I'm fully aware of the danger level. The deafening roaring of intense traffic in my ears makes the hairs stand up on my back and the nerves stand up (if that is possible) inside my spine. It makes me hyper-alert and overreactive. Calming the sounds allows me to respond more rationally.

By the way, I went riding tonight without the plugs because I was going slow and for a short distance with my stepson. Right now, my ears are still ringing. That can't be good.

Not only do I wear earplugs, but I've been known to ride a unicycle blindfolded across power lines!

Many people don't even notice anymore when their ears are ringing.

Another BF'er posted about clipping a wind-shielded mic and decibel meter to his messenger bag. He got readings that were often in the 90dB range, sometimes going over 100. That's loud.. We're just so accustomed to it, although it's still not healthy.

I don't think that I'd need hearing protection when just walking down the street (although I stick my fingers in my ears around jackhammers and fire trucks). But, I do think that protection is worthwhile when riding because of the constant, and close, proximity to traffic.

I've been known to cover my ears with my hands and go, "Laalalalalalaaa laaa laalalalalalaaa laaaaa" from time to time. Usually when the wife is trying to get me off the computer and away from the forum.

That's called hearing damage, and it's cumulative. Meaning the cells are dead, and they're never coming back. Stop riding, and whatever range was lost will still be lost. Forever.

This is exactly why one should wear hearing protection when riding. The damage is irreversible. Saying I'm sorry won't bring the range we lose back. Once it's gone, it's gone.

I listen to music. A lot. I also play the guitar (and ukulele, and banjo, and piano, etc). If I had to choose between not hearing my instruments when I'm forty or never riding again, I'd give up the bike, easy.

Hearing damage is not worth the pleasure of riding a bike any more than retinal damage is worth the pleasure of staring into the sun, or welding without a mask.

Unfortunately, lots of people don't realize this until they've already lost a significant part of their hearing. This isn't like vision, where contacts, glasses, and surgery can give you the eyes of a 20-year old again. Hearing aid technology isn't nearly as developed. People, protect your ears however you can.

Old thread I know, but I think its an interesting and useful topic. Strait from my anatomy class: human hearing has both an absolute threshold and a relative threshold. The lower absolute threshold is very low, meaning we can hear very soft sounds (about 10 db). The harder part is the relative threshold- distinguishing one sound level from another. Generally, each source of noise drowns each other out anyway and you only hear the loudest source (90 db dump truck) at one time. My commute is at rush hour on a bike lane beside a road used by cars, buses and lorries so I think even the softest times will be over 50dB (Light automotive traffic at 30 metres. I wouldn't use earplugs on quiet roads and pathways but where the noises constantly exceed 80 or so dB, I think it will serve as sunglasses for the ears. Likewise, it would be dangerous to wear sunglasses when its dark but when its bright, sunglasses reduce the brightness of everything- into a comfortable range.

All this is just theory though. I'll try it out when I ride tomorrow.