How many years you been doing that? For me it's over 20 of playing LOUD Heavy Metal music through cranked Marshalls, and a couple with my Hog. My hearing has definitely suffered from the loud music. A few years ago, I bought custom molded earplugs with filters in them for playing, and I ALWAYS wear plugs (or the noise isolating Shure headphones with music at low volume) when riding.

Cheers!
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that's me, from years of running open header dirt race cars, no plugs...I prefer the rubber reuseable plugs

 

How did we go from ear plugs to ear wax build-up?[:'(][sm=insomnia.gif]

 

Hope you guys wearing earplugs don't get into an accident.

Those can be a liability issue that they can use against you. I can just hear the cagers lawyer now - "How could he hear the car - or anything for that matter."

 

I started using them on long rides. It seems that I lose a sense of speed when I have them in, but they are much better for long distances. I will be cruising with my plugs and look down and be going 90 or 95 and it feels like I'm not really moving that fast. I don't wear them around town because I like tto listen to my pipes.

 

hearing loss takes a long time to add up. do yourself a favor and wear the plugs now.

 

All I hear if I don't wear plugs is extremely loud wind noise. The plugs actually make it easier to hear things such as sirens and horns.

Cheers!
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The plugs don't make it so that you are totally deaf, you can still hear. They just prevent damage to your hearing. NOT wearing the plugs is what will make you deaf. I ignored all the warnings when I was young and now I have to live with the hearing loss. It's a gradual loss that you won't even notice till one day your wife gets pi$$ed cause you're always asking" what did they say?" or "what?". I just spent $4,000.00 on hearing aids that I would rather have spent on something else(engine mod's, vacation, used Sporty to rebuild, etc.) Anyone that wants can poo-poo the ear plugs, but be forewarned and don't say "nobody ever told me" I was stupid, don't you be.
Ride safe (with plugs)[sm=rant.gif] rant over

 

Not in my experience. I hate wearing earplugs. They make me feel like I have a bad head cold. On a longer trip, if the wind noise is bad, I'll put one in on the windward side; a compromise that still allows me to hear out of the other ear.
It puzzles me, though, as to why someone wearing a full face helmet would feel the need to wear ear plugs. I have a full face that I have worn on super cold days, and it completely eliminates harsh wind noise.

 

Not all helmets will do that.