Hearing Loss?
 

Does anyone know if the constant rush of wind noise has any detrimental effects on hearing?
What kind of decibel level are we listing to when pedaling at a decent clip?
I ask because my father, a dentist, has nerve damage to his ears from the constant whine of the drill.

--A

It's not nearly as loud as passing cars (I can definitley feel the temporary hearing loss after a long slog out of the city).

This is something I wondered about after riding on a really windy day.
I was amazed with how loud it was.

I've considered getting some hearing protection but haven't done it yet.

I use cotton in the winter, but may try it now. I noticed the wind noise is loud.

I've had some medical issues with one of my ears so I see an ENT doctor every other month. She says yes, you can damage your hearing from the wind while cycling. While she was very happy I was riding my bike again, I did have to get ear protection, as my left ear is more susceptible to damage.

cold weather: http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...ge.php?id=6834

warm weather: http://www.buff.es/default.cfm?idioma=3#

If you have hearing problems you can get a hearing aid from Phonak. I believe that they also help your testosterone levels.

You can't wear a hearing aid while cycling. The wind noise is like someone blowing into a microphone set at top volumn. Mine is a GN Metrix. Maybe it takes a Phonak to change testosterone levels?

Helpful people aren't they? ;)

I wear heraing aids all the time, and if you set the volume down it proposes zero problems.

yes, I wear/use phonak digital, but they did not include any doping products/instructions for EPO or testestrone

I wear a bilateral set of Synchro Oticons, at $ 7000 for the set. I don't wear them during riding since the wind noise is too loud, even at the minimal volume setting.

I am pretty sensitive to my hearing and wear protection (have always worn protection) in situations where most people are just beginning to realize there can be a problem and also in situations where, I'm sure, most people would never dream of wearing hearing protection.

As for cycling, I've tried it - it does make for quieter cycling - but find it uncomfortable (I use either the wax type or sponge type plugs). Also, I don't believe I ride sufficiently long at speeds that will cause me any hearing loss. I can also turn my head a little so that any tendency for wind to whistle in my ears is mitigated. Traffic is another matter - generally, where I ride, the traffic isn't really that noisy or constant. Even in NYC, traffic noise levels in most parts of the city, IMO, are not loud enough to cause damage (BTW, I cannot acknowledge the concept of "temporary hearing loss" - damage comes, hearing goes, permanently).

In short, I found that hearing protection while riding was not for me. I can't imagine having to wear hearing aids while riding. I tried listening to music a couple of times and found that the wind hitting the ear phones caused far too much noise for me - would imagine wind against a hearing aid would essentially make the same amount of noise. I'm convinced the wind, itself, blowing against the phones would cause hearing loss - I haven't even broached the topic of turning up the music to hear over the wind - a sure way to guarantee hearing loss.

I'm really surprised someone hasn't already jumped in here to proclaim how unsafe hearing protection can be while riding - 'you won't hear or be able to audibly distinguish between safe traffic and drivers who deliberately or by accident will run you over as they pass in their cars.'

I tried some extended rides with and without hearing protection and concluded that, for me, it wasn't worth the trouble - but, you should do what works for you.

I believe wearing a helmet (something new in my equipment list this year) has helped with the wind problem as the portion of the strap that passes in front of my ears tends to deflect the wind just enough that the noise in my ear is reduced somewhat.

As I stated above, I am very keen to protection of my hearing - so I am most interested in what others of you have to say concerning this topic.

Caruso

One more thing . . . I could be wrong - but, in my experience, in truly noisy situations where exposure will certainly cause hearing loss, one can actually hear conversations, etc. better with protection in place than without. I will often attend a wedding reception, for instance, and slip a pair of ear plugs in my pockets just in case the music volume at the reception gets out of hand (it usually does as the evening wears on). I swear I can hear conversations better with the plugs in place than without. It becomes more difficult to speak in that situation, however, because you perceive your own voice to be at a much higher level than it actually is.

Interesting stuff - thanks for posting this topic, AllenG.

Caruso

Beh, while not being able to hear cars coming behind you might be an annoyance, "distinguishing between safe traffic" is just fear mongering.

How exactly do you hear a car that is going to run you over and one that isn't? Are you going to jump out of the way of every car that seems like it's going to pass close?

I agree completely. I've worked for steel fabricators, in machine shops, and coal fired powerplants (before becoming a bookkeeper) and conversation is best heard through foam earplugs. The way it works, I believe, is that high frequency noise is easily dampened, while the low pitch sounds penetrate. It's kind of like your neighbor's stereo. All you get are the bass notes booming through the walls.

Oddly, I do really well with car noise while riding without the hearing aid. You lose the exhaust and air noise, but the tire sound is right in my range.

Just in passing, I'll mention that my hearing problems come from a series of relatively minor head colds with sinus infections about 12 years, and have very little relationship with noise. When I left the industrial scene, I relied on my right ear. It is now so bad they weren't even able to fit it with a hearing aid.

