Motorbikes ,earplugs and Tinnitus

[DR650SE]

If you dont ride a motorbike then this is probably not of use to you other than explain how I unwittingly upped my T volume

I had my first decent 4 hour bike ride since I developed T in August 2021

I tried all sorts of earplugs to drop the recorded 105 decibels of wind and engine noise to less than 85 decibels so as not to incur more hearing loss

After trying a huge selection of earplugs ,I found that 3M earsoft FX were the best .When you roll them like plasticine they retain their skinny shape for a few seconds to let you place them into the ear canal before they expand in your ear thus giving a perfect fit

They effectively cut out all wind and engine noise and were brilliant .( No chance of hearing damage with these beauties)

I now thought that I could confidently ride to my hearts content without worrying about incurring hearing damage

Trouble was after 4 hours of riding (this is my theory only !!!!) ,the T went biserk

I think that my brain worked out that there was no external noise being received by it and that it was not picking up sound frquencies that it was used to picking up ,so on its own accord it very considerately introduced more noise ,more freqencies and upped the T volume to compensate for the super effectiveness of the earplugs in blocking all of these external noises to it and therefore kindly helping me out in the process .AARRGGGG!!!!

I think that after a few weeks that the T is possibly slowly ,albeit slowly ,starting to settle down from being really horrible to horrible

The moral of the sorry is that if you ride a bike with tinnitus use earplugs that filter engine and wind noise but still let you hear people speaking ,sirens etc as opposed to blocking all noises and perplexing the brain so that it creates a neural symphony orchestra

I need to state again that this is my theory only and might in fact be a lot of rubbish that i am talking about

DR650

[Happyrosie]

I’m not a bike rider but I absolutely concur with your reasoning!

[DR650SE in reply to Happyrosie]

Thanks HappyrosieIf we are correct ,I don't think that the principal of the brain upping neural static and T volumes to compensate for certain frequencies of external sounds that we have heard since birth but now no longer hear,(even if for a short duration because of earplugs) is fully understood

The big question is how long do fequencies of certain sounds have to denied to the brain so that it feels that it has to compensate for those lost frequencies by upping the T ?

[Happyrosie in reply to DR650SE]

And each of us is different, so it could be that one reading is right for you and another right for me. Saying that, there’s quite a bit of info in the British Tinnitus Association website about volume control of the device you might use - have a read.

[DR650SE in reply to Happyrosie]

The earplug was simply a disposable rubber /silicone plug and had no volume control?

[doglover1973 in reply to DR650SE]

That’s a good question!

[DR650SE in reply to doglover1973]

You mean the neural activity and clatter increasing when the earplugs are too effective and block out all external noise The brain then says " what's going on here!!" and compensates by turning the T volume knob up?

[doglover1973 in reply to DR650SE]

Yes. That's the one. My T went from mild to troublesome two years ago - after a decade of fairly mild T . So it took my brain ten years to cotton on and crank up the volume. It's probably different for everyone.

[DR650SE in reply to doglover1973]

still trying to find the volume control to turn it down a bit

[doglover1973 in reply to DR650SE]

It must be there somewhere 😉🙂🐶

[DR650SE in reply to doglover1973]

I have been asking around the charity shops but have had no luck so far :-((

[Metro1884 in reply to DR650SE]

Correct i ride Motorbikes and same happened to me with ear plugs so dont wear them after first try.

[DR650SE in reply to Metro1884]

That is interesting I bought Alpine Moto Pro earplugs which were okay as they filtered out wind and engine noise to a degree.I misguidedly thought I can do better than this.On the Bennetts UK sitewhich reviewed earplugs they said 3M Earsoft FX were the best at blocking noise. They were brilliantly efficient but my brain didn't like the absence of noise and upped the T volume accordingly to compensate for all the sound frequencies that it was being denied

When my T settles down if ever I shall try Earpeace filtered plugs SNR26

You still need to wear earplugs to prevent hearing damage but at the same time don't cut out all noise and upset Mr T

.My thoughts anyhow

[Happyrosie]

I meant to say - sorry I wasn’t explicit enough - there’s info on the website about ensuring you can still hear the T above whatever you are using. In your case muffled motorbike noise.

[DR650SE in reply to Happyrosie]

Hello HRAny chance of directing me to the section of the BTA website please?

" there’s info on the website about ensuring you can still hear the T above whatever you are using.

Ta

Peter

[Happyrosie in reply to DR650SE]

Err Peter. I’ve been misleading you slightly. Entirely my fault. I was on holiday and not concentrating

There is no particular area of the website saying this, that I can find once I had a good search around. Within this community of HU however its often been mentioned over the past few years that I’ve been here: whatever you are using to “block out” the sounds, you have to be able to hear your T above it otherwise your brain will not learn.

I’ve a hope that someone on this community will step up and confirm what I’ve just said. I don’t use blocking mechanisms myself

Again my apologies

[DR650SE in reply to Happyrosie]

Hello HR.Thanks for checking

I think that if the external sound is loud enough to block out T ,there would be a high risk of more hearing loss

My thoughts anyhow

Thanks again

Peter

[DR650SE]

I have been to been to the website but am unsure of where to find itDo you know the heading that it is under please?

[Graham-E]

I could not agree more with you.I loved to ride and since my T - not so much.

Seems anything I try spikes my T for days and days. What was fun just isn’t anymore.

Keep thinking of selling my bike but I’ve always had a bike and would feel lost without it.

I get you pain!

Very best Graham

[DR650SE in reply to Graham-E]

Hello GrahamBikes and walking have been my life

My first set of wheels was a lambretta scooter that I bought in kirkcaldy for 20 quid

As much as I loved riding pre- T ,it isnt the same anymore :-((

We are in the same boat here

I currently have a DR650 and an XT250

A couple of years ago ,I had an R1200GS but I believe the DR ( my second one) is a better bike than the R1200

Try picking a r1200 up

I will keep the XT as a run around but no big trips anymore unfortunately

I used the DecibelX App with the phone on an arm band while riding and recorded 105 decibels at 60mph

To cut the noise down ,I will just stick to secondary roads and do 50mph

If ever my T disappears ,i will get a bigger bike again

i feel lost like you not being able to jump on the bike ,whenever I want, and go looking for an explore

I am glad that you understand the grieving process of not being able to ride carefree anymore

Peter

[Graham-E in reply to DR650SE]

Hi Peter,

Truly I get you 100%

There is just something about a bike and I miss mine sat in the garage.

I see them filter in traffic while I sit there trying not to let it get me down.

I keep hoping that maybe a different ear plug. The issue is, of course, taking sensory away makes the brain go, oh look at this T. I’ve tried so many different ear plugs. The problem I have is I now rely on my Bluetooth hearing aides to play sounds and ‘distract’ the brain from the ‘T’. I cannot wear them under a helmet and I’m sort of lost.

I’ve a 1100 Honda sat in the garage and now I don’t like going in there to get frozen peas out of the freezer!

(Freezer also in the garage or that would be weird!)

Here is hoping that someone will develop a useful biker’s T ear plug, I’d buy it in a flash.

Best to you

Cheers Graham

[DR650SE in reply to Graham-E]

You don't have to give up riding1 wear good earplugs

2 Buy a Shoei Neotech 2 helmet

3 keep under 60mph

4 wear a balaclava and neck warmer to keep the wind out from underneath the helmet

5 Don't go on excessively long rides

If you do this and get over the psychological fear of T ,you will be ok

This is why I will just ride the XT and enjoy myself

[Graham-E in reply to DR650SE]

Many thanks and it’s definitely time for a new helmet for sure.

All the best

Graham

[DR650SE in reply to Graham-E]

I ration my riding to 2 -3 hoursKeep my speeds down and try not to worry about T

With plugs with SNR 28 such as Earpeace or Alpine Moto it is enough to control harmful noise

The silk balaclava and neck warmer definitely block wind coming in underneath the helmet

[Newbie71]

DR65

I think I got my T from riding my motorcycle without ear plugs for years.I have been using the soft pliable ones that roll up and block all noise out for a couple of years now. I find them to be great and not really affected my T to any great level. I only wished I would have used them earlier. It’s sad that we have it through riding.

[DR650SE in reply to Newbie71]

I am experimenting with different earplugsAbout to try Earpeace Plugs

However riding isn't carefree like it used to be as I am concerned about upping the T

[noisynora]

Just saying... I have had three short deviations from my usual tinnitus and the new 't' was like an actual motorbike revving up. I'm posting this just to add to the vagaries of experiencing tinnitus. I hoped this new 't' wouldn't override my usual type and it hasn't so far. We all have unique experiences and sometimes it just isn't possible to get an answer to why these things happen at all. Its unfathomable!!

[DR650SE in reply to noisynora]

Thanks NoisyNorai love the name

[Happyrosie]

Apart from what I’ve said already, DR, have a look at surreyccfan’s response to the recent post about sleeplessness and especially the volume control part.

[DR650SE in reply to Happyrosie]

Will do Ta

[Hidden]

Hi

I used to ride bikes and used the noise breaker ear plug from emtec which is custom moulded. Friend of mine worked in noisy factory and their staff had them, includes a filter so you can still hear things.

noisebreaker.com/

I don't know enough about the science though wonder if the excessive vibrations on the inner ear combined with blocking all sound with foam plugs is a bad one. My best bike was an fjr1300 which interestingly had such a great screen I often didn't wear any plugs at all, it really was that quiet at speed !! Failing try not to let tinnitus get in the way of things you enjoy, for me wind noise was part of the biking experience as it is on top of a hill..

[DR650SE in reply to Hidden]

Thanks NoyzeWill follow up on your suggestion

I have never had luck with windshields on bikes as they seem to increase the noise

I like your pseudonym by the way

👍