Tinnitus and other hearing issues...

[Voltaire]

anyone got this condition?
I have been wearing earplugs for the last couple of years as I have found the wind noise makes my head feel 'fuzzy' afterwards.
Even now with them the 'dirty' air off the fairing still creates a lot of helmet noise.
Lately I have been in a job where I used a mobile phone for extended conversations and I have noticed that this really gives me a headache.
I am going for a test and ACC have sent me a form asking me if : I have ever listened to loud music, used power tools, worked on motor vehicles, ridden motorcycles, been in a band...etc.
Geez... I'd better not mention seeing Motorhead at Hammersmith Odeon and my bones rattling....or owning a bike with Contis.
Sadly I have never been in a band...despite having a van.

[riffer]

Yeah I suffer from it from time to time.

I've played in bands. Loud ones. A lot. I have 40% hearing damage from 4-8khz and occasional and random tinnitus.

Just one of those things now. I'm used to it.

[Conquiztador]

Gives me a reason for my selective hearing...

But yes, it's there. Part of life. As the damaged neck, screws in foot, nerv damage in leg, limited hand movement and...

As long as I can see I will ride.

[Bonez]

I suffer from it too. Working around aircraft, guns and explosives didn't help much, even with ear defenders. Now work in a general engineering workshop and wind noise from riding is a lot quieter or at least appears quieter.

80+% hearing loss in one ear do to an ear infection many years ago(affects balance at times occasionally) and 20% lost in the other due the above.

I just get on doing what I need to do. Can get annoying when trying to converse with folk though.

[MyGSXF]

I recently learned.. riding for only 15 minutes at 100k/ph.. (without earplugs...) is enough to give you your maximum daily noise limit quota.. before damage starts to be done :eek5:

Once is done.. it's done.. :bye:

[rainman]

I recently learned.. riding for only 15 minutes at 100k/ph.. (without earplugs...) is enough to give you your maximum daily noise limit quota.. before damage starts to be done :eek5:

Once is done.. it's done.. :bye:

Bugger. My commute is 30-35 mins. Each way. And the Marauder isn't particularly quiet, even with baffles in. And my helmet is pretty noisy. :(

I'm noticing less ability to hear treble sounds - should really go get a test done to see how much damage I'm doing.

[MacD]

Another one here. 30dB loss in both ears plus mild tinnitus, bad enough to be annoying when trying to get to sleep at night, otherwise I don't notice it. The hearing loss is annoying when trying to hold conversations in pubs etc with background noise. It's OK in one to one situations.

Probably due to a combination of motorcycling, diving and ear infections as a kid.

I now wear earplugs when riding, particularly at open road speed. I like the Alpine ones which have frequency filters (effectively just small holes) which allow reasonable conversations if stopped without removing them, but definitely cut the wind noise.

[CookMySock]

I'll get a bout of tinnitus if I forget my earplugs. Years of noisy cars and loud music. I have grown to like earplugs on the open road - its much quieter and I can concentrate better, but its magic to take them out now and then for around town.

I hate tinnitus. It's not a thing I want to get used to.

Steve

[chester]

think ill start wearing ear plugs from now on.

[Madness]

Left ear is 100% poked, born that way. The whale has a 4 into 1 on the right hand side, never worn a plug and haven't had my ear tested since I was a kid. I've been exposed to a fair amount of industrial noise over the years and expect there to be at least 20% loss in the good one.

Conversations in noisy environments are absolutely impossible and my hearing loss has had a big influence in my social life as a result. My partner is an incredibly patient woman, what with the 600 times she hears me say "what?" each day. It has it's upside though, when she nags about my cage driving I simply wind the drivers window down... ignorance is bliss.

Will I start wearing a plug? probably not any time soon, even though I get full protection for half the price. I'm a Kiwi male after all.

[Skyryder]

I get the ringing tones on occasions. Not often but it does happen for no apparent reason usually at night. I've been wearing earplugs for yonks but I think the damage was done in my youth.

Skyyrder

[roadracingoldfart]

We just recently had a occupational nurse test our hearing as part of the companies paranoid outlook towards OSH. I passed with good results.
I have been either in mechanical or engineering work all my life and had a V8 as a younger bloke that needed a good stereo to hear it above the V8 so it was a shocking enviroment. The reason i passed is simple , i always wear earmuffs if the noise at work rises and i have always used either moulded plugs or bluetak on the road.
I try to get the young fellas i know to stop using the ipods and crap so loud but they dont want to know about it.
The nursey lady tested the noise from the compressor at work and found it was reading 85 db and its normally running about 20 or more times a day .
Were it any noisier then it could cause defness all on its own at my place of work. Frightning aye.