I also posted this in the Commuting Section. Slvoid made a wax model of an ear, fitted with a decibel meter, and blew a 25 mph stream of air over it. Average of 90 dbA. And then: Ok, so riding with a sound meter zip tied to my messenger bag a-la radio style on my way home yielded an average dBA of 96.2, low of 58, high of 112.

--A

I think I remember hearing something a long time ago about slipping a piece of tubing over the helmet straps right in front of your ears to stir up the wind and cut the noise..... Sounds like it could be reasonable. Or a dirty trick to tell to newbies. Hey, someone try it and let us know if it works, or if any old timers fall over laughing!

I have tinnitus. BTW, the worst side effect of hearing lose. I have noticed an increase in the noise in my ears over the past year, when I started riding. It could be because my hearing is just getting worse, or it could be because of may riding. It is hard to say.

But the one poster brings up a very good point. Is it better to be able to hear the cars behind you or is it better to risk hearing loss?

The one poster brings up a good idea about the straps. Perhaps and additional device could be slipped on the straps that cover the ear from the front but not in the back.

The problem is that we experience high decibel levels where you don't realize it. For example, I read somewhere that taking a shower presents a risk.

Unless I can find hearing protection that protects me but still allows me to hear traffic, I doubt if I will wear hearing protection when riding.


Please do take steps to protect your hearing where you can. I would give anything to not have this constant ringing in my ears. If you hearing ringing in your ears after being in a noisy enviroment then you have done damage. If you do this enough that ringing could stay with you the rest of your life.

Well, I've noticed in winter riding, a balacava pulled over the ears lets me use the hearing aid. Maybe it's not the wind per se, but turbulance.

On the sound meter; it might be a good test. I'm not sure about this. Microphones don't handle wind well. If you've ever heard someone testing a mic by blowing into it, you know it amplifies differently than speech. I respect Slovid's work, but I'm not completely sure all the variables have been covered. What I'm getting at is that the high of 112 is quite loud, and there might have been a noise reduction all out of proportion to the thickness of a thin windscreen.

I don't think I'm saying this very well, but I'm pretty sure I understand what I mean.

There used to be a device (10 years ago) that slipped over our strap. It was a piece of plastic that looked like a oversized guitar pick. You could buy them at performance. I swear they were called earplanes (but I think there is another product with that name). They allegedly acted like little fairings so you could hear traffic behind you and break down the wind noise.

I've seen an item calle Dog Ears, I believe, at the LBS. Little insulating triangles that attach to the helmut straps over the ears. They would surely cut the wind/noise, and I don't suppose the ears are likely to overheat because of them. Perspiration is not good for electronics, so I still won't be wearing the hearing aid in the summer.

Operator, I trust you realized that I was sarcastically paraphrasing posts I have read in other sections of the forums. Those were in response to how utterly irresponsible and unsafe it is to listen to music while you ride because you will not be able to hear traffic approaching from the rear. Anyone expressing an opposing view was described as an idiot, fodder for the human organ harvest.

I gave up on listening to music on my bike almost before I tried it because the noise caused by wind contacting whatever type of listening device I plugged into my ear was just too loud – forget for a moment that the wind noise blocked out the sound of the music – the wind, itself, was causing such a racket that prolonged exposure would certainly have caused hearing loss.

Since I started wearing a helmet, wind noise has been much less of a concern for me – I know that the leading edges of my straps are deflecting the wind enough that it isn’t whistling in my ears.

It would be interesting to know the details of these two tests. There are many variables that could skew the results. I would think that vibration on the zip-tied meter could cause a false reading. Traffic noise could also affect both average and peak readings. Also, directing a stream of air over a model of an ear may or may not accurately simulate conditions present at ones own ear while riding a bike. First of all, most of us don’t subject ourselves to a constant stream of 25 mph air during our rides. Secondly, a slight tilt of the head is enough to change the air deflection in a way as to afford comfort by minimizing the noise produced.

I don’t mean to challenge at all concerns about possible hearing damage caused by wind noise produced when riding a bike – but, personally, I would certainly know if I were subjecting myself to those noise levels – I would feel it during the ride, and my ears would be signaling me “loud and clear” afterwards.

Interesting tests, though.

Caruso

That's it. I don't discount the hearing damage concerns, but I'm wondering if the mechanical pressure/turbulance on the microphone might be distorting the results. With one functioning ear, and that when wearing a hearing aid, I can't afford not to be concerned.

Huh?

I meant, I'm not sure all the variables were controlled, randya, but I'm still concerned. Was that your question.

I have constant tinnitus, and it never goes away. I orginally lost my high frequency hearing when I served In the Marine Corps, when I hit the age of 47, I started hearing all kinds of different sounds, from buzzing,, highs and lows to door bell type sounds, it was really strange, and then the hearing just went to s#it, bilateral nerve deafness wear hearing aids in both ears. I still have tinnintus everyday but I guess I have become use to the sounds.

For a long time I never wore the hearing aids when I rode my bike, nor did I ever wear a mirror, now I do/wear both. Safety should always be a concern.