Do you wear ear plugs? Why or why not?

[Smaug]

I ride Hondas, with a good full face helmet, so no need for ear plugs.  But, if using some noisy equipment, then use them, such as last month with electric hammer chisel on cement, while in Puerto Rico on Methodist Church Mission trip, rebuilding houses, then yes. The ear plugs also kept the dust out.  LOL

Forgive me for being nosy, (curse me now, maybe thank me later) but looking at your signature, I might agree, depending on how good the wind protection is on the ST11 and Goldwing. But on the Interceptor? You should wear 'plugs.


I think most of us wear full face (or modular) helmets.

[fartymarty]

OOPS, I mis-voted. Sorry to throw off the numbers
 I put "Yes", but I usually wear plug phones not ear plugs so I should have put "No,other".
I wear Shure SE215-K Sound Isolating Earphones to hear my Sena 20s/GPS/phone and to just shut out wind noise from my Nolan modular helmet.

It's amazing what a difference it makes. My first solo over night motorcycle trip was from Fort Worth to Chicago via Branson MO. With no ear plugs, by the time I got to Branson I was exhausted. The next day with ear plugs in, my Kawasaki felt like a plush Cadillac. Seemed like it took only a wink and I was in Illinois. The highway from St. Louis to Chicago is always a boring chore and ear plugs couldn't help that much...but even though it was an hour longer ride than the previous days ride, I was only half as tired. I learned my lesson then and have used plug phones or ear plugs since. For me noise can be exhausting. On the way back from Chicago, using ear plugs, I went straight through to Fort Worth and even though I was tired and a bit sore, I still felt better than I had when I arrived in Branson earlier in the trip.

[Ride4MS]

Smaug, I don't ride the Interceptor. It sits there as a collector and gets started and run every few months.  Thank goodness for Battery Tender and Stabil in the tank.  It is louder than normal and I walk back in the garage when it is running.  Sometimes in the winter I line all of them up at the door and let the neighbor across the street enjoy the different sounds.  He is disabled and says it brings back good memories for him.  Actually I would like to sell the Interceptor so that I can make room for something else.

[bcd]

Maybe I mis-voted also. I use Etymotic MC5 earphones. They block sound similarly to the Howard Leight Laser Lites that I used to use, but I can listen to my Sena much more clearly at a lower volume than using the helmet speakers with the Laser Lites. They are usually pretty comfortable for all-day use, unless I don't put them in right.

Several years ago I read an article (I think it was in Motorcycle Consumer News) that showed testing of sound levels at 60 mph inside several models of full-face helmets. Even the quietest one exceeded the threshold needed to cause hearing damage when experienced for multiple hours. Both of my parents experienced hearing loss, and taught me to protect my hearing.

I do keep the foam plugs handy, and my helmet has the speakers mounted, so if my MC5s get broken I have a backup. I try to be careful but I've broken more than one set over the years.

[africord]

Always. It also cleans up the sound from my Cardo Q-Solo.  I use Moldex 6800 Pura-Fits from an industrial supplier.

[Brick]

Maybe I mis-voted also. I use Etymotic MC5 earphones. They block sound similarly to the Howard Leight Laser Lites that I used to use, but I can listen to my Sena much more clearly at a lower volume than using the helmet speakers with the Laser Lites. They are usually pretty comfortable for all-day use, unless I don't put them in right.

Several years ago I read an article (I think it was in Motorcycle Consumer News) that showed testing of sound levels at 60 mph inside several models of full-face helmets. Even the quietest one exceeded the threshold needed to cause hearing damage when experienced for multiple hours. Both of my parents experienced hearing loss, and taught me to protect my hearing.

I do keep the foam plugs handy, and my helmet has the speakers mounted, so if my MC5s get broken I have a backup. I try to be careful but I've broken more than one set over the years.

Bryan, I’ve been struggling with being able to hear my Sena... better yet “understand” is a better word.

I’d love to try something like what you use. Got advice? Perhaps you would pm or email me the information.
Thanks in advance.
Brick


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[bcd]

Bryan, I’ve been struggling with being able to hear my Sena... better yet “understand” is a better word.

I’d love to try something like what you use. Got advice? Perhaps you would pm or email me the information.
Thanks in advance.
Brick

I went to Amazon to get you a link and found that Etymotic has discontinued the MC5s that I've been using. The closest thing now is the MK5:


https://smile.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-Noise-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B00OQG7IC2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=etymotic+mc5&qid=1557406118&s=electronics&sr=1-2


It seems pretty similar though it gives up the ear wax filters and has a higher impedance so will give up some volume.

[Brick]

Bryan, I’ve been struggling with being able to hear my Sena... better yet “understand” is a better word.

I’d love to try something like what you use. Got advice? Perhaps you would pm or email me the information.
Thanks in advance.
Brick

I went to Amazon to get you a link and found that Etymotic has discontinued the MC5s that I've been using. The closest thing now is the MK5:


https://smile.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-Isolator-Noise-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B00OQG7IC2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=etymotic+mc5&qid=1557406118&s=electronics&sr=1-2


It seems pretty similar though it gives up the ear wax filters and has a higher impedance so will give up some volume.

