I've never been an avid wearer of ear plugs as my helmets have always fitted well and not had wind noise.

Lately I find that I'm suffering from infections in my left ear usually a couple of days after a long period on the bike. I have had damage to my left ear caused by explosions in my previous career which left me with reduced canal aperture which could be a factor although the doctor doesn't think so. 

My uncle also a biker is now having to wear earring aids having never worn earplugs. 

I'm now going to be making an effort to ensure I use ear plugs, probably custom fit due to above mentioned left ear, before I end up with permanent damage. 

 

What are people using and can you still hear your intercom, sat nav etc?

 

 

 

Custom earplugs are awesome. I have weird ear canals and disposables just don't work for me.  The key is to match them to what you need. The most attenuation comes from solid plugs but then you hear next to nothing.

 

For work I use filtered plugs. This means I can stand next to a running ships main engine and hold a normal conversation - just so long as the other guy doesn't shout too loudly - otherwise their voice gets attenuated too.

 

You can also get plugs with built in earphones - never used them myself but would mean you can have an audio feed which should be perfect. 

 

Major advantage is how comfortable they are. I can wear mine for 12+hours and completely forget they are there. 

 

Only real down side is making the moulds which is a little uncomfortable as they put goo in your ear. 

Edited 14 May, 20179 yr by Tall-Pete
Typo

I have used custom fit for about 15yrs. Cannot recommend them too highly!

I never used to wear them.. but my dads been riding years and his hearing has got awful as hes got older, i can only put that down to him never wearing any. 

 

So i've made myself start using them. I went with the R n G ones which you mould yourself... as Chris Wright recommended them. The difference when riding is brilliant. It doesn't get tiresome anymore, just feels strange when i first put them in. 

 

 

I used to use UltimateEar custom moulded but struggled to hear the satnav and music from in helmet speakers without the volume being turned right up, with the resulting distortion.

I now have a pair of their SoundEar monitors.

Best thing since....

I can hear the nav, comms and music with the volume turned right down. Sound quality is good and, because they are in your ear, it stays that way even at motorway speeds.

Not cheap, at about £160, but well worth it.

i've been using disposible earplugs on mine (might be a 125 maxi scooter, but the previous owner stuck an annoying loud exhaust on it as he wanted to be heard by traffic!)

 

https://sites.google.com/site/earplugsbypost/home

 

i just keep buying the testpacks they do, 20 different pairs for a tenner, not found anything i really like yet, but thrown a few useless ones in the bin

Ultimate Ear keeps coming up. What's is the fitting process as they are based in Surrey and it's a big trek down there. Do they have local reps to do the fitting?

I used disposable 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281735308688

 

i have a lot of hearing loss and bad tinnitus from biking and other abuse of my hearing. I get ear infections if I do not wear protection when using power tools. 

 

I like those disposables because I do not have to worry about loosing them and keeping them clean. I keep a few pairs in every jacket pocket so I always have a set on me. I remember to ware them about 70% of the time now but they take a lot of getting used to as the bike sounds different.

21 hours ago, CWARD said:

Ultimate Ear keeps coming up. What's is the fitting process as they are based in Surrey and it's a big trek down there. Do they have local reps to do the fitting?

 

Looking at their website, they have Audiologists all over the country who check the lug 'oles and take impressions.

 

I blame my tinnitus on not wearing ear plugs when I was younger. Use to do lots of riding and clubs in my youth without a thought for my hearing. 

I wear cheap disposable ones as I'm susceptible to ear problems. 

Did find they made a difference as my ears did't ring as much with them. Been wearing them to gigs for a few years now. 

Interestingly my tinnitus has got worse recently and I've not ridden in the last year! 

 

I tried these yesterday 

 

http://www.macksearplugs.com/details/Motorcycle-ear-plugs/safe-sound-ultra-soft-foam-earplugs

 

super soft so they have very little pressure inside the ear. I find with some disposables that the pressure makes my tinnitus louder than the engine noise.

I used to use the yellow foam disposable ones. Comfortable, effective and not a big issue if I lost them. Used to keep pairs of them tucked in bags and pockets. I used to get sore heads if I didn't wear them, but my lid was cheap and noisy.

