Love of the open road and the thrill of speed top the list of reasons why people love to ride motorcycles. However, if you’re an avid rider, you should know about a substantial risk: research has linked this stimulating hobby to permanent hearing damage.
A comprehensive study conducted by a notable German automobile association in collaboration with a manufacturer of hearing protection solutions examined the effect of riding time and motorcycle speed on hearing health. Alarmingly, at speeds of 62 or higher, for only 15 minutes, riders who don’t utilize hearing protection can suffer permanent hearing damage.
What causes hearing loss in motorcyclists?
You may not be surprised that bikers often suffer from hearing loss, but you may be surprised as to why. Contrary to what many believe, it isn’t the motorcycle’s roaring engine but instead, the wind that presents the greatest threat. The research highlighted that although helmets offer crucial protection during accidents, 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 affected by a condition known as temporary threshold shift (TTS), which results from regular exposure to excessive noise levels. The more frequently you are exposed to loud noise, the worse your TTS symptoms will become with this progressive condition. At first, TTS sufferers may notice minor symptoms like a temporary decrease in hearing clarity. But permanent hearing loss can, over time, be the result.
How do other noises compare to wind volume?
The German study sheds a lot of light on just how severe wind noise can get while riding. At 62 mph, the wind around a biker’s head produces noise levels reaching 95 decibels (dB). To put into context, European Union (EU) law mandates that workers need to safeguard their ears if exposed to noise levels exceeding 80 dB. This means that bikers riding at this speed without ear protection are exposed to noise levels nearly 19% higher than what is considered safe in a work environment.
And the volume level only gets louder as the speed increases. At 74 mph, wind noise can reach 98 dB, a level that can trigger hearing damage after only 7 minutes of exposure. Many studies confirm that bikers are indeed at significant risk of permanent hearing loss.
How to protect your hearing
Thankfully, protecting your hearing while riding is both easy and effective: use earplugs. Most individuals are familiar with the old standard earplugs, but hearing specialists recommend the filtered versions instead. Filtered earplugs are a more advanced model that filters out high frequencies like wind while allowing lower frequencies to get in. It’s crucial for bikers to still be able to hear important sounds like human voices, emergency warning sounds, and car horns.
Furthermore, these modern earplugs allow bikers to enjoy the exhilaration of riding without feeling isolated or numb, a common downside of older protective devices. With filtered earplugs, you can continue to enjoy the thrill of the ride while protecting your hearing from the damaging effects of wind noise.
While the passion for motorcycling is motivated by the allure of speed and freedom, it’s essential to recognize and minimize the associated hazards to your hearing. The wind noise generated at high speeds can cause substantial and permanent hearing damage in a very short time period. But bikers can protect their long-term hearing while still enjoying the ride by simply making use of a set of quality earplugs.
Stay on top of your hearing health by calling us to talk about hearing protection.