Paul.

[Motu]

I've never had my ears tested...I know they are fucked without a piece of paper..although you need one for ACC.One side is worse - but I can't hear a wind up watch even with it pressed against my ear,my wife can hear the same watch from across the room.Tinnitus is my constant companion,and if I don't wear ear plugs on a ride my ears are upset for a week.

I started riding when we didn't wear helmets - you haven't heard wind noise until you've done 100mph without a helmet.I also worked on diesel engines for years,and worked on compressors for awhile - we would walk into a room with say 10 compressors going hard at it,we would shut down the one we needed to work on,and squeeze in beside a running one to work on it....never wore ear muffs,they were for girls.

Your ears are like children - you only have yourself to blame....wear protection at all times.

[smoky]

I don't bother with earplugs - and often ride with my visor cracked open so I can hear my bandit better
I have a competition pipe fitted to make it louder, sounds real sweet

I love it when you’re accelerating and ya bike harmonises with the pipe off the bike in front of you – wicked pressure waves and sound

[howdamnhard]

I am going for a test and ACC have sent me a form asking me if : I have ever listened to loud music, used power tools, worked on motor vehicles, ridden motorcycles, been in a band...etc.


Careful how you answer them as ACC will be looking for a way not to pay for hearing aids etc.
I've got hearing damage and occasionally get tinnitus(ringing in my ears).I always use earplugs when riding as I have a very noisy helmet.A lot of the noise comes in through the bottom of the helmet.Check out plugz for lugz,they make custom earplugs which may be better than the roll up foam ones.

[CookMySock]

What sounds do you tinnitus sufferers hear? I subwoofer sounds at about 40-60hz. Mostly at night or when its quiet, but I can hear it during the day if I have been punishing my car audio system recently.

Booom-boom-boooooom-boom 24/7 yay!!

Steve

[howdamnhard]

I'm noticing less ability to hear treble sounds - should really go get a test done to see how much damage I'm doing.

Yes high frequency seems to go first,use them earplugs.

[MyGSXF]

I get the ringing tones on occasions. Not often but it does happen for no apparent reason usually at night. I've been wearing earplugs for yonks but I think the damage was done in my youth.

yeah.. same.. :Oops:

I still have my old cassette tape carry box.. there is a big sticker on the top of it.. which was my motto.. (& sometimes still is.. :rolleyes:)

"if it's too loud.. you're too old..." :Punk:

However.. I'm beginning to see that that may not have been a wise motto to have... :blink:

[Bruiser]

I was diagnosed with tinnitus 6 years ago, mostly from navy service conditions and a major accident 8 years ago when I went through the windscreen of my jag, which didn't help.

I've got 35db damage ea, and 5 Years ago I bought some flash hearing aids which are programmable. I can switch on a therapy noise in quiet times at night, and believe it or not the tinnitus almost disappears for a day or two.

Apparently the therapy noise fools the brain into forgetting about the bloody whistling. Works for me!

ACC offered to assist,..get this... the aids cost $4,000 and the bastards offered me $125.

[pete376403]

Gives me the shits when people play personal audio so loud that I can hear sound leaking out from the earbuds from a couple of metres away. My hearing was totally stuffed from a life of loud motors, from the karts I messed about with as a kid, to the diesels worked on during apprenticeship, straight piped speedway bikes, real rock music from the 70s etc. Hearing aids could no longer deliver enough sound for me to recognize speech. The cochlear impant I have would have cost over $50,000 if I'd had to pay for it. Hearing is very precious - you need to look after it

[CookMySock]

Apparently the therapy noise fools the brain into forgetting about the bloody whistling. Works for me!

ACC offered to assist,..get this... the aids cost $4,000 and the bastards offered me $125.Yeah apparantly its a head thing. :crazy:

ACC should pay for all of that - they did for my father. I'd check that out more extensively if I was you.

Steve

[wharfy]

Yeah apparantly its a head thing. :crazy:

ACC should pay for all of that - they did for my father. I'd check that out more extensively if I was you.

Steve

The audiologist can tell if your hearing loss was "likely" caused by exposure to loud noise or (as in my case "natural" causes - old age :shit: ) I don't think ACC care what the loud noise was as they pay up for sports injuries. The audiologist should be able to tell you if you have a case for ACC.

Tinnitus ain't all bad - It is always summer at the beach in my head - surf in the distance and crickets chirping :laugh:

[wharfy]

Gives me the shits when people play personal audio so loud that I can hear sound leaking out from the earbuds from a couple of metres away.

