Theoretically, the helmet pads dying is an indication that the helmet is past it's "use by" date. Since UV and environmental degrading is not visually apparent the helmet manufacturers design the padding to only last as long as the average heavily used helmet. However, it seems like an awfully short time period. Bell should have no trouble sending you new pads, or you can find the pads online using a specific search for your helmet model AND replace AND pads.