Shifting Gears Episode 4 Earplugs

Dave

It’s been a great ride. Looking forward to this afternoon. Be sure to tune in next week to continue to follow along on this, our fourteenth Ultimate Ride. Meanwhile, Honda Canada is celebrating the fortieth anniversary of their Goldwing and as a tribute to the art of touring, we’ve created a segment called winging it. This week we’re looking at your ear plugs.

So Ken, we were just hanging around between takes, I put my hand in my pocket and lo and behold I pulled out my ear plugs and I have a box of ear plugs now in every jacket so I know we’ll always have them with me and thought, what a game changer, we should talk about ear plugs when we talk about winging it.

Ken

You know, because it doesn’t matter what kind of bike you’re riding or how long you ride, the ambient noise can really wear on you and over the years you can pay the penalty of suffering tinnitus.

Dave

SO not only do earplugs provide protection from tinnitus but I also find that when I’m touring, or even on short rides, especially when I’m touring, if I’m wearing earplugs I don’t get as fatigued.

Ken

Yeah, it’s much more peaceful in there, I can hear everything I need to hear for awareness out on the road, I can hear everything I need to hear for awareness out on the road, I can hear the car, I can hear somebody honking, I can hear proximity of other vehicles around me I can actually hear some people stop once you’re at a stop type thing so you’re not completely removed from your hearing element. But it is, it’s much more peaceful, I’m in my own little world in there but everybody knows my name.

Dave

Now I’ve had much success with these, these are those silicon plugs. I actually take one rip it in half and works for me. What are you using?

Ken

So this is what I’ve moved up to and these are just another variation. These are custom made plugs. They’re available at a lot of hearing professional specialty shops but you’ll see them more and more now at motorcycle shops and motorcycle venues and they’ll be somebody there and you sit in the chair and they pour this nice warm liquid in your ear and it will conform to your specific ear cavity. And you just sit there for a few minutes, there’s no pain, it’s actually quite soothing, you can fit your variety of colours and that way you know you are getting the best fit possible. You can even take it up a notch and have them in bed. Miniature speakers for your ipod, whatever it is you want and now they’re part and parcel of your custom made earplugs. But that’s probably top of the line at this point.

Dave

Have you ever used the foam ones, because I haven’t had much luck with the foam ones?

Ken

Yeah well I always have them as a back up because, like I say, I’m trying to do an awareness thing with some people that haven’t moved to it yet and I had them myself for awhile. You can get them at any number of gardening shops, hardware stores, whatever. I think I got about a hundred of these things for five bucks. And they’re used once or twice and they’re very disposable, you squish them up really small in your fingers, you squish them in and they’re self expanding until they close off. You might get away with using them a second time and hen after that it’s a toss away, but it offers a lot better protection than what the alternative is which is nothing.

Dave

No matter what I guess the whole point here is you should be using ear protection and it will make a huge difference to your riding.

Ken

Because you’ll get sick and tired of people going, what? What? It’s going to catch you, they’re the best thing going and they’re really small.
Dave

Great, wonderful tip.