Losing my hearing

[Aasland]

There is another option that is far cheaper, will ensure proper hearing protectionStick in some good hearing protection (ear plugs) and don't listen to any music.

I ride with people like this .. and this is what I did when I lived in Oregon. And when in the twisties I don't need the distraction of any audio.

But .. never again will I attempt to escape the midwest without something to keep my brain occupied.

 

[Aasland]

... but after a couple of days wearing them with a helmet on the road for 6-10 hours, they became bothersome.

Itching and irritation of the ear canal isn't uncommon among hearing-aid-users ... oto-ease (lube) or a prescription ointment (kill yeast/bacteria) might help. I know oto-ease works great when I use my Westones on extended rides.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Speaking of that, SkooterG turned me on to using Neosporin. Just a small amount on the rubber bud makes a difference over long days, and especially on long, multiple day, trips.

 

[majicmaker]

I see I'm in Very good company here. I've learned long ago that this is all too common. I paid $6,400 for my pair. I thought that was CRAZY expensive at the time. I was proven wrong. They were worth every penny.

 

[juniorfjr]

Tinitis bugs me 4 out of 7 days but last nite went to see the group Chicago and 3 hours of loud music and no ringing today. Hmmmm.

 

[garyahouse]

Tinitus. Ah yes. My old friend. I hear the ringing 24/7 with the left being a little more prominent. Hey-- at least I'm never lonely. Hohohoho. I've got three things going on when I'm riding: my cell phone, my GPS, and the music. Sometimes I'm listening to the news, sometimes to a book/message of some sort, but most of the time, to one of my 1700 mp3's. I thought long and hard about getting rid of my FJR in favor of a BMW K1200LT because of the incredible stereo and wind protection it has. Wind: less noise. Stereo: oh yeah. However, in riding one several times, I was reminded that extra wind protection or not, I did have to crank up the listening level to hear the music over all the racket of traveling at higher speeds. I know better than to subject my ears to that. I decided against the Beemer for all of the usual reasons, cost, quality, performance, weight, and etc. But the wind noise and music problem was still unresolved. I have high hopes that my problem will be solved.

Just a thought about the "fit" of these custom molded rascals. I was told that not everybody is happy with the first set of in-ear monitors. However, based on customer feedback, the occasional unhappy camper is almost always satisfied the second time around.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Real told me, "We will make it right, no matter how many times we have to refit them." Wow. That's some serious customer service... and I don't even have them yet. I was also told, "I am an audiophile. I love music, I play several instruments and the quality of the sound these units produce is second to none. I wouldn't sell them if I didn't know this to be true. I've been in sales for XX years ( I forgot the actual #), and I can't sell a product that I don't believe in. I'm just not wired like that." I have high hopes that these are going to work for me. I hope I'm not disappointed. I even warned Mr. Reali of DBplugz that I intend to do a full and honest review of his product on this forum. He said he was looking forward to reading it.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[Auburn]

Tinitus. Ah yes. My old friend. I hear the ringing 24/7 with the left being a little more prominent. Hey-- at least I'm never lonely. Hohohoho. I've got three things going on when I'm riding: my cell phone, my GPS, and the music. Sometimes I'm listening to the news, sometimes to a book/message of some sort, but most of the time, to one of my 1700 mp3's. I thought long and hard about getting rid of my FJR in favor of a BMW K1200LT because of the incredible stereo and wind protection it has. Wind: less noise. Stereo: oh yeah. However, in riding one several times, I was reminded that extra wind protection or not, I did have to crank up the listening level to hear the music over all the racket of traveling at higher speeds. I know better than to subject my ears to that. I decided against the Beemer for all of the usual reasons, cost, quality, performance, weight, and etc. But the wind noise and music problem was still unresolved. I have high hopes that my problem will be solved.
Just a thought about the "fit" of these custom molded rascals. I was told that not everybody is happy with the first set of in-ear monitors. However, based on customer feedback, the occasional unhappy camper is almost always satisfied the second time around.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Real told me, "We will make it right, no matter how many times we have to refit them." Wow. That's some serious customer service... and I don't even have them yet. I was also told, "I am an audiophile. I love music, I play several instruments and the quality of the sound these units produce is second to none. I wouldn't sell them if I didn't know this to be true. I've been in sales for XX years ( I forgot the actual #), and I can't sell a product that I don't believe in. I'm just not wired like that." I have high hopes that these are going to work for me. I hope I'm not disappointed. I even warned Mr. Reali of DBplugz that I intend to do a full and honest review of his product on this forum. He said he was looking forward to reading it.

