Rider Suggestion

Almost 30 years ago, an Army friend convinced me to try a pair of earplugs while riding.
He was a mechanic that dealt with turbine engines a lot and hearing protection was an absolute necessity for him.
Ken had read about a study where continuous exposure to loud noises could not only damage your hearing permanently in the long run, but also lead to fatigue in the short term.
At his urging, I put in the earplugs and rode for about 20 minutes.
"Now take them out and ride a bit more." was his instruction.
I stopped almost immediately and put them back in.
The difference was impressive!
Around town with lots of stop/go riding? I don't bother to plug up.
Anything longer than a few minutes steady rolling, though and I'm looking for the set I stuck in a pocket somewhere.
What brand is up to you and it is a choice of comfort, cost, etc.
Me? I like inexpensive Flents brand foam plugs.
They have a 33db noise reduction (about as good as it gets for over the counter plugs) and can be bought in quantity for a decent savings.
If you lose a pair? It's no big $ deal.
One of the most convenient places to buy them is good ole' Walmart! I get the 40 pair container and change them out every other ride or so.
I can still hear some sounds when I ride, but wind noise with a HJC full faced helmet and no windshield is almost non-existent.

"What kind of noise canceling earplugs do we need at the time of riding?",
is a pretty specific question.

Yes, gear is a personal choice for all.
Me? I've made good and bad choices.
I once wore the wrong footware and lost the side of my foot in a fall.
Now, I wear good riding boots.
Wrong pants?
I lost a hand size chunk of my left calf hide.
Right helmet (for me) the 1st time: I'm here after a wicked slide on pavement at 50mph+ then in the dirt and 30' down a steep embankment where I hit my head hard
enough to crush the hard styrofoam inside the helmet with my forehead and yet am here to tell the tale.
Earplugs 90% of the time??
I can hear my grandkids.

Schu said:

I now have the latest version of the sena blue tooth on my helmet. It's nice to communicate with my two boys when we head out together for a ride. I haven't tried tried phone calls or listening to Van Halen yet. I may give the later a go, but I don't intend on using the phone feature.

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Nice little gift! I picked up a Cardo Freecom 2 over the winter to put into my also new Nolan helmet and its a game changer for morning commutes to/from work. Music via bluetooth keeps me calm and focused, and the call quality is amazing. I don't talk often mind you, but when I do nobody knows I'm even talking from within my helmet until I mention I'm out for a ride. I haven't linked with any other riders yet, but overall I'm loving these moto-friendly headsets.

On to the main topic of this thread, I don't ride with ear protection since I always ride with a full-faced, closed helmet. I've worn goggles only a few times, and every time I do I get smacked in the face by a june bug, horse fly, bumble bee, or some other monstrous unidentified flying insectoid going 40+mph. Ever get shot by a paintball gun in the face or neck? Yeah... it's like that.

jobirobi said:

Oh s**t! That's horrifying and hilarious at the same time. Hilarifying. Horlarious. Who does that?? I hope that you didn't get seriously hurt at the time. Give me another 50 years to catch up to your 400k miles, and I'll let you know if I find myself in a more befuddling collision. So far, I've had contact with another vehicle exactly once, but it was literally the side of a car touching the side of my boot as he tried to enter my lane. Not a scratch appeared on either of our rides, so we both just kind looked at each other and then we both kept going...

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There's a long Part II to the Camry tale.
When she backed into me, the Transalp was pushed out from under me and I sorta stepped off and left, never actually falling to the ground. The bike was on it's side and getting scooted backwards, grinding parts on the pavement as I frantically pounded a fist on the trunk lid of the car trying to get her to stop. When she finally did, she hopped out and was looking under the car for me. I tapped her on the shoulder from behind and she shrieked. "Yaaaa!" before rapid-fire apologizing. I stopped her. "Don't talk to me right now. I'm mad. Let me calm down first."
Her, "But, you're limping!"
Me, "I always walk this way."
The police were called and we sat on the curb waiting. I relaxed a bit and we shared insurance information, made small talk, etc. Then I heard the rumble of two Harley-mounted police officers approaching.
Her, "They're on motorcycles. "
Me (jokingly in a sing-song voice), "You're gonna get it."
She laughed and the cops were perplexed how the two of us were in such a good mood after an accident. They took our statements, agreed the details matched and wrote it all up. One noted the white Honda paint on the dark green bumper cover from the impact and a dent in the trunk lid, commenting I must've hit it when I came off the bike. Yea, I guess I did.:wink2:
Later that day, I called the # she'd provided to ask an insurance question and her husband answered.
Him, "Who is this?"
Me, "I'm the guy on the motorcycle your wife hit earlier. "
Him, "SHE WHAT??"
Oops.
She hadn't told him yet.
I explained I was okay, the bike repairable and everything was going to be cool. That was the last contact I had with either of them. The bike got fixed and I totaled it about a year later by running through a wall at 2am on 23F night after losing control due to floppy gloves, a fogged face shield and a giant holly bush failing to stop my progress.