I am envious of riders who able to wear custom made earplugs. Over the years I’ve had three pairs made, each very unsatisfactory, including two pairs that were remade. As it turns out, my ear cartilage is unusually soft and therefore the plugs never made a proper seal. Consequently I buy boxes of Howard Lieght which, as previously mentioned, block out most traffic noise and still allow me to listen to my headset.
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Ear plugs
- Thread starter peanutd58@gmail.com
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- ear protection earplugs
They don’t stick out at all. The plug has a small tab to enable insertion and extraction. The method that works for me is to pinch the tab with the hand on the insertion side and reach over my head with the opposite hand to pull up the top of the ear, and insert the plug pressing it into place. Unlike the foam plugs, I can wear these for hours with no discomfort. I’m still using the same pair that I bought six years ago and 30,000 miles ago.
Doug
brownie0486
Well-known member
Thanks, I'll order a set and give them a try. I ride with music through the helmet most of the time.
Since you asked about interference with the Cardo JBL speakers...
I installed a Packtalk Bold in a helmet that didn't have speaker pockets, only slight depressions where the speakers would go (this was an HJC CL-17). Previously, I had a Sena SMH-5 installed and the fit was fine. The Cardo JBL speakers are thicker, enough that they pressed on my ears and caused pain after a couple of hours. Even so, they did not interfere with my EarPeace ear plugs.
CaptCF
Pontificating Nobody
If you listen to music I'd definitely spring for the Moto Pro model vs the regular Moto. I have both and the attenuation of the music is immediately noticeable if I grab the non-Pro model by accident.
SteveAikens
Proud Veteran
Did a 250 mile test ride this morning. The S-Plugs really irritated my ears - to the point I had to stop @ 150 miles in and swap them out for the Hearos I've always worn.
Still some discomfort the rest of the way home because my ears were irritated already but the difference was immediately noticeable.
Pretty disappointed they failed.
Still some discomfort the rest of the way home because my ears were irritated already but the difference was immediately noticeable.
Pretty disappointed they failed.
The_Veg
D'OH!
I've skipped a lot of this thread so please forgive me if I repeat anything already said.
I've heard many riders say that they can hear their in-helmet speakers just fine through their earplugs, to which my first thought was always, "HOW???" But the missing item in that is differing personal circumstance. If you're totally within a bubble of clean, calm air behind a touring fairing, then OK, and you can probably even hear your valvetrain clicking away through your earplugs. This not my circumstance.
My circumstance is that I ride a GS, and due to how I'm built my head is way up high where there is no refuge. I have to fully stand on the pegs to get my head into clean airflow, and even a BMW Tall windscreen with a Laminar Lip on it isn't high enough to get me out of serious wind noise. I need good earplugs for any ride longer than a few minutes. So when I started using a com-system a few years ago, it was no wonder that even with the volume all the way up, I couldn't hear enough of anything for the system to be any degree of useful. And this makes sense: my earplugs were good enough to keep all that terribly loud wind-noise at bay, so they're going to do the same with the sound from the speakers.
And that's the crux of the matter: earplugs are for keeping sound OUT. Trying to hear things through them is at cross-purposes with their function.
So putting the sound INSIDE the plugs was the logical next step. Years earlier on some long trips I'd had good results with some flanged, isolating-type earbuds plugged into an MP3 player. At the next national rally I looked at the fitted earbuds and experienced extreme sticker-shock...then a few booths down I saw some that were not fitted, just flanged, and were being sold by an audiologist who looked in my ears to opine on how comfortably they'd fit. They were MUCH more nicely-priced than the fancy fitted ones, and I've been using them ever since. The com's battery lasts longer too since I don't have to turn the volume up very high.
The take-away from this is: instead of asking 'what earplug should I use,' think about your personal riding circumstances and work from there to get the best result. What works well for one person on one type of bike may not translate into the same result for a different person and/or bike.
I've heard many riders say that they can hear their in-helmet speakers just fine through their earplugs, to which my first thought was always, "HOW???" But the missing item in that is differing personal circumstance. If you're totally within a bubble of clean, calm air behind a touring fairing, then OK, and you can probably even hear your valvetrain clicking away through your earplugs. This not my circumstance.
