Earplugs????

[Buckethead]

Every time I ride. I've just gotten used to them. Now if I don't have them in, even around town, it just feels weird. And loud.

[herm]

i always wear them, for the wind noise as much as anything else. aside from the hearing loss issue, there is a significant amount of fatigue which can be attributed to the noise levels associated with riding at speed for long periods.

FTR, i also wear ear plugs when i....
-mow the lawn
-fly
-run any high rpm power tool
-sleep in the same room as my brother

[somegirl]

Every time I ride. I've just gotten used to them. Now if I don't have them in, even around town, it just feels weird. And loud.

+1

[WhiteStripe]

Thanks for all the responses - i grew up doing some logging.  i was one of the few who figured i might go on to other things and always protected my hearing which is still very good.

The wind noise from my commute has been really bothering me.

I am sold on plugs 100% of the time now.

[He Man]

now, it just dependso n what kidn of ear plugs, i love the MSA conical shaped ones. they are ~80 pairs for $10 bucks, ive had the same box for about a year now. i use each one for about 2 weeks before i throw it away. but i dont ride every single day so they last a while.

alternatively, ive heard really good things about the custom fitted ones, a friend of mine had a set made since he was on the range a lot, said they slip right on and stay on, and are even more comfy as a foam ones (as if the foam ones werent good enough). they run for about $100 including the custom molding for your ear and last as long as you take care of it.

nasty note: if you use them properly, the damn things are like surgical tools, theyve taken out whole chunks of ear wax!

[ArcDeDucati]

I used in ear headphones, even if I'm not listening to music.  I use my GPS for tunes whenever I ride so I always have them handy. 

Sometimes my garmin 550 takes craps out though when certain songs come on.  I think thy may be corrupted files and cause it to shut down.   Anyone else have this problem?

[He Man]

whihc headphones do you have? how do they compare to ear plugs?

[herm]

you cannot beat these for price or performance. use/wash as needed/reuse.

[yotogi]

whihc headphones do you have? how do they compare to ear plugs?

I have a previous version of these:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MA850G/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0Ng&mco=MjE0NDg0NQ

They have a rubber part that seats around the ear which basically act as an earplug even when you aren't listening to something. I would imagine that any headphone like this would do the trick. I don't ride with tunes, I feel the personal need to hear as much as possible around me when I ride.

[sfarchie]

Wear them almost all the time. I have a Shoei multi-tech helmet and it is sooo noisy, I can't stand riding without the plugs.

I also run full termis (minus the db killers), so that adds to my premature deafness.

[Statler]

Every ride.

[ArcDeDucati]

They actually came with a dell XPS I bought. There nice.  I have an expensive pair of bose that I use too. As long as your using something to "seal" your ear hole your good.  Think if a car window open vs closed.  Now think of your ear as the window and you close it with headphones or plugs.  That's all you really need to do.

In terms of hearing everything? Personally music helps me concentrate on the road. I cant hear shit anyway with plug/no music so I might as well enjoy the ride with some tunes.  I also like to listen to my GPS when I'm following a route I planned.

[ArabicaMan]

I wear plugs each and every time I go out.  My S4Rs with full Termi kit is just a weeee bit boomy and I like the quality of hearing I still have.  As for which plugs, I've tried a bunch but am sold on the SureFire plugs (http://www.surefire.com/EP3-Sonic-Defenders).

[DarkMonster620]

+1 on earplugs, now on my rides, i come home less tired...

[Popeye the Sailor]

If the poll allowed I would have checked both "always" and "What did you say?".  Always because I cherish what little hearing I have left.  Folks, hearing loss is gradual and will catch up with you.

Same here.