I know, I can't tell my kids, even though they get pissed off with MY deafness. It's a shame that youth is wasted on the young :weep:

[SARGE]

ACC have sent me a form asking me if : I have ever listened to loud music, used power tools, worked on motor vehicles, ridden motorcycles, been in a band...etc.

yes..yes..yes..yes..yes..yes..yes..yes..yes..and yes..drag raced too..





Geez... I'd better not mention seeing Motorhead at Hammersmith Odeon and my bones rattling....or owning a bike with Contis.
Sadly I have never been in a band...despite having a van.

phooar!.. i saw Iron Maiden, Rob Halford, Queensriech and Kiss at a Metal Festival in Cleveland Ohio in 99..

my ears are still ringing..get a few drops of blood sometimes too.. ;)

[Voltaire]

phooar!.. i saw Iron Maiden, Rob Halford, Queensriech and Kiss at a Metal Festival in Cleveland Ohio in 99..

my ears are still ringing..get a few drops of blood sometimes too.. ;)[/QUOTE]

Yeah, living in London was great for gigs, best ones I went to for up close and personal were Gary Moore and The Pogues Christmas gig with Kirsty NcColl ( RIP). Good Guinness nights I tell you 'bhoy...'
Monsters of Rock were good too...bit of Maiden and ackerdacka...

[crash harry]

What sounds do you tinnitus sufferers hear? I subwoofer sounds at about 40-60hz. Mostly at night or when its quiet, but I can hear it during the day if I have been punishing my car audio system recently.

Booom-boom-boooooom-boom 24/7 yay!!

Steve

Dunno about others, but for me it's just like a constant high-pitched ringing sound. There are about 3 tones in there if I really concentrate hard on it.

For me I think it mostly was caused by a combination of bikes, bands (playing in and listenting to), power tools, firearms, and working on loud engines.

It's bloody annoying. Happens any time it's quiet enough not to drown it out (yay for the air conditioning system at work!) I can hear it now while I'm typing, it's sort of similar in annoyance to being followed around by a cicada that just won't shut up. Also have more trouble than my friends following conversations in a crowd, which indicates HF hearing loss I guess.

So now I wear earplugs on long rides...

[SARGE]

phooar!.. i saw Iron Maiden, Rob Halford, Queensriech and Kiss at a Metal Festival in Cleveland Ohio in 99..

my ears are still ringing..get a few drops of blood sometimes too.. ;)

Yeah, living in London was great for gigs, best ones I went to for up close and personal were Gary Moore and The Pogues Christmas gig with Kirsty NcColl ( RIP). Good Guinness nights I tell you 'bhoy...'
Monsters of Rock were good too...bit of Maiden and ackerdacka...[/QUOTE]



Cincinnati Ohio.. 1980... Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics and the Ramones...


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[MrMelon]

I've had mild tinnitus for the last few years... caused by a combination of listening to loud music, using my mp3 player for long periods of time, and riding without earplugs.

It's improved a lot lately to the point where it's barely noticeable because I've been using some Alpine earplugs from EarBuddies every time I ride or am exposed to any sort of loud noise. I'm glad I got onto the earplugs before my hearing was totally f*cked so it could recover somewhat, but there are so many people who have a tough guy attitude to using any sort of hearing protection, then realise that they should have done something about it when their ears start ringing... but it's too late by then.

EarBuddies are still doing $5 off for kiwibikers on all orders through the website if the coupon code 'kiwibiker' is used when ordering. That makes the Alpine PartyPlugs only $30 which is a tiny price to pay to prevent tinnitus. The Muscisafe Pros with the changeable filters are only $45 when using the code too. The cool thing about both lots of Alpine earplugs is they let speech through clearly, so you don't have to worry about not being able to talk to people with them in! The site's www.earbuddies.co.nz

[breakaway]

Can't beat canalphones. I find it hilarious that people pay over $200 for 'fitted plugs' when you can pay less than half that for canalphones that seal just as well if not better.

And you can have the music really really soft and still hear (most) of it with canalphones.

[pritch]

What sounds do you tinnitus sufferers hear? I subwoofer sounds at about 40-60hz.
Steve

But do you hear the voices???? :devil2:

[Conquiztador]

But do you hear the voices???? :devil2:

I know the voices are there. But the tinnitus just drowns them. It really pisses me off. If I did not have tinnitus I could be mentally ill!

[stevewederell]

I recently learned.. riding for only 15 minutes at 100k/ph.. (without earplugs...) is enough to give you your maximum daily noise limit quota.. before damage starts to be done :eek5:

Once is done.. it's done.. :bye:

Seriously?! Shit, maybe that's why mine has got worse, only when it's dead quiet though. Is that road noise or loud bike noise (mine baby's real quiet:zzzz:)

I don't think the 20+ years in a band has helped things there, apparently just below the drum reads about 120db, I think that's around a 737 on take off!!:Oops:

[Boob Johnson]

I was diagnosed with tinnitus 6 years ago, mostly from navy service conditions and a major accident 8 years ago when I went through the windscreen of my jag, which didn't help.

