Riding with an MP3 player going - distracting?

[swbarnett]

My wife and I used to have speakers in my helmet back in the 80s. I never found it to be a distraction, It didn't block the ambient noise and it added something to the whole experience.

As for ear damage - we never really thought about it. I don't like loud music on the whole so played it as background mostly. Also, back then iPods didn't exist. The best you could get on the player I used was one side of a 90minute tape so the music never lasted more than 45minutes at a time.

When I finally get around to upgrading from the GN (just waiting for the missus to stop being a full time student and start earning some real money, only a few months to go...) I plan to have music again. This thread has given me food for thought. I'm thinking of getting a pair of those custom made in-ear phones. They should help with the noise issue generally if what I've read here is accurate.

[pete376403]

ok... so heres some not so useless info from a woman who was born with total hearing loss in 1 ear and now losing it in the other. I hang with audiologists...a lot of them over the years and heres some of the stuff they keep yelling at me.
1. Not all hearing loss can be fixed with a hearing aid. (mine cant btw)

Blossom, I was in the same situation as you - have you been considered for a cochlear implant? I received one just on three years ago and it's absolute magic. Expensive but as far as I am concerned it's possibly the best $50K the government has ever spent

It also has a socket in the processor where I can plug in the MP3 player and I have the choice of music alone or music/ambient noise mix.

[FruitLooPs]

I plan to have music again. This thread has given me food for thought. I'm thinking of getting a pair of those custom made in-ear phones. They should help with the noise issue generally if what I've read here is accurate.

Custom ones would be good no doubt, but pricey!
Be sure to test regular canalphones like these, ~ $35-50 and cancelled external sound very well for me. I use my phone on ~20% volume and can hear songs in full detail lyrics not just beats etc. Normally come with 3x diff size ear pads for different size ear canals, just remember they're closer to the wee hairs inside so dont go pumping the volume or you'll easily damage ya hearing. They're tricky to keep in your ear when donning a helmet at first, but you can do it if you're careful (practice helps!). Mine also have a neckring around them so when i take the helmet off they come out and just fall around my neck.

I had speakers velro'd into my shoei before this and they sounded tinny as hell, and on fully volume i still couldnt discern any meaningful sound bar background beats over wind noise and apparent distance to ear.

[NordieBoy]

I got some Sennheiser cx300 copies off TM for about $10 and they work very well in the helmet.

[swbarnett]

Custom ones would be good no doubt, but pricey!
Be sure to test regular canalphones like these, ~ $35-50 and cancelled external sound very well for me.

Thanks, I'll check them out.

I had speakers velro'd into my shoei before this and they sounded tinny as hell, and on fully volume i still couldnt discern any meaningful sound bar background beats over wind noise and apparent distance to ear.

Interesting, I must've been low on wind noise. I rode a CB750 Integra (the full fairing model) and got minimal wind noise. I once had MJ quite clear at low volume doing 170.

[xwhatsit]

It also has a socket in the processor where I can plug in the MP3 player and I have the choice of music alone or music/ambient noise mix.

Holy shit! That's so completely... cyborg!

Now you need a robot eye -- with a VGA socket around the back of your head. Plug in your sound, plug in your video -- shut out the rest of world

Amazing.

[NordieBoy]

Plug in your sound, plug in your video

Video recorder

[xwhatsit]

Video recorder

I saw a fillum on that. Robin Williams, playing straight. Feckin' dark.

Anyway, Pete's from Upper Hutt, all you would see in the video feed would be *Tits*, *Arse*, *Commodore*, *Falcon*, *Beer*

[NordieBoy]

Anyway, Pete's from Upper Hutt, all you would see in the video feed would be *Tits*, *Arse*, *Commodore*, *Falcon*, *Beer*

You say that like it's a bad thing.

[007XX]

I generally have music playing while on long trips. But I do not have the fitted earplugs, just slimline headphones from Transonic. I never have the music so loud I can't hear my Vtwin engine, but it just takes some of the boredom away from long distances travelling.

And before anyone yelps about me being bored, it sometimes can happen when you've been in the saddle for 4 consecutive hours and you respect the speed limit.

[YellowDog]

Personal Opinion Only:

Listening to music or talking on the phone is a huge distraction from riding.

Such distractions would make me an unsafe rider, which is why I don't do them.

[swbarnett]

Personal Opinion Only:

Respect that.

Listening to music or talking on the phone is a huge distraction from riding.

Such distractions would make me an unsafe rider, which is why I don't do them.

Would you say that these things are more distracting to you than talking to a passenger in a car while driving (assuming that you do actually drive a car from time to time) ?

[YellowDog]

Yes I do drive a car and when talking to passengers I have on occasion missed a junction.

The worst feeling is when you arrive at a place and have no recolection as to how you got there. I don't think that idle chit chat or gentle music is much of a distraction. I do however believe that piloting any kind of motor vehicle requires total concentration and potential distractions such as serious converations or loud music should be avoided.

[pete376403]

I saw a fillum on that. Robin Williams, playing straight. Feckin' dark.

Anyway, Pete's from Upper Hutt, all you would see in the video feed would be *Tits*, *Arse*, *Commodore*, *Falcon*, *Beer*

Scratch the Commodore/Falcon bit, the rest looks about right.

Also the bionic eye thing is in the works - it's pretty low res so far, but the (previously) blind people who have them say its pretty good. Same principle as the cochlear implant - processor provides electrical stimulation to the nerve and the brain interprets it as sound (or image)

Actually gives me an advantage - I cannot damage my hearing through loud noise - the bits of the ear that get damaged have been completely bypassed.
But prior to the implant - life with bad to almost no hearing was fucking miserable and something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. It makes me so mad when people blast away at their hearing, knowing as I do that it's so fragile.

[swbarnett]

Yes I do drive a car and when talking to passengers I have on occasion missed a junction.

The worst feeling is when you arrive at a place and have no recolection as to how you got there. I don't think that idle chit chat or gentle music is much of a distraction. I do however believe that piloting any kind of motor vehicle requires total concentration and potential distractions such as serious converations or loud music should be avoided.

I think this may be the crux of the matter. Not everybody is distracted in the same way. I've conducted deep, meaningful conversations about life, the universe and everything with my wife in the passenger seat (she's a soon-to-be PhD with a Masters in Nuclear Physics) and still given the road the full attention it deserves (evidenced by the fact that a potential accident or two was only a near miss, or less, due to me being aware of what was going on around me and acting accordingly).

If every driver requires "total concentration" to drive a car then no-one would ever be able to fly a fighter or a jumbo jet.