Last year, petrol prices forced us to sell our 4×4 and purchase a motorcycle for my husband to commute back and forth from work. He bought a used Harley Sportster and though it’s not real big bike, it does tend to wake the neighbours in the morning if you know what I mean. It’s loud!
He’d only been riding it a few weeks when I noticed that he seemed to be ignoring me. He had mentioned that the office receptionist thought it was kind of cool that he was riding the Harley! I thought, should I be jealous? Then I realised what was really going on! He couldn’t hear me! When I would make a comment about a movie we were watching, it wasn’t that he was dismissing it, he literally didn’t hear me say it.
I realised this because I started noticing him turning up the volume and talking more loudly. Now, I’m not sure if he heard me say please take the garbage out and simply ignored me, but I did know based on the other symptoms that the bike we’d purchased to save money on gas was causing hearing loss! After a bit of research, I realized that this is a pretty common occurrence whether you’re a die hard biker or an occasional guest on the back of a bike (like me).
Hearing loss can occur at decibel levels as low as 85 and some motorcycles, including our little Sportster can have a decibel level of 100 decibels at idle, 108 at moderate rpms and 120 decibels at fully revved. In other words, hearing loss or tinnitus (painful ringing in the ears) can begin to occur while sitting on your Harley in the driveway!
We’d purchased a helmet for safety, but we hadn’t thought about my husband’s hearing. I’m sure there are times when he’d rather not hear me, but I decided it was best if we looked into purchasing motorcycle earplugs. At first, we couldn’t afford anything but a Moldex Sparkplugs Pocket Pack, and they worked beautifully, but then we looked into custom motorcycle earplugs and my husband found them very comfortable under his helmet.
I still use the Moldex Sparkplugs Pocket Pack if and when I ride. Call me a worrier, but the older I get, the more I appreciate the airbags in the four walls of my Honda! My husband on the other hand has recently purchased a leather jacket and I’m starting to wonder if he’ll want to go to Sturgis next year! Yikes! I think I’ll stick around here for my concerts rather than spend a few days eating bugs in the wind.
Cheers for now!
Meghan
P.S. If you ride, protect your hearing or his! Order your motorcycle earplugs, custom or disposable, today!