I've got 35db damage ea, and 5 Years ago I bought some flash hearing aids which are programmable. I can switch on a therapy noise in quiet times at night, and believe it or not the tinnitus almost disappears for a day or two.

Apparently the therapy noise fools the brain into forgetting about the bloody whistling. Works for me!

ACC offered to assist,..get this... the aids cost $4,000 and the bastards offered me $125.
lol $125??? That IS laughable.

No pun intended but that sounds great :whistle:
A programmable hearing aid aye, gotta love technology. I have Tinnitus, like right now, certainly after todays ride :2thumbsup

She it, what a day, twas hotter than a snakes ass in a wagon rut out this way :wacko:

[Ixion]

I recently learned.. riding for only 15 minutes at 100k/ph.. (without earplugs...) is enough to give you your maximum daily noise limit quota.. before damage starts to be done :eek5:

Once is done.. it's done.. :bye:

How long at 200kph? How long at 160kph without a helmet?

Nothing wrong with my hearing, it's just you young people mumble all the time. Speak up, and articulate properly.

[Iggy]

I was born deaf with about 45% hearing loss in both ears, been wearing hearing aids most of my life. My current hearing aids cost $7500 a pair, no help financially from the taxpayer or acc.:spanking: They have 4 different settings, 1 for '' normal situations'', 1 for backgound noise ( noisy pubs etc ), 1 for phone use and finally 1 for music concerts.
Bloody expensive I know but have to live with it, so all you guys and gals who have normal hearing consider yourself lucky and start taking care of your hearing. Just my two cent worth.:2thumbsup

[Tank]

What sounds do you tinnitus sufferers hear? I subwoofer sounds at about 40-60hz. Mostly at night or when its quiet, but I can hear it during the day if I have been punishing my car audio system recently.

Booom-boom-boooooom-boom 24/7 yay!!

Steve

I wouldn't call Greensleves exactly boom-boom-fucken-boom.

Still at least its a work related injury.

[Manxman]

I have it in my left ear.

Many weekends in nightclubs didn't help I'm sure...used to come out feeling drunk - even if I hadn't been drinking!:wacko:

A couple of 'left-field' observations that I'd been told:
1) coffee seems to aggravate it.
2) I'd also heard (well, I think I did anyway;)) that the damage is caused in the same way that putting a tent over a patch of grass kills the covered area.

Unfortunately once done, it's irrepairable.:argh:

[1 Free Man]

Tinnitus, yep had it for years. I have just got acustom to it. Goes on night and day 24/7. Suffer from industrial deffness and I am going through the ACC system for hearing aids. mate at work has not long got his through ACC $9000.00 worth. Have an appointment with and Ear Nose and Troat guy for the 16th next month to make sure there is nothing physical causing hearing loss.
Getting plugz for the lugz next week. wind noise on the bike bungs up my ears for hours after a long ride.
Tinnitus can't be cured. Once you have it it's with you for life. At least that's how it is at this time but who knows nothings forever now days.
Louder pipes is probably the answer.LOL

[gijoe1313]

Hmmm reading this thread, I think I will go and get myself some earplugs ASAP ... :blink:

[pete376403]

Tinnitus can't be cured. Once you have it it's with you for life.
perhaps, perhaps not. Before I got the CI (implant) I had tinnitus more or less constantly, similar to cicadas, drove me nuts. Since the Ci went in a couple of years ago I don't recall having had tinnitus (but now I can hear real cicadas!)

[1 Free Man]

What's a CI implant and how do you go about getting such a thing. What I wouldn't do for some peace and quite. Got rid of the wife and that helped greatly but the tinnitus remains.

[pete376403]

Cochlear Implant - a reciever is inserted into a cavity in your skull behind an ear, and electrodes are placed into the cochlear in the inner ear. You have a audio processor that goes over your ear (similar to a hearing aid) that links to the reciever. There is a hell of a lot more to it than that, but thats the basics. If you pay for this yourself, you're looking at around $50,000. They are available on govt funding but the wait is long and the criteria tough.
If you are in Christchurch go to Southern Cochlear Implant Program - Milford Chambers, 249 Papanui Road. Your audiologist could (should be able to) tell you more, or you could watch this from Cochlear Corp, one maker of CIs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-iAZpNhBP8&eurl=http://www.cochlear.com.au/Products/587.asp

[Highlander]

Wikipedia tells me it can be caused by a build up of ear wax and with the removal of the wax comes right. Or could be caused by genuine hearing damage and that is irreversable.