 

I used to shoot a lot when I was younger and we would use the same ones. I just stuck with them.

[clicky click] http://www.thesafetysupplycompany.co.uk/p/665454/ear-classic-energy-absorbing-polymer-foam-earplug---individually-packed---snr-29---pair---3m-pp-01-002.html?gclid=CN3P5M_e-9MCFaW17QodJOoDBg

 

12p a pair.

 

Even if you go down the road of getting custom ones made I'd still suggest buying a bag of those and planting them around so you don't get caught out.

 

I've got some similar to those soft foam ones for using the angle grinder etc but I find they fall out my ears more than the yellow foam.

Edited 19 May, 20179 yr by Aspman

I use Laser Lite by Howard Leight Industries, buy them by the box of 200 pairs for £16.60 see here https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/personal-protection-and-clothing/ear-plugs/3301105-laser-lite-disp--foam-ear-plugs-(pk-200)/p/HWT9583305E?utm_campaign=pla-Personal+Protection+%26+Clothing+-+&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping-pla&utm_keyword=HWT9583305E&istCompanyId=6aa6787b-063e-4414-802d-129f235df603&istItemId=aqrxppxrr&istBid=tztx&gclid=Cj0KEQjwmIrJBRCRmJ_x7KDo-9oBEiQAuUPKMhID-vgEAkzokB2_cDXwytUpXM56KjiLACiir98vSuQaAh2o8P8HAQ

Ive used 3m 1100 ear plugs for over 10 years now, dirt cheap to buy and kills wind noise well meaning i can hear my sat nav playing music on my headphones inside my helmet clearly without damaging my ears any further.

Update time. I did try using disposable ear plugs again but didn't get on with them. The only ones that had any level of comfort and actually fit inside my ears from a variety pack were the Howard Leight Quiet ones but after an hour or two on the bike started to give me ear ache. I looked around at the custom fit ear plugs originally just as a filter but CFB post about getting them with built in speakers got me thinking as I do enjoy my music and have the intercoms in the helmet and went for some of these.

I made my enquiries with Ultimate Ear but the price soon rocketed up and there was no filter to allow you to still hear with them in. I then looked at other companies who do sound with filters including Custom Fit Guards who seemed good on their website but by once you started enquiring I lost faith in them especially when the audiologists details they provided me had never heard of them. I then looked at ACS Customs and speaking to them on the phone they could customise the product to however I wanted went for their Pro 27 Communicator ear plugs with custom leads for use in the helmet. With confidence in ACS Custom I placed my order and received my voucher to pay for my ear impressions doing. The impressions were done through Boots chemists, arranged over the phone for the next day, with their audiologists who checks you ears first, so make sure they are clean. The taking of the impressions was quick and painless just an odd sensation as the silicon stuff they inject in your ears cures.  

They arrived today just over two weeks from ordering and I'm impressed although for the cost I should be. The filter within the earplug also gets rid of that odd sensation when you speak with ear plugs in that your own voice seems to boom inside your head so talking to colleagues in the office with them in natural and most noise is removed but you can still hear others quite well. Connecting it up to my helmet intercom (yes, I looked a prat in the office) it's a very natural sound from the speakers as I listened to Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott new album Crooked Calypso via Bluetooth from my phone they sounded very good. Phone call to my wife to test them and again much clearer than I was used to with the intercom. Fitting them in my ears and removing was a bit awkward but more down to technique or my lack of it. It was actually harder to remove them than to fit and I did have vision of me asking for help to get them back out.

Expensive but well worth it so far riding home I think will confirm this more. Cheers @CFB for leading me down this route with the built in sound although my wallet may not thank you. @Tall-Pete and @kevberlin for confirming that custom ear plugs are the way forward.  

 

PS. Anyone wanting a cheeky 15% discount code for ACS drop me a PM.

Edited 9 August, 20178 yr by CWARD

I never ride without ear plugs. I use the Howard Leight ones. Mostly because there are boxes of the suckers lying around at work and I can just grab a fistfull of them when I'm running low.

 

Like you I tend to find they start giving me earache after a few hours. I might have to look at getting some custom ones.