Till deaf us do part
I was pleased to see the section on earplugs ( Bike, April). Exposure to noise/hearing damage is one of the most overlooked hazards faced by motorcyclists. As a (recently) retired medical and health sciences professional I would urge every rider to wear high quality hearing protection, whether or not they’ve bought the socalled ‘quietest’ helmet on the market.
I would also say riders should not take the claimed noise reduction value ( SNR) as a solid guide. Why? Because it’s usually a static lab-based figure and in practice it’s rarely achieved and almost never on a motorcycle. Even with a claimed noise reduction (SNR) of 32db (usually expressed as DB[A]) the rider will be lucky to achieve ⁄¡ of that, maybe not even half (17db / db [A]). I was involved in major research, including extensive lab and field-based testing and in-ear measurement. The data shows that out of any population of users you might expect in-ear noise reduction spanning from approximately 10% to 80%. That’s a huge spread of actual on-the-road real world performance. And it can make the difference between getting hearing damage or avoiding it.
This isn’t due to the earplug being poor quality or to inaccurate
manufacturer claims. It’s because the earplugs are constantly moving inside the ear canal under the helmet and can quickly start to leak noise inwards. As extensive research has shown the actual level of noise protection received can fall off a cliff. So it’s important for the rider to ensure a really good fit during initial fitting and take the extra minutes required to achieve it before setting off. Don’t be impatient.
As for custom-fit earplugs, modern research generally supports their manufacturer’s claims, although users need to remain vigilant about factors such as hygiene, deterioration over time and ensuring good all-seasons fit. If you want to avoid hearing loss, tinnitus or any one of the life-quality diminishing aspects of losing your hearing, the whole business of earplugs has to be taken seriously, no matter how unexciting the topic.
Dr. Alexander Bianchi, email