Gary

darksider #44

I have a set from Big Ear that I have had for about 5 or 6 years now. They are fantastic. I did have to do a very small amount of sanding with a dremel to get rid od a couple of "hot spots" that only showed up after 8 or 9 days in the saddle riding 500+ mile days in a row. The one thing that was not an issue with the molded plugs with speakers is the fact that your ears are not at the same height in relation to the ear pockets built into helmets. I did have to remove the lining in my helmet and enlarge the area where the foam backing was remove to accommodate how my ears aligned to the helmet. Another thing I do on long rides is to put Neosporin in my ear it helps with making sure you have a good seal for blocking outside noise and helps your ear when it is not used to wearing ear plugs all day.

I have a J&M 2003 system that uses a boom mic in the helmet and has a 3.5mm jack for the big ears to plug into. I also have a mic-mutes installed to turn off the open mic when not in use. Then the noise canceling circuits don't have to raise the volume to cover the wind noise. The result is I have the volumes turned down to less then half what I used to run everything at. The sound is like a freaking concert in my helmet.

I wear the Big Ear with my iPod when doing any outside work that has high levels of noise.

I paid $300 for the Big Ear back then. I see that DBPlugz has more options available then when I bought and am curious to see what results you have.

 

[juniorfjr]

Tinitus. Ah yes. My old friend. I hear the ringing 24/7 with the left being a little more prominent. Hey-- at least I'm never lonely. Hohohoho. I've got three things going on when I'm riding: my cell phone, my GPS, and the music. Sometimes I'm listening to the news, sometimes to a book/message of some sort, but most of the time, to one of my 1700 mp3's. I thought long and hard about getting rid of my FJR in favor of a BMW K1200LT because of the incredible stereo and wind protection it has. Wind: less noise. Stereo: oh yeah. However, in riding one several times, I was reminded that extra wind protection or not, I did have to crank up the listening level to hear the music over all the racket of traveling at higher speeds. I know better than to subject my ears to that. I decided against the Beemer for all of the usual reasons, cost, quality, performance, weight, and etc. But the wind noise and music problem was still unresolved. I have high hopes that my problem will be solved.
Just a thought about the "fit" of these custom molded rascals. I was told that not everybody is happy with the first set of in-ear monitors. However, based on customer feedback, the occasional unhappy camper is almost always satisfied the second time around.

As a matter of fact, Mr. Real told me, "We will make it right, no matter how many times we have to refit them." Wow. That's some serious customer service... and I don't even have them yet. I was also told, "I am an audiophile. I love music, I play several instruments and the quality of the sound these units produce is second to none. I wouldn't sell them if I didn't know this to be true. I've been in sales for XX years ( I forgot the actual #), and I can't sell a product that I don't believe in. I'm just not wired like that." I have high hopes that these are going to work for me. I hope I'm not disappointed. I even warned Mr. Reali of DBplugz that I intend to do a full and honest review of his product on this forum. He said he was looking forward to reading it.

Gary

darksider #44

I have a set from Big Ear that I have had for about 5 or 6 years now. They are fantastic. I did have to do a very small amount of sanding with a dremel to get rid od a couple of "hot spots" that only showed up after 8 or 9 days in the saddle riding 500+ mile days in a row. The one thing that was not an issue with the molded plugs with speakers is the fact that your ears are not at the same height in relation to the ear pockets built into helmets. I did have to remove the lining in my helmet and enlarge the area where the foam backing was remove to accommodate how my ears aligned to the helmet. Another thing I do on long rides is to put Neosporin in my ear it helps with making sure you have a good seal for blocking outside noise and helps your ear when it is not used to wearing ear plugs all day.

I have a J&M 2003 system that uses a boom mic in the helmet and has a 3.5mm jack for the big ears to plug into. I also have a mic-mutes installed to turn off the open mic when not in use. Then the noise canceling circuits don't have to raise the volume to cover the wind noise. The result is I have the volumes turned down to less then half what I used to run everything at. The sound is like a freaking concert in my helmet.

I wear the Big Ear with my iPod when doing any outside work that has high levels of noise.

I paid $300 for the Big Ear back then. I see that DBPlugz has more options available then when I bought and am curious to see what results you have.

Like Auburn I had customs made, I was able to go to a local audiologist and have some westone custom earbuds made and love them. I think they retail for around $350 as well. Before with the E6i's I had trouble getting a seal on my right ear and was always futzing with it. I've even taken the speakers out of my helmet and don't need the music/valentine/garmin turned up very loud at all.

 

[garyahouse]

Magic:

I didn't even know you wore hearing aids. My day is coming, I am sure. Glad to hear they're working good for ya. Pricey, yeah, but being able to hear is priceless.

