Fifty Plus (50+) - Hearing Aids and Biking...

Hi all,

I am trying to get back into 'light' biking after a 40 year layoff...

Time has not been too kind...I have many artificial teeth, glasses and
hearing aids.

When my speed picks up, the wind noise almost drowns out
traffic noise.

I suspect that the intensity of the wind noise might be because
of the hearing aids.

Is this a problem with people with 'ordinary' hearing?

Or am I going to have to wear "wind shields" similar to the foam
covers outdoor newspeople use? http://www.bikeforums.net/images/smilies/lol.gif

I guess that a rear view mirror might be in my future...

Jerry

Is this a problem with people with 'ordinary' hearing?

Yes.

I no longer wear my hearing aids when riding. The wind noise cancels any advantage the aids might otherwise provide. I do use a helmet mounted rear view mirror to compensate for the loss. It didn't take long to get used to this change in sensory balance on rides.

Is this a problem with people with 'ordinary' hearing?No. At least, not at ordinary speeds.

Considering how many riders I see wearing earbuds while pedaling, you're probably more cognizant of your surroundings with or without hearing aids than they are.

I find riding into the wind causes the 'wind noise', and at some other times too. If I turn my head the noise goes away...but then I can not see where I am going. :)

Yes wind noise is a problem.

They make devices http://www.slipstreamz.com/news.asp?upd=1&newsID=10 supposed to help the situation, but I've never seen anyone around here that has tried them. There are a few others than the link.

I like the wind noise, tends to drown out my tinnitus!

I like the wind noise, tends to drown out my tinnitus!

1+ Lp

i wear my hearing aids all the time when riding. even though the wind noise does get irratating i believe it is better to hear whatever you can than nothing at all,especially with traffic.

i wear my hearing aids all the time when riding. even though the wind noise does get irratating i believe it is better to hear whatever you can than nothing at all,especially with traffic.

Hammer Man, are your hearing aids behind the ear or the smaller in the canal type?

i no longer wear my hearing aids when riding. The wind noise cancels any advantage the aids might otherwise provide. I do use a helmet mounted rear view mirror to compensate for the loss. It didn't take long to get used to this change in sensory balance on rides.

+1

Hammer Man, are your hearing aids behind the ear or the smaller in the canal type?

in the ear,{ITE**
I do have BTE and have worn those as well, no matter what ya do the wind noise is always there.

I look at the fact that since I have a severe to profound hearing loss why worry about anymore lose,and inmo better to hear and try too decipher the noise than hear nothing at all.

i have ridden without my hearing aids and be quite honest i do enjoy the pure quiteness but again inmo that is not being safety concious

byte speed. that is a very interesting product. will check that one out.

I have not been wearing my aids (BTE) due to all the wind noise. I only have one good ear and wear a BiCross system. Even at slow speeds it was annoying. I don't wear ear buds to listen to music but I have an arm band to hold my iPhone to play tunes (full volume so I can just barely hear the music) while riding. Also serves as my GPS (have been playing with various apps latest is iMapmyride. Clever but the computer side interface is fussy. Will play some more with it to see if it is worth keeping). As for hearing on the road it's very difficult for me. That slipstreamz product looked interesting.

i like the wind noise, tends to drown out my tinnitus!

+1

I like the wind noise, tends to drown out my tinnitus!

+2, got it in both ears.

I've noticed the the wind noise is much worse with the ipod ear buds in than out. If Apple could design a more aerodynamic style it would probably help. I'm not sure about hearing aid designs, but it would seem that the smaller less noticible designs would not come in contact with the wind as much.

I turn mine off and use a mirror. Jack

I turn mine off and use a mirror. Jack

Been using a mirror for about a year now. If I remember to use it- it is better than hearing. Cars are so quiet over here that even on Country roads a car will suddenly be trying to overtake me.

And at this time of year- I am normally using a Ski mask that cuts down anything I can hear over the wind noise. And that is with normal hearing.

Is this a problem with people with 'ordinary' hearing?

I guess that a rear view mirror might be in my future...



Hello, Jerry.

The best free though perhaps gratuitous advice of the day follows:

Don't try to get back into cycling. Ride. Ride. Ride. Repeat.

No hearing aids here, but at high speeds and into good headwinds my hearing is pretty worthless for hearing traffic.

Except for riders who are very flexible and skillful at looking back without them, I think all of us should have and use mirrors.

Well it got up to 40 today and the sun came out for a bit
so I tried out a beanie under my helmet ( and a new pair
of (indoor) soccer shoes ( Adidas Sambas).

Noise was still at a high level, but the good news was
that the Sambas enabled me to escape from the toe-clips
a lot more easily that when I wear the Rockport Brogans :)

I am starting to wonder about which muscles are used for
pedaling in a standing position.

I can be pedaling fairly comfortably but my legs feel
too shaky to stand and pedal. This is aggravating when
trying to climb a hill.

Jerry

My hearing loss is mild to moderate at high frequency (50db at 2000 hz? ). I wear open-canal sonic innovation ions. I take them out when I'm riding and use a mirror attached to my sunglasses. I think I can hear cars better without the wind noise interfering.

I find the wind noise too annoying so I don't use mine while riding. I bought a mirror that I attached to a pair of sunglasses which I use all the time. I found the mirror very easy to adapt too. Does anyone use the helmet mounted mirror? I can't even ride in the car with the windows down using aids. Enjoy the peace and quiet while riding.
Al

I knew that I should not have looked at this thread. I have a gravity games helmet with a sunshade and full face protection. I took it for a ride yesterday and it almost broke my neck trying to hold it up and it was so tight that it tried to crush my ears. But now I have to give it another ride because I don't remember hearing very much wind noise. Maybe I can get more neck strength and put something inside the helmet when not in use to form it a little wider at the ears. Another thing it kept my head warm in the 50 degree temp.

I wear a behind the ear aid on the right (left is completely dead). When I attempted to get back in shape in 96, I found the wind noise even from jogging was annoying. I wear a soft sweat band when jogging and discovered that pulling the band down to cover the top of my ear (and the microphone) greatly reduced the noise. So now I wear a sweat band under my helmet and over the top of the ear when the weather is warm and a soft knit cap under the helmet and over the ears when the weather is cold.

Of course, for fast down hills, you're going to get noise! But that's part of the thrill of the downhill!

I also use a handlebar mounted mirror. I think if you wear aids or only hear in one ear, you can't tell very well where sound is coming from - you can hear that cars are nearby, but not how many and not where. (Also, as more people get hybrids, cars are going to become very quiet!)

- Ed

I am starting to wonder about which muscles are used for
pedaling in a standing position.

I can be pedaling fairly comfortably but my legs feel
too shaky to stand and pedal. This is aggravating when
trying to climb a hill.

Jerry

Pedalling out of the saddle is not so much an art- but it is an aquired skill.

If you have a chance- get on a spinning bike at a gym- or a stationery bike- or trainer and start gently- it will come.

And I find the glutomous Maximus (The bitt Cheels) and calf muscle are the ones that work when standing.

I can be pedaling fairly comfortably but my legs feel
too shaky to stand and pedal. This is aggravating when
trying to climb a hill.

Jerry

Be sure to shift into a harder gear before standing to pedal. Standing cadence should be much slower than seated.

My hearing loss is severe-profound, which means when I don't wear my aids I'm all but deaf. When I ride with the aids in, the wind noise is so severe I'm also all but deaf. I don't need to wear the aids to get to that point, so I don't, although I do make a point of taking them with me.