My circumstance is that I ride a GS, and due to how I'm built my head is way up high where there is no refuge. I have to fully stand on the pegs to get my head into clean airflow, and even a BMW Tall windscreen with a Laminar Lip on it isn't high enough to get me out of serious wind noise. I need good earplugs for any ride longer than a few minutes. So when I started using a com-system a few years ago, it was no wonder that even with the volume all the way up, I couldn't hear enough of anything for the system to be any degree of useful. And this makes sense: my earplugs were good enough to keep all that terribly loud wind-noise at bay, so they're going to do the same with the sound from the speakers.
And that's the crux of the matter: earplugs are for keeping sound OUT. Trying to hear things through them is at cross-purposes with their function.
So putting the sound INSIDE the plugs was the logical next step. Years earlier on some long trips I'd had good results with some flanged, isolating-type earbuds plugged into an MP3 player. At the next national rally I looked at the fitted earbuds and experienced extreme sticker-shock...then a few booths down I saw some that were not fitted, just flanged, and were being sold by an audiologist who looked in my ears to opine on how comfortably they'd fit. They were MUCH more nicely-priced than the fancy fitted ones, and I've been using them ever since. The com's battery lasts longer too since I don't have to turn the volume up very high.
The take-away from this is: instead of asking 'what earplug should I use,' think about your personal riding circumstances and work from there to get the best result. What works well for one person on one type of bike may not translate into the same result for a different person and/or bike.
brownie0486
Well-known member
Ordered and being delivered today, thanks for the suggestion on the pro model.
I switched to EarPeace from foam plugs about a year ago. They don’t attenuate the sound as much as foam plugs. I’ve always been able to hear my Sena headsets fine whether using foam plugs or the EarPeace plugs. I do have to max out the volume but I don’t have any problems hearing my music clearly whether I’m on my RT (screen up or down) or my Ribelle (streetfighter).
I have found that at least with the Sena headsets, speaker placement in the helmet is critical. If it’s not centered over your ear you will lose at least half the volume. Properly centered, I’ve never had any issues with my full face or modular helmets.
I have found that at least with the Sena headsets, speaker placement in the helmet is critical. If it’s not centered over your ear you will lose at least half the volume. Properly centered, I’ve never had any issues with my full face or modular helmets.
Well since you asked Paul, a small amount of mineral oil will not only assist with inserting the earplugs, but also will prevent the buildup of ear wax. Using too much however will cause the earplugs to unseat themselves. Carried a tiny bottle of mineral oil with me for years to use with earplugs.
Cheers!
Paul
globalrider
Alps Adventurer
Although I have a Sena communicator which I do not use, I have always used those yellow EAR plugs since my flying days back in the late 70s.
I bought a set of NoNoise Motorsport ear plugs. Apparently the NoNoise ear plugs use some kind of filter to block out certain frequencies and the NoNoise brand has a few different ear plugs for different activities. I can't say how well they work as I have not used them all that much. Maybe someone else can comment.
I also bought 10 sets of silicone ear plugs off Amazon...have not tried them yet as it is damn cold in the wasteland that I live in.
motor10
New member
I use custom molded earplugs, which I had made at a pistol shooting match. They are the model that block about 70% of noise. I have a Shoei Neotec2 helmet with a Sena com system. I can hear the music and phone calls fine, while blocking the wind noise which is fairly low in that helmet. I also had no trouble hearing the sliding tires of the vehicle behind me when traffic suddenly stopped. I was able to release the clutch and scoot out of the way. If I hadn't heard the sliding tire and moved, I absolutely would have been crushed.
This is not the company I used but they will give you an idea of what I use. https://www.earplugstore.com/professional-custom-molded-ear-plugs.html
This is not the company I used but they will give you an idea of what I use. https://www.earplugstore.com/professional-custom-molded-ear-plugs.html
Big Ear made a set for me, then a replacement set but neither achieved the anticipated results of noise reduction for me. I was truly disappointed as I had heard so many good reviews of their product. In fairness to them, my soft ear cartilage has made using custom made earplugs a failure, so I continue to use soft foam ones.
