I wear 31 dba foam orange ear plugs, I love the quietness in my riding.  Every once in a long while I know my ride is only a ten minutes or so and I don't wear the ear plugs - the motorcycle sounds like it's going to fall apart!  I can't wait to put the ear plugs back on!  Ignorance is bliss.

I have very narrow ear canals and foam ear plugs cause me pain after half a days riding. I have tried many different types and sizes.

For quite a few years I've used a set of custom fitted ear plugs. I can get 2 or 3 days without any soreness.

I don't think they are as good as foam plugs for reducing background noise though.

I use the Etymotic in-ear buds for both music/GPS and sound isolation. They are comfortable for hour at a time and really block out the noise.

(10-18-2023, 03:52 AM)sanemancured Wrote: I have very narrow ear canals and foam ear plugs cause me pain after half a days riding. I have tried many different types and sizes.

For quite a few years I've used a set of custom fitted ear plugs. I can get 2 or 3 days without any soreness.

I don't think they are as good as foam plugs for reducing background noise though.

Not many are. Lately I have used the foamies for sleeping and I get a better sleep as a result.

However, I have found that you need some noise to get through for situational awareness, and this is likely what the more sophisticated ear plugs do. I wear EarPeace ear plugs and they have a hollow canal filter that attenuates some of the notice and makes it much easier to hear my music and headset instructions while cutting down on the damaging wind noise. They don't cause me any pain either.

(10-18-2023, 08:09 AM)Grumpy Goat Wrote:

(10-18-2023, 03:52 AM)sanemancured Wrote: I have very narrow ear canals and foam ear plugs cause me pain after half a days riding. I have tried many different types and sizes.

For quite a few years I've used a set of custom fitted ear plugs. I can get 2 or 3 days without any soreness.

I don't think they are as good as foam plugs for reducing background noise though.

Not many are. Lately I have used the foamies for sleeping and I get a better sleep as a result.

However, I have found that you need some noise to get through for situational awareness, and this is likely what the more sophisticated ear plugs do. I wear EarPeace ear plugs and they have a hollow canal filter that attenuates some of the notice and makes it much easier to hear my music and headset instructions while cutting down on the damaging wind noise. They don't cause me any pain either.

That's akin to keeping your car/truck windows open to hear the traffic.

(10-18-2023, 10:43 AM)36654 Wrote: That's akin to keeping your car/truck windows open to hear the traffic.

The glass is a filter. The point is, filtered sound is safer than no sound.

(10-18-2023, 04:26 PM)Grumpy Goat Wrote:

(10-18-2023, 10:43 AM)36654 Wrote: That's akin to keeping your car/truck windows open to hear the traffic.

The glass is a filter. The point is, filtered sound is safer than no sound.

The insertion loss for a driver in a car cabin with the windows rolled up is nominally the same as wearing 32NRR plugs, a bit less than 25 dBa.