Junior:

Hope you had some sort of ear protection going on during that concert??

Hey Auburn,

After 6 years, how do they look? They're made of a silicone material, right? Have any problems keeping the "ports," ei the little holes leading to the ear drum... clean... after all that time? You said, "The result is I have the volumes turned down to less then half what I used to run everything at. The sound is like a freaking concert in my helmet. "

I have high hopes that I'll be able to enjoy the same thing... without having to turn the volume way up when I get out on the highway any more. My hearing is worth protecting.

Gary

 

[Auburn]

Gary, the ports stay clean. Big Ear sent a small tool that fits inside the holes to clean out. I always make sure they stay clean and never have had any issues. The ear plugs look exactly like they did when I first got them except for the small spots that I sanded to adjust them. I always take the time to coil the wire up like it was when it came and not wade it up in a ball. I put them away in the case it came with for storage when not in use. Just general common sense take care of them. Mine are clear silicon on the inside and black where it shows outside the ear. No change in color there.

The key to reducing the sound to the lowest levels was the mic-mutes. Cutting the open mic and the noise cancelling circuits really makes a huge difference.

 

[Aasland]

My first pair of custom molded plugs (Challengers, from Precision Labs) were awesome. But one night in a hotel room, an mouse found them inside my helmet and chomped away.

The hotel (Natural Bridge in VA) moved me to another room and comped me for a couple nights. I still wish I had those Challengers though ... no other pair have fit that well.

tl:dr: mice like earwax; keep your plugs safe.

 

[garyahouse]

Still waiting on the DBplugz, but we should be getting pretty close. Not sure why, but today the ears are really ringing. Ha -- it's loud in here. I haven't been around any loud noises lately, but every once in a while, the tinnitus gets pretty annoying. I was just remembering back about 42 years ago. I just turned 16 and a couple buds gave me a ride down to the Deep Purple concert going on in Detroit. I still remember seeing that wall of speakers. At one point, I was almost close enough to touch them. My ears were ringing for days after that concert. Wish I knew then what I know now. Oh to undo the consequences of being young and stupid... That wasn't the last time I attended a concert like that. What damage those early 70's concerts DIDN'T do, 20 years in a tool and die shop... did. Sometimes wish I could go back in time...

Gary

 

[Aasland]

I still remember seeing that wall of speakers. At one point, I was almost close enough to touch them. My ears were ringing for days after that concert.
Gary

Boy do I remember those days .. Judas Priest, AC/DC, Metallica, Slayer, etc. Not only did the ringing take a few days to subside, but it took at least a day to hear "right" again. I'm surprised that was legal, and that was in socialist Norway.

The Ipods are known for having a great amp, 30 mA IIRC, enough to power a nice set of earphones. The downside is that the current youth are damaging thier hearing faster than we did. What's their next product ... hearing aids? iHear ?

 

[garyahouse]

Aasland,

Interesting that you would bring that up. I had my students read a story today about a federal lawsuit levied against Apple several years back because of the volume generated by their iPod. Independent tests of those early model iPods had them pegging the decibel meter at 120. That is indeed loud enough to cause ear damage. If I'm not mistaken, Apple cut back on the horsepower a little bit after that. I read to the kids that listening to most MP3 players at a max. of about 60 percent volume will help to prevent hearing damage.

One of my girls raised her hand to tell me that she listened to her MP3 player at full blast ALL the time and sometimes for hours at a time. I reminded her that she was risking her hearing by doing this. She proudly announced to the class, "I don't care."

She's about 14 years old. I remember well those days so many years ago when "today" was so important the future didn't matter.

Youth...

Gary

darksider #44

 

[garyahouse]

Today I got home from work and there was a box waiting for me from DBplugz. I opened it with anxious fingers to find a beautiful black velvet box packet in bubble wrap. Did I order ear monitors or ear rings? Snazzy little box indeed. I opened it to behold my new riding buddies.

The appearance

They are truly a work of art. I ordered them in clear. Nice.

The fit

They seem to fit well, but then I don't know how they're supposed to feel. They extend WAAAYYY down into the ear canal, coming up perhaps 3/16 of an inch short of my ear drums. That stands to reason as the small foam plug placed in my ear just before filling them with foam during my fitting... was about that thick. That makes sense.

The performance

The sound is indeed the best I've ever heard. Period. I plugged them in to my computer and kicked on an old familiar song. Absolutely no distortion, of course. Music sounds so much more ALIVE.

THE VERDICT:

Amazing. Worth every dime. Wow.

For the full report, check out the rest of the story here: CLICKY