Motorcycle enthusiasts often mention the thrill of speed and the love for the open road as the driving force behind their enthusiasm. But this invigorating hobby comes at a high risk of irreversible hearing damage for individuals who ride a lot.
The effect of motorcycle speed and riding duration on hearing health was examined in a comprehensive study conducted by a hearing protection manufacturer in collaboration with a notable German automobile association. The findings were startling: bikers can suffer permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes of riding without hearing protection at a speed of 62 mph.
What causes hearing loss in motorcyclists?
While the idea of hearing loss may not come as a complete surprise, the leading culprit might. The greatest threat isn’t the raging engine, contrary to the common belief, it’s actually the wind. The research emphasized that even though helmets offer crucial protection during accidents, they fall short in protecting a biker’s hearing. Improvements to the helmet, like added padding, vents, or weather stripping, do little to reduce the wind noise whirling around the rider.
Bikers are often impacted by a condition known as temporary threshold shift (TTS), which is triggered by frequent exposure to excessive noise levels. The more often you’re exposed to loud noise, the more intense your TTS symptoms will become with this progressive condition. Individuals who are dealing with TTS may start to notice that their hearing is less clear or other minor symptoms. But permanent 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 severe wind noise can be while riding. At 62 mph, the wind around a biker’s head produces noise levels reaching 95 decibels (dB). For context, European Union (EU) law mandates that workers must safeguard their ears if exposed to noise levels exceeding 80 dB. This means that bikers traveling at this speed without ear protection are exposed to volume levels nearly 19% higher than what is deemed safe in a work environment.
And the noise level only increases as the speed goes up. Hearing damage can happen after only 7 minutes of riding at 74 mph which generates wind volumes of 98 dB. Many studies corroborate that bikers are indeed at substantial risk of permanent hearing loss.
Safeguarding your ears
Fortunately, safeguarding your hearing while riding is both simple and effective: use earplugs. Most people are familiar with the old basic earplugs, but hearing specialists recommend the filtered versions instead. These sophisticated earplugs are designed to safeguard your eardrums from high-pitched noises like wind while still allowing lower frequency sounds to penetrate. It’s crucial for bikers to still be able to hear important sounds like human voices, sirens, and car horns.
Bikers are also able to get the full experience of riding without feeling isolated or cut off from the external world which can’t be said for the old conventional style. You can safeguard your ears from damaging wind noise while still enjoying the thrill of the ride by using 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. 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 making use of a pair of quality earplugs.
Stay on top of your hearing health by contacting us to discuss hearing protection.