Might go get my ears cleaned out to see if it makes the difference.

BTW at highway speeds even the "Quiet" helmets exceed the noise levels that OSH tells you to be wearing hearing protection for prolonged exposure.

Personally I wear ear plugs if riding at highway speed for more than about 15 minutes. Plugz for Lugz are fantastic.

[PuppetMaster]

damn cicadas!!!
Doesnt matter where you go, they follow.
No one has mentioned a proliferation of ear wax that can accompany tinnitus, which can be an issue if you wish to use earplugs.

[pritch]

damn cicadas!!!

Yeah it's coming to the time of year when I start to wonder if it's the tinitus or it really is a cicada...

Took part in a discussion about hearing aids once. ACC will sometimes fund the entire cost of digital hearing aids. War Pensions only fund the old type non-digital ones that cost a few hundred dollars. When somebody pointed this out the local RSA welfare rep said, "But you guys forget, you get free batteries."

WTF? He's supposed to be on our side. Who does he think is going to live long enough to use $8,000 worth of batteries?

[vifferman]

I have had tinnitus, caused by long highway rides with no earplugs. The last one I can remember was riding from Christchurch to Roundabouta and my wife had thoughtfully packed away my wet weather gear and earplugs. I used cotton wool in my ears for some of the trip, but it don't help much. The tinnitus disappeared eventually.
I've used powertools a lot, although in my teens I helped hold things while my father was cutting up timber with a skillsaw - no earmuffs. My father-in-law was pretty deaf - worked for about 40 years as a carpenter and never wore any protection. Our neighbour's deaf too - he talks REALLY loudly and says "Eh?!?" a lot.
While I always wear earplugs on the open road now, my commute involves a section of less than 10 minutes each way on the motorway. Is this a problem? Usually the wind noise isn't too bad, unless there's a headwind.

One of my kids hassles me about being deaf - I'm not too bad, but have lost some hearing. I used to be able to hear the high-frequency whistle from CRT TVs, but can't any more. Part of that is the 2-miilion dBa whistle from our coffee machine when frothing milk - fark it's loud! SHould carry an OSH warning or summat.
My sons all listen to too loud music: one has his stereo in his car so loud you can hear him coming from a block or two away, yet he's the one who gets shitty when I miss something he's said! He's got two 1000W amps in it, and it's only a small 205GTi. The other two have always got headphones on, and if any of the three play games on the PS3, they crank the volume on the home theatre up to 60 or more, so they "can hear what's going on", usually when they're playing some combat game with lots of explosions and gunfire. (Apparently, you can't shoot accurately if the guns aren't realisticially loud...) Sounds good I guess, but it's annoying for us.

[<G>]

I spoke to a lady at the Matakana Markets - she does ear candling and what drew my attention is that it alleviates (not cures) tinnitus and vertigo - I have both. Had it done last Thursday and it seems to have lessened the pressure/pain I have on the left side of my face, I am going back this week for a repeat. Searches on the Interweb says that ear candling does not work and the residue in the candle is from the candle itself and not earwax. Well, be that as it may, I am going back. I will be investing in some ear plugs too.

[klingon]

Both my parents had major hearing loss related to their occupations - Dad from being in the army and Mum from being a hairdresser (have you ever been in a small room with 10 of those old hood-style hair driers running at once?!)

Their hearing loss had a major effect on their relationships with us kids. Dad found conversation so difficult that he would spend a lot of time on his own rather than make the effort to interact. Mum is very sociable but her frustration with not being able to hear makes her very, very grumpy. She's always shouting at people to speak up and stop mumbling!

I try to be very careful about my hearing, but I have to admit I've been a bit slack recently with the ear plugs while riding. Thanks for the timely reminder.

[MrMelon]

Can't beat canalphones. I find it hilarious that people pay over $200 for 'fitted plugs' when you can pay less than half that for canalphones that seal just as well if not better.

And you can have the music really really soft and still hear (most) of it with canalphones.

Canalphones have got to be the worst things for your hearing. If you want to be able to hear more than a few hi hats while using them to listen to music while riding, you'll have to have them reasonably cranked up, which defeats the purpose of using them to block wind noise to protect your hearing.

I dont use mine at all any more. They're a guaranteed way to set off ringing in my ears even with only 20 minutes quiet use now.

[AllanB]

Dam certain I've a fair bit of hearing loss - I blame motorcycling - even with religiously wearing ear plugs for the past couple of decades. Wind noise is a shit, and with fairings you then get wind buffering which can be more annoying.
I get a annual ear wax clean out with my nurse - this usually restores the finer sounds for a while.

