutions mentioned above should be tried only after putting the stock muffler back on... ;)
 
I buy basic foam earplugs in jars of 100. They work well, disposable, and far less problematic than the molded or custom ones. I never ride without them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I fully agree with Capo , cheap 33 NR foam ones are easy to use, no fitting problems and throw them away as they are very cheap when buying in bulk.
 
rotor_imp said:
All the solutions mentioned above should be tried only after putting the stock muffler back on... ;)
Click to expand...
I am reasonably sure that you’re trying to be funny here, rotor, but since you should have hearing protection anyway, your choice of exhaust is pretty much irrelevant; at least as far as most of the relatively quiet aftermarket exhausts that most CB1100 riders use is concerned.
 
I was originally going to try the No Noise earplugs that have been mentioned previously in the thread in the ear plugs guide link Emptysea posted. The No Noise are $30, plus tax if applicable, and shipping. They come with 1 filter, one set of plugs, and an aluminum storage cylinder. Many of the reviews I read said that the center stub to grab to remove the plugs was too short to get hold of to pull them out. In those instances a significant other had to use tweezers to grab the stud to pull them out. Of lesser importance, many reviews said that the storage cylinder was not well made and fell apart.

Memphismike posted about Ear Peace plugs, and I had never heard of them before. They are a flat $20 shipped. What you get is 1 aluminum storage cylinder, 3 plugs, and 3 sets of filters, 3 filters to a set. The filters are color coded, and are different ranges of noise reduction. They are CE rated, and the manufacturer says if you dont like them, send them back for full refund no questions asked. I bought a set. The bodies of the plugs are hypo allergenic very soft flexible silicone. The removal tabs are similar to tabs used on hearing aids, easy to grab, and do not bind against the inside of my helmet. In comparing the specs between the No Noise ( comes with only one filter ) and the max noise reduction filter included with Ear Peace, the Ear Peace had slightly more noise reduction. The storage cylinder is well made. The top screws of to store two plugs inside. The bottom also screws off to store the spare plug. EARPEACE | Earplugs Your Ears Will Love

After using foam disposable, and solid plugs of various kinds over the years, I found the Ear Peace to be what was comfortable and right for me. No matter what the specs say, or the magazine writers say, it is always going to come down to what each person is comfortable wearing.
 
I don't use ear protection because I've never found any that was comfortable. Foam ear plugs cause intense discomfort for me after 10 minutes or less. I tried the custom fit type and they were worse than foam. I give up.
 
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