Motorcycle enthusiasts often mention the thrill of speed and the love for the open road as the driving force behind their passion. But this exciting hobby comes at a high risk of permanent hearing damage for people who ride a lot.
The effect of motorcycle speed and riding duration on hearing health was evaluated in a detailed study performed by a hearing protection maker in collaboration with a prominent German automobile association. Alarmingly, at speeds of 62 or higher, for just 15 minutes, riders who don’t make use of hearing protection can suffer irreversible hearing damage.
Why do motorcycle riders get hearing loss?
You might not be surprised that bikers often suffer from hearing loss, but you may be surprised as to why. The biggest threat isn’t the raging engine, contrary to the common belief, it’s really the wind. Although helmets offer significant protection from injury during crashes, the research highlights that they fall short in safeguarding the rider’s hearing. Improvements to the helmet, like added padding, vents, or weather stripping, do little to decrease the wind noise swirling around the rider.
Frequent exposure to extreme noise levels often leaves bikers with a condition known as temporary threshold shift (TTS). The more frequently you’re exposed to loud noise, the worse your TTS symptoms will become with this progressive condition. People who are dealing with TTS may begin to detect that their hearing is less clear or other minor symptoms. But irreversible hearing loss can, over time, be the outcome.
Comparing wind noise with other noise levels
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 creates noise levels reaching 95 decibels (dB). Workers in Europe, for example, need to utilize hearing protection by law if the volume exceeds 80 dB. Bikers are enduring noise levels up to 19% higher than safe working environments when traveling at this speed.
And the volume 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. Many studies confirm that bikers are indeed at significant risk of irreversible hearing loss.
Protecting your ears
Thankfully, protecting your hearing while riding is both easy and effective: use earplugs. Hearing specialists emphatically recommend using filtered earplugs, which are far better than the old, uncomfortable versions most people are familiar with. These advanced earplugs are manufactured to protect your eardrums from high-pitched noises like wind while still allowing lower frequency sounds to get in. It’s important for bikers to still be able to hear important sounds like human voices, emergency warning sounds, and car horns.
Bikers are also able to get the full experience of riding without feeling isolated or cut off from the outside world which can’t be said for the old conventional style. With filtered earplugs, you can continue to experience the thrill of the ride while safeguarding your hearing from the harmful effects of wind noise.
While the passion for motorcycling is fueled by the allure of speed and freedom, it’s essential to acknowledge and minimize the associated risks to your hearing. Significant and irreversible hearing damage can be caused by the noise of wind at high speeds. However, with the basic 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 stay on top of your hearing health.