Love of the open road and the thrill of speed top the list of reasons why people love to ride motorcycles. However, if you’re a devoted rider, you should know about a significant risk: research has linked this exhilarating hobby to permanent hearing damage.
A comprehensive study done by a prominent German automobile association in partnership with a maker of hearing protection solutions evaluated the impact of riding time and motorcycle speed on hearing health. The results were alarming: bikers can suffer permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes of riding without earplugs at a speed of 62 mph.
Why do bikers get hearing loss?
While the concept of hearing loss might not be surprising, the main culprit might. The greatest threat isn’t the raging engine, contrary to the common belief, it’s really the wind. Even though helmets offer considerable protection from injury during crashes, the research highlights that they fall short in safeguarding the rider’s hearing. Improvements to the helmet, like extra padding, vents, or weather stripping, do little to reduce the wind noise swirling around the rider.
Motorcyclists are frequently affected by a condition called temporary threshold shift (TTS), which is triggered by frequent exposure to extreme noise levels. The more often you’re exposed to loud noise, the worse your TTS symptoms will be with this progressive condition. At first, TTS sufferers may detect minor symptoms like a temporary reduction in hearing clarity. However, over time, this condition can advance to permanent and irreversible hearing loss.
How do other noises compare to wind volume?
The German study sheds a lot of light on just how severe wind noise can be while riding. The wind noise around a rider’s head can be as high as 95 (dB) at 62 mph. To put into context, European Union (EU) law mandates that workers must protect their ears if exposed to volume levels higher than 80 dB. Bikers are enduring volume levels up to 19% higher than safe working environments when traveling at this speed.
And the noise level only gets louder as the speed increases. At 74 mph, wind noise can reach 98 dB, a level that can cause hearing damage after just 7 minutes of exposure. Other studies corroborate these findings, indicating that bikers are indeed at a substantial risk of hearing loss.
Protecting your ears
Thankfully, safeguarding your hearing while riding is both easy and effective: use earplugs. Hearing specialists strongly recommend utilizing filtered earplugs, which are far superior to the old, uncomfortable versions many are familiar with. Filtered earplugs are a more advanced model that filters out high frequencies like wind while allowing lower frequencies to get through. It’s important for bikers to still be able to hear important sounds like human voices, sirens, and car horns.
Moreover, these modern earplugs allow bikers to enjoy the sensations of riding without feeling cut off or numb, a common drawback of older protective devices. With filtered earplugs, you can continue to experience the thrill of the ride while safeguarding your hearing from the harmful effects of wind noise.
It is possible to enjoy the thrill of speed and the freedom of the open road while still keeping your ears safe from wind noise. Considerable and permanent hearing damage can be caused by the noise of wind at high speeds. However, with the simple addition of quality earplugs, bikers can continue to enjoy their rides while safeguarding their long-term hearing health.
Give us a call today to find out more about hearing protection so you can keep on top of your hearing health.