I find pubs and the like very frustrating - I can converse with someone next to be but often on a seat or two away - all I hear is the background noise. :shutup:

Will ACC pay for hearing loss due to motorcycling????

[vifferman]

Will ACC pay for hearing loss due to motorcycling????
I would doubt it, unless it's due to an accident / sudden event. Hearing loss due to prolonged / multiple exposure will almost certainly be excluded.

[AllanB]

I would doubt it, unless it's due to an accident / sudden event. Hearing loss due to prolonged / multiple exposure will almost certainly be excluded.


Hmm - so if my mufflers fell off on my way back from Nelson (440kms) I could claim a sudden loss of hearing?

[dpex]

Geez, man, the wind-noise is a part of the bliss. The Tinitus? Just don't listen to it. I don't. And on those occasions it becomes pervasive, I just go faster. The wind-noise cuts out the ear-whistles.

And there's no greater remover of tinitus consciousness than the sound of "woo, woo, woo," as the cop behind asks for your immediate attention.

[varminter]

Tinitus, thought he was the Greek bloke that discovered right angled triangles. I'm sitting here with white noise rushing through my head. I wear silicon putty earplugs at night as the wife snores at levels that are dangerous to life itself. Now apparently I need them for the bike too, what next:gob:

[Mikkel]

Apparently you can get rid of tinnitus through hypnosis. My uncle had that done about 20 years ago.

Quite simple - you just tell the brain to block out that particular sound and it shouldn't bother you again. After all, everything points to tinnitus as being a neurological response to hearing damage rather than a physical defect in the ear itself. An experiment was performed in the 60s where the hearing nerve was severed on a control group of people suffering badly from tinnitus. They became 100% deaf - yet the tinnitus persisted. Apparently the suicide rate for the control group was way outside the norm - but that could be a statistical error I assume... Not good.

[stevewederell]

I assumed ( I see foolishly now) that the standards that a helmet pass would also include noise! Now i find that this isn't right, who's in charge of this stuff?

Can I blame John Key, he may not be to blame, but I'd really like to.

Seriously, who IS in charge of this and why is it not part of the testing? It passes impact but not constant noise?! Does my head in...off to hunt for good deal on Sneaglwiessfluglepop ear plugs for my tunes:done:

[longwayfromhome]

Just one other thing from my experience......before I got into serious riding in the US, my hearing was pretty normal...slightly damaged from concerts when young, but definitely no tinnitus. Now, 8 years of riding later (200k+ km) on a quiet bike but with the screen all the way down all the time, I have pretty constant tinnitus. This in spite of wearing good quality foam plugs 100% of that time (Howard Leights - the orange and now green 30db reduction). I did also do a lot of air travel over the last 15 years (averaged probably 6 hours every week), of which I had little hearing protection until the last 3-4 years.

The problem (I think) is that the LT has a pretty good sound system and I rode most of the 200k, with plugs in, but listening to music. So, I guess whatever rationale I had for listening to music, it hasn't worked. Sitting here tonight, I have had 3 weeks without bike/music/airtravel and I have been getting the strong hiss non-stop for the past 3 weeks (age= 54)

So my recommendation is that plugs + music are a bad combo.

PS: I would hate to ride without plugs now though...on the few occasions I have, I have definitely felt "off" to varying degrees.

[Mikkel]

Seriously, who IS in charge of this

YOU are. Really sucks when you're responsible for your own life eh?

[stevewederell]

YOU are. Really sucks when you're responsible for your own life eh?

LOL - Fair call Mikkel. AT least now I know long open road riding will cause hearing probs.

Guess I"ll get some plugs - though some say it bad, I'll get some canalphones - bugger someone said they're bad, um earbuds then - arse they're no good either, ok eureka...I'll drill two holes through side of my helmet and stick my fingers in them, can't make my riding any less skillful!:shit:

Guess I'll find something and just hope for the best:wari:

[Mikkel]

LOL - Fair call Mikkel. AT least now I know long open road riding will cause hearing probs.

Guess I"ll get some plugs - though some say it bad, I'll get some canalphones - bugger someone said they're bad, um earbuds then - arse they're no good either, ok eureka...I'll drill two holes through side of my helmet and stick my fingers in them, can't make my riding any less skillful!:shit:

Guess I'll find something and just hope for the best:wari:

I'm sure you'll be fine mate. Some helmets are more noisy than others - e.g. my shoei seems rather prone to windnoise, but the whisperkit did help in that regard.

You can get molded earplugs made here in Chch for $70. She'll even come to wherever you are and mold them - takes about 10 mins. I'm quite happy with mine.