Thanks Bryan,
With my hearing loss I probably need all the volume I can get.
I’ll check them out and check SENA to see how the hook in.
Thanks again
Brick


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[stevegrab]

I ride Hondas, with a good full face helmet, so no need for ear plugs.  But, if using some noisy equipment, then use them, such as last month with electric hammer chisel on cement, while in Puerto Rico on Methodist Church Mission trip, rebuilding houses, then yes. The ear plugs also kept the dust out.  LOL

Doesn't matter what brand of motorcycle you ride as the main cause of noise while riding is wind noise.
A good windscreen will help however there is still a lot of wind noise

I always wear ear plugs while riding

Spot on Doug. Its not about loud bikes, its about the wind noise. If you've been riding for decades without them you may have already done the damage.


PS I think if you are wearing earphones of some kind that also offer protection against outside noise, answering YES to the poll is perfectly valid.

[fartymarty]

Just some thoughts here to use or discard as you see fit, about my personal discoveries using ear phones.
 
Earphones greatly improved both volume and clearness of my Sena 20S. I rarely need to turn up the volume more than a couple of clicks above minimum.

On the 20S, I greatly reduce the chance of unplugging the head phones cord while under way if I wrap it up and over behind the flip up antenna and down the back side of the Sena unit. It is not impossible to plug it in while underway, but it's impossible to do it without a safety risk. Depending on your gloves and dexterity level it just isn't that easy to do even when stopped with the helmet on. 

Regardless of which ear phones you use, try to find some silicone tips that have the three sections as opposed to foam tips with only one. They stay in better and seal out noise better..at least in my ears.
 
When purchasing tips, try to find ones that are available in different colors. When all your friends are just about to take off and you are still trying to figure out which plug goes in which ear, it helps if they are different colors. (I buy Plugfones tips for my Shure plug phones)

Before riding be extra diligent in ear cleaning. Ear wax seems to move from inside the ear towards the outside and dries out as it exits into white flakes that look much like dandruff. Most plugs will seal well without the extra cleaning, but they do push some of it back in to the ear canal during insertion. In my case that seems to occasionally cause an extreme itching sensation in one ear or the other which is not only unpleasant but the distraction can be a safety hazard. Extra cleaning before riding has eliminated this problem for me.


If you are an average person you probably will have no problems adapting to any brand of plugs. If however you a klutz like me, you will catch the plug cord on everything imaginable, brake reservoirs, bike mirrors, jacket zipper, brake levers, well the list goes on...invest in plugs that have replaceable wires. I use Shure se215-K which have fairly robust wires and they loop behind the ear so that when I catch the wire on something, my ear becomes a shock absorber and I'm able to untangle the wire before it gets broken. I have yet to need a replacement cord but the possibility figured into my shopping choice. I do carry a spare set of cheaper plugs (Plugfones) during my longer trips just in case.

Although it sounds gross (and maybe it is), the phone plugs can be inserted faster and deeper if you lick them first. What do you mean my ears have garlic breath? Hey you should smell my riding gear if you think that's bad, start with the gloves. 

[RIDEMYST]

I use a 6” extension that makes it very easy to plug in the earplugs to the Sena audio port. I also have my earplugs custom made to have only 18” after the “Y” so there is no flapping of the wires while I ride. -JEP-
Valley Enterprises 6 inch 4-Pole... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C4FU52C?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


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[bcd]

I borrowed Jim's idea for the 6" extension and just coiled up the cord on my earphones and put a zip tie on it. It stays just under my helmet and avoids catching on most stuff,  and I can cut the zip tie if I need the wire length for some other use.

[NinjaBob]

About Farty suggesting different colored phoneplugs to tell which is left or right, one of my Plugups S-Plugs is marked with a red dot. But what difference does it make? Am I missing something?
An oddity about my left ear and the three sectioned plugs-sometimes my left ear goes deaf with these unless I hold my jaw open. Weird!

[fartymarty]

About Farty suggesting different colored phoneplugs to tell which is left or right, one of my Plugups S-Plugs is marked with a red dot. But what difference does it make? Am I missing something?
An oddity about my left ear and the three sectioned plugs-sometimes my left ear goes deaf with these unless I hold my jaw open. Weird!

Well, with stereo music there is a defined left and right channel....will you know if it's backwards?...many wouldn't be able to tell except maybe for certain favorite tunes that they are used to hearing a certain way. However it's more important with various ear plugs that are not symmetrical as they don't just plug straight in to the ear canal but are shaped to fit in the outer ear and each side is different. My Shure SE215 plugs are a definite left and right fit and I tried just tying a knot in one cord to identify the left but it seemed to go faster with the color difference rather than searching for the knot especially in low light conditions. There are other plugs that have a different shape for the left and right and it isn't always easy to tell until you've wasted time trying to put it in the wrong ear and realizing that it won't fit that one. However with Plugups S-Plugs and Plugfones it doesn't appear to make much difference except for proper stereo left and right reproduction. Are the violins on the left and the cellos on the right?..and does it matter? well that's all I've got on the subject.

[NinjaBob]

Thanks for the explanet excellation!