Author: Dave Fall
It was good to see lots of feedback from last week’s column about the wearing of spectacles/ sunglasses and the need to have regular eye check-ups to ensure safer riding of motorcycles.
That train of thought had me wondering how many of us bother to wear earplugs while riding, probably not nearly enough…
There’s maybe not much hope for me because I already know I have hearing problems after nearly 50 years of riding.
Here's some proof
The only time I ever bothered wearing earplugs would have been during a bout of ear-ache, usually fixed with liberal applications of almond oil and good, old-fashioned cotton wool shoved into the offending ear. (Come to think of it I probably did the same when the mother-in-the-law would come along for a ride in the car, but I digress.)
Statistics of the believable kind are often the easiest way to explain or prove a point. Decibels (units used to measure sound intensity and measured against a given scale) suggest that bikers would hear around 91dB (decibels) while riding to work or going out for that Sunday morning ride. You might be shocked to know that more than 80dB are potentially dangerous, according to the experts, so here’s some further proof for you.
General traffic noise is rated at 70dB, while passing close to someone using a chainsaw or pneumatic drill is quite obviously most unpleasant to our ears at 100dB. Do you live close to an airport? If so, a jet taking off (assuming you were closer to it than normal) would register 120dB and, in the front row at a rock concert, expect 150dB to be bouncing around inside your skull!
Experience it
Down the years I’ve stood in the pits of many motor race circuits. I can still picture Jim Redman, Ralph Bryans and Yoshimi Katayama warming up their machines in the paddocks on the Isle of Man while standing just a few feet away — earplugs were for wimps back then.
You’ve got to experience the sound of a multi-cylinder Honda blipped to 18 thou …
Today, in Europe — especially in the UK — “’ealth and safety” wouldn’t allow any spectators within 50 metres of such a spine-chilling experience at a race circuit. More’s the pity, I reckon.
Apparently there are three types of noise (levels) battering bikers as they ride, whether travelling fast or slow: low-frequency booming ones, high-frequency whistling levels and mid-tone “wind-rustling.”
Unfortunately we get used to them all too soon, and that’s the problem.
Next time you go for a ride why not spare a few minutes to try a little experiment to alleviate some of the maladies that you can easily do something about.
Is it making sense?
Forget cotton wool as a quick fix, it’ll only remove (numb out) about seven percent of wind noise. Rather go for those spongy, disposable ones that cost about R12 a set and come in a small container. Most chemists stock them. When inserted correctly (by rolling them in your fingers first to warm them up make a pointy end) and if a good fit, they'll reduce your “dB intake” by as much as 30%.
Now it’s all starting to make sense …
The complete answer, of course, is to visit your local ear specialist and have a pair specially-made. Medical-grade silicon inserts are used and I’m told they’re not too expensive. The results are quite startling if you haven’t left it too late… and there isn’t a law to prevent you using them at that next rock concert!
