Ears

[grog]

After opinions please. Have worn ear plugs for many years, now they have decided to be uncomfortable/ pain. Ive ordered a Bluetooth gizmo, speakers in helmet, unit clips to helmet then syncs to phone.Comes with volume controller and microphone to answer phone.Anyone use similar? Will this work as noise suppressor as do ear plugs.No idea if ill like it but giving it a go. Help, thoughts appreciated gentlemen. What im really trying to ask will riding be ok after ear plugs?

[GSXKING]

Wind noise generated by your helmet is why I wear "Earmold" professionally fitted ear plugs Greg. I can hear everything else around me ie traffic and my bike etc etc I'm not a fan of in helmet stereos either just because I believe it's a distraction from what you're meant to be concentrating on. Staying alive whilst riding 👍
My two cents worth 😎

[KiwiCol]

I'd like to help Grog, but I'm a deaf as.  Can still hear wind noise though.

[Pommeroy]

Hi Grog, I'd get your GP to have a look at your ears to see if there's a reason why wearing earplugs has suddenly become painful. I've used them almost every night for 20 years, and ridden with them for  30 years, and have been lucky to not get sore ears so far.

[Mick_J]

I know I should but I don't wear ear plugs very often.  I used to go to heavy metal concerts, shooting ranges and work in noisy environments but I can still hear most things that count.  I don't think having speakers in your helmet will help at all as it's mostly wind noise and buffeting that causes the problems plus I don't want to listen to music as it's too distracting from the job in hand.

[lurch]

My wife and I use Cardo helmet comms between bikes. They do nothing for noise suppression unfortunately.

I used the custom Earmold plugs for years but switched to a reusable brand called Happy Ears a while back. I never got properly comfortable with Earmold and was experiencing some discomfort after a full day in the saddle with the expanding disposable type but these sorted me out.

[Jeykey]

On long rides I wear disposable ear plugs too, the ones that I´ve been using at the airport where I work for 35 years. Ordered Alpine Motosafe and barely found any difference. Won´t use any type of sound inside the helmet due to concentration, as Chris mentioned.

[Roo]

Yep used plugs for 50 yrs, even on race tracks !   Can't stand just riding around the block without them.  The wife snores so I have a pair next to bed too hahahaha    Get a doc to check, might have infection in there somewhere ?

[Notty]

never worn any - stems from nearly drowning when 3 years old, can't stand my ears being blocked - still get panic attacks 60 years on 

[Pommeroy]

Roo, yes it's possible you may have an ear infection (less common to get it in both rather than one, but it can happen).
That sounds awful Notty...I was a mental health nurse for more than 20 yrs, so understand a bit about panic attacks...you may be sorted, but DM me if you want any info re them.

[Pommeroy]

Sorry, Grog not Roo to get ears checked!!

[Eric GSX1400K3]

I have the Sena comms in mine and a cheapy Aldi one in the wife's helmet,  works fine but does nothing for wind noise. I use generic earplugs, now the ones that are attached to each other with a cord, as otherwise I struggle to get them out. These work best for wind noise. Plus I'm looking at a Schuberth flip face helmet, meant to be the ducks nuts for wind noise reduction...

[grog]

Eric,C4  Basic id like to try but cant find stockist nearby? Huge variance in prices from diff sellers.Mainly good reviews about them.

[Hooli]

Depends on the earplugs you get too.

I tried several types before settling on Howard Leight Max, as they fit & keep about the right amount of noise out. Different plugs block different frequencies too, I tried some that blocked everything except high frequency. That was very odd riding in the rain & not being able hear the rain on my helmet, just the spray on the tyres & the whine of the truck's diff next to me.
The ones I wear now don't block speech too much, so would probably be fine for listening to music though. But I've never wanted music when riding or an intercom so not tried it.

[Tally]

Mine are called hearprotek. In the case you get 3 different plug sizes so they should fit most ear canals. My shoei whistles under the chin and it is excruciating, the plugs cancel it out completely although I still can hear the bike running, I'm pretty sure I bought them off eBay. On a side note I thought I was going deaf but it just turned out to be impacted ear wax from wearing ear plugs (pushing the wax down every time I put them in ,30 odd yrs). Ear doc pulled out the wax ,no more pain. Ergo get your ears checked regularly, my 2cents worth.