Ear plugs?

[FatHead]

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http://www.earbuddies.co.nz/alpine-partyplug.html

I use these. They're designed for loud music at concerts but I find they work well on the bike and are really comfortable.

I also use the alpine earplugs and they are great (for me personal choice rules on this one) I commute each day and have tried numerous foam varieties and apart from them looking absolutelyu gross they have a drawback or two that I could not live with. Most of them make my ears ring as soon as they are inserted, must be somthing to do with the noises in side my head The other is they block EVERY noise and i found that I could not hear the sirens of emergency vehicles which on at least one occasion gave me a fright.

I have worn the Alpine kits for a long time now and with a good wash in warm water every week they look fine and most importantly they keep the big noises out but let you hear the sirens and other riders talking when you stop at the lights.

All the above is my description of my preference so probably best you just do your own research and use what best suits your preferences.

[p.dath]

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I also use the alpine earplugs and they are great (for me personal choice rules on this one) I commute each day and have tried numerous foam varieties and apart from them looking absolutelyu gross they have a drawback or two that I could not live with. Most of them make my ears ring as soon as they are inserted, ...

I have the same problem. I saw an audiologist about it and got my ears tested (decided to get my years tested ever year or two so I can tell how much damage I'm doing). Turns out most of us have ringing in our ears - its just a matter of weather you can perceive it being their. And sometimes when you put in ear plugs it makes everything else quieter, so you notice that background ringing.

[scumdog]

The biggest problem I have had with foam ear-plugs is if they get wet (sweat/rain) they will not stay rolled up long enough to get into the ear canal.
Anybody else have that problem and is there a fix?

[skinman]

Yes
& the fix for me was custom made plugs
Also found the foam jobs had a habit of working their way out sometimes, probably because couldnt get em in properly

[short-circuit]

Plugs (for any orifice) are for poofs

[p.dath]

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The biggest problem I have had with foam ear-plugs is if they get wet (sweat/rain) they will not stay rolled up long enough to get into the ear canal.
Anybody else have that problem and is there a fix?

I can't say I have had that issue ... but they are cheap, and you can just throw them away.

I tend to mostly use the orange 3M ones these days.

[caspernz]

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The biggest problem I have had with foam ear-plugs is if they get wet (sweat/rain) they will not stay rolled up long enough to get into the ear canal.
Anybody else have that problem and is there a fix?

That's a problem that I used to have. Solved it by having several pairs, letting them dry out between uses. Mind you, I bought a box of 200 sets from the safety store years back and it's still not empty. On trips, a quick rinse with hot water and soap, dry them overnight and presto....yeah ok, I'm a Dutchman

[Silage]

I find that the foam and plastic "insert in the ear canal" type of plugs irritate my ears. So tried out the beeswax "spread over the ear canal opening" type of plugs and they are great. Good noise control and easy to "insert".

Well that was until I left them on the tank on a short stop and forgot to put in when puting my helmet on. Saw them - well one of them actually a way down the road and it fell off when fumbling for it. Stopped a short way up the road and it has half melted on the top of the engine. Now I use bluetac (aka smurf poo) as it looks, feels and acts the same as the wax stuff, only a little stickier.

[Gremlin]

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Yea I do that and that's how I get my shorter ones to stay in. I just can't get the full size in far enough, so the end expands outside of the canal and slowly drags the rest out. I guess I'm special.

Nope, apparently I have narrow ear canals, and a few minutes after inserting the foam ones, they would expand and pop out. Drove me mad. Tried the alpine ones and gave them up because one would often pop after a few minutes of riding. Real unbalanced riding like that for an hour. Out of desperation I shoved them in real good one day. It was several days before a doctor could syringe out my ears (after shoving the ear wax together). Was deaf as a post for a few days.

Custom moulded Plugz 4 Lugz for me, and I'm on my 3rd pair. Don't be stupid and go for a dark colour. Lost my first pair like that, on a sealed road. Second set broke after a lot of use (I believe the compound is updated to try to fix that) and my 3rd pair is a custom job, smaller than usual as the normal big size didn't let my ears flex in the helmet, and I couldn't wear for more than 10 hours or so, before it hurt like hell. The new ones are about half the size, don't stick quite as well in the ear, but I'm happy to sacrifice that if I can keep them in longer, which I now can. Ear plugs are useless if they are sitting in your pocket because you can't wear them.

I'll get my 4th pair moulded up at Paeroa, so I have a spare set again.