Love of the open road and the thrill of speed top the list of reasons why people love to ride motorcycles. But this invigorating hobby comes at a high risk of permanent hearing damage for individuals who ride a lot.
The impact of motorcycle speed and riding duration on hearing health was examined in a detailed study conducted by a hearing protection manufacturer in collaboration with a prominent German automobile association. Alarmingly, at speeds of 62 or higher, for only 15 minutes, riders who don’t make use of hearing protection can suffer permanent hearing damage.
What causes hearing loss in motorcyclists?
While the concept of hearing loss might not come as a complete surprise, the main culprit could. The biggest threat isn’t the roaring 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 protecting a biker’s hearing. The wind noise beating around the rider’s head isn’t reduced much even when a helmet has extra padding, vents, or other improvements.
Motorcyclists are frequently impacted by a condition known as temporary threshold shift (TTS), which results from frequent exposure to excessive noise levels. TTS is a progressive condition, meaning the more you are exposed to loud noises, the more intense the symptoms can become. Individuals who are dealing with TTS may start to notice that their hearing is less clear or other minor symptoms. 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 extreme wind noise can be while riding. At 62 mph, the wind around a biker’s head creates noise levels reaching 95 decibels (dB). To put into context, European Union (EU) law mandates that workers must safeguard their ears if exposed to volume levels exceeding 80 dB. Bikers are enduring noise levels up to 19% higher than safe working environments when riding at this speed.
And the noise level only increases as the speed goes up. Hearing damage can occur after just 7 minutes of riding at 74 mph which generates wind volumes of 98 dB. Many studies confirm that bikers are indeed at substantial risk of irreversible hearing loss.
Safeguarding your ears
Fortunately, protecting 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 advanced earplugs are designed to safeguard your eardrums from high-frequency noises like wind while still allowing lower frequency sounds to penetrate. It’s important for bikers to still be able to hear vital sounds like human voices, sirens, and car horns.
Bikers are also able to get the total experience of riding without feeling isolated or cut off from the external world which can’t be said for the old traditional style. You can protect your ears from damaging wind noise while still experiencing the thrill of the ride by making use of filtered earplugs.
While the passion for motorcycling is motivated by the allure of speed and freedom, it’s important to recognize and mitigate the associated hazards to your hearing. The wind noise produced at high speeds can cause substantial and irreversible hearing damage in a really short time. However, with the basic addition of quality earplugs, bikers can continue to enjoy their rides while protecting their long-term hearing health.
Give us a call today to find out more about hearing protection so you can stay on top of your hearing health.