Headphones/earbuds while riding

[pfcreed]

I just went thru this myself, I ended up with a 20 dollar pair of jvc marshmallows get em in blackand you cant even see the cord past 4 feet. the foam is soft and it gets in your ear just like foam ear plugs, sounds awesome to, comparable to skull candy's.

 

[CDN6R]

Honestly my take on this guys is that I never never listen to music when I am riding. I want to stay focused on the cars/people/events around me so that I can keep from being distracted. I feel that motorcycling is dangerous enough with out being plugged into something. I know that I am in the minority here but thats "OK". Laurie

 

[Nastybutler]

Laurie I actually find listening to music helps me focus. When I don't I have a tendency to get trapped in my own head and start zoning out. The music, and maybe just the changing from one song to another, helps keep me "present."

 

[SomeGuyFromCali]

I have always gone without music but the ONE time I did try out my earbuds after 5 years of riding on the street with no music I got a random flat tire 15 minutes into the ride. Right up until then it was pretty awesome though and definitely made the commute go by faster.

Now I'm sure the flat had nothing to do with the earbuds but then again I couldn't help but feel like someone was trying to tell me something?? I'm not really that superstitious of a person but this was my first flat ever on the street and it felt really weird... I was doing about 70MPH on the highway when I noticed the back end wobbling all over the place... like I forgot to tighten down the rear axle only waaay worse. Pulled over to find a 3 inch long drywall screw stabbed sideways into my tire and sticking out the sidewall.

Haven't ridden with ear buds since but now I am considering trying out the "one ear" method. I did used to ride with one earbud back when we had some cheapo walkie takies rigged with a voice activated wired headset for bike to bike communications and it didn't seem to block traffic sounds all that bad.

 

[SpawnXX]

Speakers on your motorcycle or in your helmet just damage your hearing even more than normal wind noise, because you have to turn the volume up high enough to overcome wind noise. I have permanent ringing in my ears from a 2-day motorcycle trip without ear plugs. I will never ride without hearing protection again.

This is one of those situations where logic/safety overrides the written letter of the law for me. I understand the purpose of that law, but it is not relevant to motorcycles.

I really hate when I have something typed out and leave my desk to answer a call and then it autologs me out and I lose all of the damn stuff I had typed. To make a long message short

There is a huge difference between stereo speakers in an enclosed cage and midrange tweeters on a motorcycle. Unless you lay your face sideways against the speaker you are not going to cause more damage to your ears than wind buffeting could cause.

I believe in using ear plugs, I think using ear buds with music for safety is a farse, it's a preference.. not a safety concern... and logically if I had ear damage I would not make being able to hear my music a priority over surrounding audible conditions. I've been riding for quite a while and I use a well designed helmet for main protection from wind buffeting. Some people have more sensitive ears then others. I have my ears checked yearly along with all of my other sensory systems being a type 1 diabetic for 17 years, and thankfully still have perfect hearing. Ear protection is very helpful and smart...especially if you ride without a helmet. If you have in helmet speakers because you have a chatterbox system or what have you... listening to music "if necessary" works. Does it sound like you are sitting in the comforts of your home or in a car? No, does it work well if you are cruising at normal speeds or sitting at stops? Sure... and as long as you aren't a complete dumbass... you shouldn't turn up the volume to compensate for wind noise, due to it drowning out what you should be listening for and it causing possible ear damage.

We should ask ourselves these questions;

1. What should be my main concern while operating a vehicle?

2. If wind buffeting is already impairing my hearing, should I drown it out even further with more sound or optimize it as much as possible incase an audible hazard arises?

IMO for practicality....

If necessary for added hearing protection w/helmet and especially if not wearing a helmet: Ear plugs = :thumbup:

Noise cancelling ear buds that emit more sound directly into your ear canal. = :thumbdown:

To each their own, ride safe and have fun brohams and sistarz

 

[RoadTrip]

What cracks me up is all the texting females driving half the speed limit swaying back and forth and not even watching the road, you can pass them and there they are looking down in their lap, not a care in the world - sheesh, yeah motorcyclist wearing headphones are a real public hazard, ha ha, we watch the road more than anybody, headphones or not. I really don't think there has been any real effort to enforce texting while driving laws in my area, it is essentially ignored /overlooked / and considered normal behavior.

 

[SpawnXX]

What cracks me up is all the texting females driving half the speed limit swaying back and forth and not even watching the road, you can pass them and there they are looking down in their lap, not a care in the world - sheesh, yeah motorcyclist wearing headphones are a real public hazard, ha ha, we watch the road more than anybody, headphones or not. I really don't think there has been any real effort to enforce texting while driving laws in my area, it is essentially ignored /overlooked / and considered normal behavior.

