Hearing protection while riding

Wolfeman

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May 13, 2014
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West Coast USA
Does anyone have a product that they've found that blocks wind noise at speed (25-45 mph), but allows you to still hear important noises like overtaking vehicles, etc? The wind blast noise is intense and tiring.
 
Snowboard helmet, but a bit warm to wear in summer. The ear flaps help a lot. So would any typical motorcycle helmet.

I had tried a few things on regular bike helmets, trying to create a flap so my ear hole is not in the wind. None of my tries worked.
 
Lotta stuff available from music equipment outlets, stuff like Vic Firth earplugs that cut the sound level down but you can still hear well. Might be worth a shot.
 
I just use regular foam ear plugs from the drug store. I can still hear cars. You can insert it less deep if you want to hear more.

Just two days ago at the stop light, a cyclist beside and to the back of me said "can you hear me", so I replied "are you talking to me" and he looked shocked lol. Yesterday I was cycling along side a colleague, we had a conversation while I had the plugs in. Give it a try.
 
The best solution to this is DSP + a 360 array of microphones and in ear speaker. Kind of like a hearing aid except way better than the regular ear.
 
Something that just keeps the wind from hitting your ears would be nice. I have messed up hearing and wear hearing aids. If I just turn them off, it helps but the wind is still annoying. In the winter, I wear a head band to keep my ears from freezing. This reduces the wind noise quite a bit but not as much as I'd like. The head band is too 'breathable'. Something closer to ear muffs made for hearing protection would be more like it.
 
I've been using Wind-Blox Pro, but they are not very effective at the speeds I commonly ride. Looks like they're similar to the Cat Ears product. Foam ear plugs do work well, but are inconvenient to put in and take out. I have hearing loss and don't want to make it any worse. I would love something helmet mounted.
 
ear budz for ipod tunez
play some light jazz as you roll 'n dance on the asphalt, givin peeps dat wink like u give a F
 
I have been using "cat ears" for 3 years and they work just great for me.
 
A quick test I tried which would act the same way as the wind-blox is place your pointer finger along the helmet strap which is in front of the ear. I found it made quite the difference to the wind noise as it changed the airflow around the ear.
I ended up using some spare tubing for organizing wires and put a section on the helmet straps in front of the ear and they cut the wind noise by 50%??
Looking to try wind-blox next.
 
In the winter, I have a helmet with a liner that covers the ears, but not changing my hearing much. It does have micro-mesh pieces about 2 inches size in the middle of each ear.

I never felt the need for ear protection in the summer, even riding motorcycles on the highway.
 
exe said:
Mad, what kind of helmet are you using. Motorcycle helmet?
Yep. A Bell Pit Boss carbon. I have bough the winter liner and a clear visor to complete
 
I wore ear warmers in the winter for cold rainy commutes worked well at taking down the whistle. Standard ear plugs work but they don't do as well at allowing the wind to move around the ear instead of thru it if that makes sense.

I am curious if those shooter's nose cancellation ear protectors would work...
 
This probably won't be of much help but have you tried a wind deflector for the bike. Just a small one above the headlight on small dual sport motorcycles are actually quite helpful. I am not sure that they would do much at your speeds. It would be inexpensive to try though, you can make something out of cardboard to experiment. I guess you would want to create an airstream that would push the air up to disrupt the wind. A windshield would do the job too but that would probably create a lot more resistance.
 
exe said:
MadRhino said:
exe said:
Mad, what kind of helmet are you using. Motorcycle helmet?
Yep. A Bell Pit Boss carbon. I have bough the winter liner and a clear visor to complete

Are you dressed in full MC gear as well?
No. The only protections that I wear are gloves, boots and glasses, even for mountain rides. I wear leathers off season, for the weather. I wear the helmet for the cold, and sometimes for the cops.
 
MadRhino said:
exe said:
Mad, what kind of helmet are you using. Motorcycle helmet?
Yep. A Bell Pit Boss carbon. I have bough the winter liner and a clear visor to complete

well theres your problem. You bought a poser helmet with no real protection.
Buy a real helmet, and the wind noise will be almost non-existant (and your face will stay pretty).
For example, if you wanted to stick with Bell, Look at a Bell Star.
 
MrDude_1 said:
MadRhino said:
exe said:
Mad, what kind of helmet are you using. Motorcycle helmet?
Yep. A Bell Pit Boss carbon. I have bough the winter liner and a clear visor to complete

well theres your problem. You bought a poser helmet with no real protection.
Buy a real helmet, and the wind noise will be almost non-existant (and your face will stay pretty).
For example, if you wanted to stick with Bell, Look at a Bell Star.

With the winter lining, I have no wind noise, and my hearing of the environment is almost the same. In the summer, I don’t feel the need, and I don’t wear a helmet most of the time. So, I have no problem, despite what you seem to think.
 
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