Love of the open road and the thrill of speed top the list of reasons why people love riding motorcycles. However, if you’re a passionate rider, you should know about a substantial risk: research has linked this thrilling hobby to permanent hearing damage.
The effect of motorcycle speed and riding duration on hearing health was assessed in a detailed study conducted by a hearing protection maker in collaboration with a notable German automobile association. The results were startling: bikers can suffer permanent hearing damage after only 15 minutes of riding without hearing protection at a speed of 62 mph.
Why do bikers get hearing loss?
While the concept of hearing loss may not be surprising, the main culprit could. The biggest threat isn’t the raging engine, contrary to the common belief, it’s actually the wind. The research highlighted that even though helmets provide crucial protection during crashes, they fall short in safeguarding a biker’s hearing. Improvements to the helmet, like added padding, vents, or weather stripping, do little to reduce the wind noise swirling around the rider.
Regular exposure to excessive noise levels often leaves bikers with a condition known as temporary threshold shift (TTS). The more frequently you are exposed to loud noise, the more intense your TTS symptoms will become 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 advance to permanent and irreversible hearing loss.
Comparing wind volume with other noise levels
The German study sheds a lot of light on just how severe wind noise can get while riding. The wind noise around a rider’s head can be as high as 95 (dB) at 62 mph. Workers in Europe, for example, have to use ear protection by law if the volume exceeds 80 dB. This means that bikers riding at this speed without hearing protection are exposed to volume levels nearly 19% higher than what is deemed safe in a work environment.
And the volume level only increases as the speed goes up. At 74 mph, wind volume can reach 98 dB, a level that can cause hearing damage after just 7 minutes of exposure. Other studies validate these findings, suggesting that bikers are indeed at a significant risk of hearing loss.
Protecting your ears
Thankfully, protecting your hearing while riding is both easy and effective: use earplugs. Most people are familiar with the old basic earplugs, but hearing specialists recommend the filtered versions instead. Filtered earplugs are a more sophisticated model that filters out high frequencies like wind while allowing lower frequencies to get in. This means you can hear essential sounds like sirens, horns, and human speech, which are vital for a biker’s safety.
Moreover, these modern earplugs let bikers enjoy the sensations of riding without feeling cut off or numb, a common drawback of older protective devices. You can protect your ears from harmful wind noise while still experiencing the thrill of the ride by making use of filtered earplugs.
It is possible to enjoy the excitement of speed and the freedom of the open road while still keeping your hearing safe from wind noise. The wind noise generated at high speeds can cause substantial and permanent hearing damage in a very short time period. 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 learn more about hearing protection so you can keep on top of your hearing health.
