Is it just me or does this happen to everyone? When the wind speed over my head is up to maybe about 18 MPH the wind noise is loud enough that I don't hear much else.

I have an older bike with friction shifting so I like to listen for chain noise and move the shift levers to minimize the noise. The other day I was trying to listen for a squeak in the crank and then another time it was a once per tire revolution noise I could not hear. The solution is to wait for an uphill section where I slow.

Two days ago I was riding downhill at about 24 MPH (I'm a chicken on residential streets with driveways and intersections.) and some guy had to say "on your left" maybe five times before I noticed. (He was smart enough not to pass until I did notice then disappeared)

Another issue is tire and drivetrain noise from another bike. I can hear a bike following me if we are going downwind but in a headwind I'm deaf.

I wonder if different helmets are different in the amount of wind noise we hear. I know as we get older hearing is not so good and I am over 60 but I hear these things at low speed with no problem.