[Radar]

Hmmm reading this thread, I think I will go and get myself some earplugs ASAP ... :blink:

In August I went to Rotorua for the Ulysses Remembrance Run and stopped to get a set of custom earplugs made - Plugz for Lugz (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=82755&highlight=plugz). Superb. I do not ride without them. I have tried four types of earplugs (from the pharmacy and tradesmen stores) but custom plugs are way better.

Two years ago I painted our house and used a sander on a daily basis, plus I listened to music with earplugs. I did wear earmuffs and sometimes put in squishable plugs from the chemist as well, but the electric sander was still loud. I did not use very high volume when listening to music like a lot of young folk do, but when I went to an audiologist I learned how hearing can be damaged. She said its like putting a tent on your lawn: If you remove the tent after a day or two the grass may be yellow but it grows back, but if you leave the tent for several weeks the grass will die.

This is what happens to the tiny hairs in the inner ear: prolonged exposure to loud noise will permanently damage your hearing.
Now I have tinnitus and less than good hearing.
If I could wind the clock back, I would have used custom plugs and expensive earmuffs while using the sander, and I would have used a portable player/radio instead of listening to music with headphones or ear pieces, and I would not have sanded for so long each day.

If you are a young guy, then you think that you are bulletproof.
That's how I felt many years ago, and I did some stupid things that could have cost me my life or put me in hospital, but I lucked out. I am not so lucky now with my hearing loss.

If you ride your bike without earplugs, you WILL wind up with damaged hearing, tinnitus or worse, and hearing aids will not fix everything.

So be smart and wear plugs. Get Plugz for Lugz (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=82755&highlight=plugz) and you will not regret it.

[Balding Eagle]

I suffer from tinnitus; some days are worse than others. Most of the time I am not aware of it but I can hear it now as I type. Clench my teeth and it is worse. Probably got it from being around aircraft all my life although always wore ear protection when inside them. Thankfully my hearing has not deteriorated significantly as a result.

I always wear earplugs while riding. You can't hear a bloody thing otherwise and having earplugs in allows you to concentrate a little more on the task in hand and enjoy the environment around you. If you are young and don't wear earplugs, listen to stupidly loud music on earphones and ipods etc and work around loud machinery without earplugs - you are a bloody fool. And don't go along to ACC later in life and try and get some of MY money from them because you could have avoided the problem in the first place.:Oi:

[vifferman]

Right - the motorway bit on my commute is ~5 minutes long. Is that enough to (further) damage my hearing?

[Radar]

Right - the motorway bit on my commute is ~5 minutes long. Is that enough to (further) damage my hearing?

Probably not but the test is if you hear ringing or a hiss in your ears after you stop (and get to a quiet place so that any hearing aberration is noticed). If your hearing is normal while in a quiet place after your ride, you are OK.

[Neon]

Sorry to thread dredge, but tinnitus is becoming a bit of an issue for me and I'm only 30. I never ride without foam plugs (moldex spark plugs, which do an excellent job of damping out the higher freqs), and I have a NOJ Quietrider cuff around the bottom of my helmet to block the wind. Despite this, and changing to a faired bike (made no difference), my ears still ring after an hour or so of open road riding. On longer trips I still find the wind roar annoying to the point of distraction. On long multi day trips it keeps me awake at night.

Probably there is some damage from earlier interests such as djing, which explains why my left ear is worse than my right (monitoring on headphones). But it becomes much worse at this time of year as my riding hours increase. Weirdly, annual hearing tests have not found any measurable decrease in hearing - yet.

To be honest, I'm at a point now where if I can't find a way to appreciably reduce the wind roar, I may have to consider chucking it in entirely.

Any ideas appreciated...

[jasonzc]

Sorry to thread dredge, but tinnitus is becoming a bit of an issue for me and I'm only 30. I never ride without foam plugs (moldex spark plugs, which do an excellent job of damping out the higher freqs), and I have a NOJ Quietrider cuff around the bottom of my helmet to block the wind. Despite this, and changing to a faired bike (made no difference), my ears still ring after an hour or so of open road riding. On longer trips I still find the wind roar annoying to the point of distraction. On long multi day trips it keeps me awake at night.

Probably there is some damage from earlier interests such as djing, which explains why my left ear is worse than my right (monitoring on headphones). But it becomes much worse at this time of year as my riding hours increase. Weirdly, annual hearing tests have not found any measurable decrease in hearing - yet.

To be honest, I'm at a point now where if I can't find a way to appreciably reduce the wind roar, I may have to consider chucking it in entirely.

Any ideas appreciated...

