Motorcycle enthusiasts often mention the thrill of speed and the love for the open road as the driving force behind their enthusiasm. However, if you’re a passionate rider, you should know about a substantial risk: research has linked this stimulating hobby to permanent hearing damage.
The effect of motorcycle speed and riding duration on hearing health was examined in a detailed study carried out by a hearing protection maker in collaboration with a notable German automobile association. The results were alarming: bikers can suffer irreversible hearing damage after only 15 minutes of riding without earplugs at a speed of 62 mph.
Why do bikers get hearing loss?
You may not be surprised that bikers often suffer from hearing loss, but you may be surprised as to why. The greatest threat isn’t the raging engine, contrary to the common belief, it’s really the wind. The research highlighted that even though helmets offer critical protection during accidents, they fall short in safeguarding a biker’s hearing. The wind noise whipping around the rider’s head isn’t reduced much even when a helmet has extra padding, vents, or other modifications.
Bikers are often impacted by a condition called temporary threshold shift (TTS), which results from regular exposure to extreme noise levels. The more often you are exposed to loud noise, the worse your TTS symptoms will be with this progressive condition. At first, TTS sufferers might notice minor symptoms like a temporary decrease in hearing clarity. However, over time, this condition can progress 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 extreme wind noise can get while riding. At 62 mph, the wind around a biker’s head generates noise levels reaching 95 decibels (dB). For context, European Union (EU) law mandates that workers need to protect their ears if exposed to noise levels exceeding 80 dB. Bikers are enduring volume levels up to 19% higher than safe working environments when riding at this speed.
As the speed goes up, so does the volume level. At 74 mph, wind volume can reach 98 dB, a level that can trigger hearing damage after only 7 minutes of exposure. Many studies corroborate that bikers are indeed at significant risk of irreversible hearing loss.
Protecting your ears
Thankfully, protecting your hearing while riding is both simple and effective: use earplugs. Hearing specialists strongly recommend using filtered earplugs, which are far better than the old, uncomfortable versions many are familiar with. These advanced earplugs are manufactured to safeguard your eardrums from high-pitched noises like wind while still allowing lower frequency sounds to get in. This means you can hear crucial sounds like sirens, horns, and human speech, which are vital for a biker’s safety.
Bikers are also able to get the total experience of riding without feeling isolated or cut off from the outside world which can’t be said for the old conventional style. You can safeguard your ears from harmful wind noise while still enjoying the thrill of the ride by using filtered earplugs.
It is possible to enjoy the thrill of speed and the freedom of the open road while still keeping your hearing safe from wind noise. Considerable and irreversible hearing damage can be caused by the noise of wind at high speeds. But bikers can safeguard their long-term hearing while still enjoying the ride by simply using a set of quality earplugs.
Call today to learn more about hearing protection so you can stay on top of your hearing health.