I will agree with you there, I tend to pass those individuals with their windows down in low gears at about 9-10k RPM... and I wouldn't call them public hazards... usually if you aren't paying attention on a bike you're only a hazard to yourself... and an insurance deductible for the people driving the cars. :thumbup:

Just remember, seeing isn't everything... if you pull up to an intersection with blindspots or tree/obstruction cover in cross traffic and don't see some asshat gunning it through a red/yellow light and don't hear it... it's your life and their deductible. :zombie:

 

[UselessPickles]

Noise cancelling ear buds that emit more sound directly into your ear canal. = :thumbdown:

Noise isolation ear buds on a motorcycle are somewhat comparable to driving in a car with windows closed and the radio on at a reasonable volume. You can hear all important sounds outside (horns, sirens, engines reving nearby, etc.), your ears are protected from the constant wind noise, and the music can be heard clearly at a low volume that does not drown out those important outside noises. Yes, the music is emitted directly into your ear canal, but at a very low and comfortable volume.

I can understand arguments against music completely for safety reasons for some people (and use ear plugs instead for protection). It depends on whether you're the type that gets sucked into the music, or whether you just use it as pleasant background noise.

If you choose to listen to music, then there is no way that in-helmet speakers are better for ear protection, general safety, or sound quality. If you want to listen to music, and you have in-helmet speakers, then you ARE going to turn the volume up loud enough to hear it. What's the point of leaving it at a low unusable volume? That requires turning it up loud enough to compete with wind noise. The wind noise itself is already enough to cause hearing damage over time, especially with long trips. Music loud enough to hear over wind noise makes hearing damage happen faster. You cannot argue that adding more sound does not increase risk of hearing damage.

Also remember that hearing damage is cumulative and irreversible. A tiny bit of hearing damage every time you ride on the freeway for a while will eventually add up.

As for a helmet offering enough hearing protection by itself, I wouldn't be willing to bet my hearing on it. Maybe if you happen to have the right combination of body dimensions, helmet and windshield that actually puts your head in a still pocket of air (cruiser with giant windshield, for example). On sportier bikes, your head is always in a stream of fast flowing air.

Here's two relevant articles about helmet noise and ear plugs: Motorcycle Helmet Noise - webBikeWorld
Ear Plug - Earplugs - Hearing Protection - webBikeWorld

From one of those articles:

For the record, it's our opinion that riding a motorcycle is a very noisy endeavor. The noise that is generated is always loud enough to be dangerous to human health and can easily cause permanent hearing damage.

Conclusion 1: You should always wear hearing protection when riding a motorcycle.

Conclusion 2: Therefore, if you choose to listen to music, the safest way to do so is through a method that also offers hearing protection from all the damaging outside noises. That would be noise isolation ear buds.

 

[UselessPickles]

Here's my custom in-ear monitors:

Contact Tim McCarty at Ear-ific Molds: 770-992-0048

 

[Nastybutler]

Pickles, are those things comfortable for long distances? And how's the sound quality?

 

[UselessPickles]

I haven't done any trips to test long-term comfort yet, but a guy I ride with has done a 2-week trip wearing them every day and never developed any soreness. They're similar to hearing aids in the way they fit in your ear, which are worn all day every day by people without discomfort. They fit exactly the shape of your ear without causing any pressure points, so it almost feels like there's nothing in your ear.

Sound quality is a tough one to discuss. It's partially subjective based on what you expect you should be hearing, which may be based on improperly balanced frequencies (excessive bass, etc) from other ear buds that artificially boost certain frequencies to sound "better", much like TVs on display at the store with excessively saturated bright colors to appear "better" than the competition.

The Etymotic Er-6i I had previously was designed to reproduce sounds appropriately to match very closely the human ear's sensitivity to different frequencies so that you would hear nearly exactly what was intended for you to hear by the artists that recorded the music.

After getting used to the sound of those, these new Ear-ific speakers sound a bit lower quality to me than the Er-6i, but they still sound pretty darn good. Definitely good enough quality for riding the motorcycle, and better sound than any inexpensive headphones/earbuds that I have tried.

You're always going to miss out on some details of the music at speed due to wind noise. Your particular helmet, windshield, and head position will determine what kind of wind noise you get, and therefore what kinds of sounds in your music are lost (yes, even with ear plugs or isolation ear buds, you will still hear the wind; just not as loud).

 

[Deathdiesel]

Ah okay, so pretty much just normal custom IEMs.

Best place to research any kind of headphone stuff.
Custom - Head-Fi.org Community

Most IEM designers when requested can make them to not stick out at all, and personally id do that where its been tried and tested a lot.

 

[WKD]

I have tried numerous times with different buds. I have found (next to custom molded In-ears) that the MEelectronics M6 with Comply foam earbuds offer the best seal and and comfort. BUT any time I start moving the wind noise just kills the bass. Honestly, Deep Purple without the bass??? So I think I finally have to give up on the idea...not sure why this seems to happen but it could my ears sit a little low in the helmet, I notice that there are times when just my molded earplugs don't want to keep a good seal when I am looking around...

Oh well maybe when I feel like spending $80 I'll see if the Tork speakers are loud enough to hear through my earplugs...I simply don't want to go deaf and will not compromise on using the plugs.