THat really sucks.. might sound stupid as i dont really know what im talking about, but could try better dB rated ear plugs? or try in ear monitors of the custom sort and play music at a very low volume to distract form the wind noise?

the second suggestion is prob stupid.. but u cna prob find better plugs though?

[LBD]

. On longer trips I still find the wind roar annoying to the point of distraction. On long multi day trips it keeps me awake at night....

It is incurable so make sure you have the best protection to, a) start with or b) from now on.

I live with it...too many years engineering and working in noisey machinery spaces did it for me.

If you have serious problems sleeping, turn a radio on, just very low volume, and move it off channel so all you have is static/white noise....helps me sleep.

Only upshot is it helps drown out the voices.

[Radar]

Sorry to thread dredge, but tinnitus is becoming a bit of an issue for me and I'm only 30. I never ride without foam plugs (moldex spark plugs, which do an excellent job of damping out the higher freqs), .

Neon, thanks for dredging up this thread. Damage to hearing is a very important topic and should be routinely discussed. Wind noise while on a bike can cause permanent hearing loss, as can listening to mp3 music, running machinery, etc.

Forget foam ear plugs. Get Plugs4Lugz - see this thread (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php/45776-EarPlugs-A-plug-for-Plug-4-Lugz) or phone / text them: Sue & Grant - 07 3480 908 or Grant's cell 027 275 6848.

I tried 4 different ear plugs and even tried stuffing a scarf around the base of my helmet, but finally invested in Plugs4Lugz - they make a huge difference compared to ordinary ear plugs. You may want to put a bit of hand cream, vaseline or other greasy lube in the ear before inserting these custom made ear plugs - this ensures a perfect seal.

It is interesting that you do not have any measurable hearing loss... yet. As you no doubt know, ringing in the ears after riding / music / machinery will eventually lead to permanent hearing loss. I am twice your age and have some hearing loss and tinnitus all the time (due to using an electric sander while house painting, music-earphones, and machinery as a miner 40 years ago). I have researched this topic via Google and by talking to audiologists... there are some dietary concerns so be sure you have a balanced diet to get all vitamins and minerals (or go to a health shop and get the best supplements / capsules) but beware of the expensive quick fix supplements for sale on the internet - they *may* help your tinnitus but could also be a rip-off or scam.

[Radar]

If you have serious problems sleeping, turn a radio on, just very low volume, and move it off channel so all you have is static/white noise....helps me sleep.


Good to know someone else has tried this. :2thumbsup It works.

Neon. Plugs4Lugz may not be in your area for quite awhile but it is a good excuse for a ride to Rotorua to get them made at their house - it is what I did.

[Mom]

Good to know someone else has tried this. :2thumbsup It works.

Neon. Plugs4Lugz may not be in your area for quite awhile but it is a good excuse for a ride to Rotorua to get them made at their house - it is what I did.

When we are camping we leave a fan on all night. It provides really good white noise and stops us from being woken by the seagulls or campers next door. Added advantage is, it keeps us cool. +1 for white noise!

[Neon]

Forget foam ear plugs. Get Plugs4Lugz.

Thanks for the suggestions Radar. The foam plugs I am using right now are supposedly NRR34 which is about the best you can expect from ear plugs. The problem is low frequency noise (rumble/roar), which is transmitted through the helmet and into the bones of your skull. So it is by its very nature basically impossible to eliminate using plugs alone - even the best ones available. There is a thread on KB somewhere citing a University study that confirms this is a major problem for motorcyclists.

In my case the tinnitus is probably not caused by motorcycling, but is certainly being aggravated by it. What I need to understand is whether I can get it to a managable level or whether it will just continue to get worse even with reduced noise levels in my helmet. There is only so much that can be done I guess, motorcycling is an inherently noisy activity...

I might book in with an audiologist and see how I go.

[Radar]

Neon, others on KB have also tried all sorts of over-the-counter ear plugs but have found custom made plugs such as Plugs4Lugz to be the answer. Really - forget foam plugs and get custom ones as they will make a big difference (in spite of bone sound conduction). An audiologist should be able to make you a pair of custom plugs. The last audiologist I spoke with had 4 different custom plugs for herself, each for a specific purpose / range of frequency reduction.

[Neon]

Neon, others on KB have also tried all sorts of over-the-counter ear plugs but have found custom made plugs such as Plugs4Lugz to be the answer. Really - forget foam plugs and get custom ones as they will make a big difference (in spite of bone sound conduction). An audiologist should be able to make you a pair of custom plugs. The last audiologist I spoke with had 4 different custom plugs for herself, each for a specific purpose / range of frequency reduction.

Point taken. I have an appointment for next week with an audiologist so I will be sure to ask about custom plugs. :yes: