General Cycling Discussion - ear protection

What are some good suggestions for ear protection? After over a decade off the bike I'm back on it, but southwestern Ontario (Canada) is really windy, and my ears are hurting. The other day I fought a 30 km/h headwind for an hour, which was like listening to a jet take off.

A headband? Beanie? Ear plugs?

Polar Fusion Soundflips (http://www.polarfusion.com/content.asp?id=product)

I wear a headband. I know some cyclists in Manitoba (where it is ALWAYS windy) who use earplugs.

I really can't cope with cold ears, so I have a fleece headband and a windproof one. I prefer the fleece one to the windproof one, as I find the windproof affects my hearing a bit too much.

I wear a skull cap from 8F to the upper 40s. Higher than the upper 40s and I am fine without anything covering my ears. I used to use a headband for 40F+ but I left it on the bus. Need to purchase a new one.

Get a Troy Lee full face helmet and plug the air vents with duct tape.

I use a cheap set of earmuffs my aunt gave me for xmas one year - they are designed for construction workers, and they go around the back of your head instead of over the top. I've seen them at hardware stores for five dollars, though not this time of year.

They look like this, only smaller:

http://www.hammacher.com/publish/70540.asp?source=google&keyword=earmuffs&cm_ven=NewGate&cm_cat=Google&cm_pla=Apparel-Accessories&cm_ite=earmuffs

I either wear a fleece beanie (regular snug hat) that fits over my ears or a buff (http://www.buffusa.com/) or both w/ the buff covering my ears, neck and chin/mouth.

I think the OP is referring to noise as the reason for his ears hurting, not cold. Honestly i ride a lot and can sort of identify with what he is saying. I firmly believe that my hearing has been at least slightly damaged by all of the hours into the howling wind.

180s behind the ear muffs....very stylish and blocks out the wind. Also, the bad goes behind your ears so you can wear a helmet with the earmuffs

If noise alone is problem, the cheapest and easiest way out is to cram wadded up paper towel or kleenex in your ears. It may sound stupid, but it works well.