Hearing Protection For Motorcycle Riders

You have many safety rules you need to follow when riding a motorcycle, as it can be somewhat risky without taking the correct precautions. One area of safety that many riders overlook or ignore is hearing protection.

Unfortunately, if you fail to use hearing protection on your bike, you may suffer from early hearing loss or tinnitus due to the roar of the engine and the vehicles around you on the road. Here are some ways to protect your ears while riding your motorcycle.

Why Bother?

Your motorcycle and the noise of the road can reach startlingly high decibel levels without your realizing it. Any sound you hear for an extended period of time over 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. Even going at 40 miles per hour exposes you to 90 decibels of noise, and you’re probably aware that you tend to go much faster than that. The noise of the wind that passes you can also be extremely loud, as can the sounds of other engines.

Is It Safe to Wear Protection?

Yes. If you use the right type of hearing protection, you’ll be able to hear sirens and other necessary sounds, and your ears won’t be fatigued by loud noises. Hearing protection can boost your ability to hear essential sounds due to the phenomenon of “temporary threshold shift” or TTS, which is the temporary hearing loss that occurs when you’re over-exposed to loud noise. You’ve probably experienced this after a loud rock concert. But if you wear hearing protection, your ears won’t become fatigued.

Hearing Protection Options

You can invest in a large pack of foam earplugs at a drugstore to use on your trips, or you can buy wax or rubber earplugs that mold to the shape of your ear. If you want to spend a little more money, there are specialized plugs that are designed to securely fit in your ear and limit certain sound frequencies. You can even find custom-fitted earplugs that will be designed especially for you and they can last you for years.

Visit our location in McAllen, TX, to check out our wide stock of new and used motorcycles for sale. Talk to one of our sales team members about our motorcycle financing options if you’d like to use them. Desperado Harley-Davidson® serves our customers in Edinburg, TX.