This is big.......

Cool, do they really kill the wind buffeting?

Yes!  Like Magic!

At first, I thought they were deadening everything because the exhaust was so muted, but then I turned on the radio and could hear it clearly at way lower volume levels than I had been used to with those squishy expandable foam plugs.    My radio shows the volume level on the screen for a few seconds and I can hear it at about 17 when before I cranked it to around 30.  

The wind noise seems to be about half what it used to be.

Gordo, nice post. 

The object is to linearly remove sound or dappen sound across the board so you still hear but you can tolerate the sound level being higher.  

You see, the Stapedius muscle, who holds down the tympanic membrane in loud noise, it can only handles about 20 mins of sound above 80db then it gets tired.  

Ethmotic Reseach or ER have been making some with a 15 db or 25 db attenuation for decades.  Unfortunately, not too many people are aware of them. 

This could be had in a custom fitted ear molds but of course this is a bit costly to do but some musicians get them like drummers. 

If you want those they can be done for you but these will do a lot of the same effect if the fit is good for you. 

Here you can read all about them  ..... ER, plugs

Many thanks for the info. I'm always looking for something to save/help my hearing.  Too many guns, fireworks, beer can cannons and dare I say it, homemade bombs and rockets that turned out to be bombs when I was a kid. Marianne claims the icing on the cake was the 140 db Black Sabbath concert we went to when we were in college.

I will definitely give EarPeace a try!

Ordered the safety version. One quibble: $25 ain't "cheap" for foam ear plugs but if they're that much better than the drug store kind I'll be happy. Thanks, Gordon.

Ed, they're NOT foam-type.  They're made of Silicone and should last for years (depending on what root vegetables might be growing in your ears.....)

They come with three (yes, THREE!) sets of attenuators.  The middle (red) ones are installed, while the clear (minimum) and black (maximum attenuation) are included in the kit.  All I have used so far is the red and it does what I need.  They also include a spare ear bud so you get three.

Ray, I remember (vaguely) reading a NASA Tech Brief back in the 1980's about designing "attenuating ports" into the headgear of the astronauts so that the roar of the engines (and consequent vibration noise) was attenuated, but they could still hear the Mission commands on their radio headsets - That was a passive system, like these ear buds, but custom-fitted to each astronaut ear (they were built by the David Clark Company of Worcester, MA).  

Then, of course, Dr. Bose came along with his active noise-canceling headphones, which transmit a noise pulse into the ear canal directly opposing the offending sound wave coming into the ear.  Definitely spooky feeling when you first put them on, but then you quickly get used to them (and the silence they provide).

an additional benefit of hearing aids is turning them from max (5) down to 1 makes them work like ear-plugs in Whitecloud. 

I still use earplugs on the Vespa though, too much wind noise without...

Will Hesch posted:

an additional benefit of hearing aids is turning them from max (5) down to 1 makes them work like ear-plugs in Whitecloud. 

I still use earplugs on the Vespa though, too much wind noise without...

I guess if you have in the ear types they do become an ear PLUGGED when off  

Thanks for the tip, Gordon.  There are a couple of shops somewhat close to me that carry them - easier than ordering from the U.S. and all the hassle that entails.

You can pick them up for $15 per set of 3 if you don't need the case. 

Just a heads up:  Using the same ear plugs multi times can cause ear infections.

I use ear buds to listen to audio books just about anytime I drive any vehicle. They also act to reduce outside noise pollution. I have had the same buds for almost a year before they get eaten by my dog or stop working for some other reason and in the past 10 years have had zero ear infections.

They are IDENTICAL with the inserts I use when at the shooting range: Same size, same construction, and almost same price (I paid $15 on Amazon.com).

Based on Gordon's glowing review I ordered a set.  I got them a few minutes ago and haven't tried them yet.  I ordered them from Amazon.

@Gordon Nichols You caused a run on these! The Motorsports versions are sold out (as of 7/8/19 @ 6:15 pm). Have you any idea how the Motorsports versions differ from the Concert versions?

My guess would be more bass (exhaust) attenuation.  Just a guess, though, but it makes sense.  Concerts, especially Rock, tend to have a lot of mids and highs whereas your exhaust is usually well under 3K hertz.

@Paul Mossberg, I bought mine on Amazon.  They may still be available there.

@Paul Mossberg, I bought mine on Amazon.  They may still be available there.

I asked EarPeace about the different versions and this is the response:

As you may know we’ve been focused on the music industry for a long time. It was our bread and butter. Over the last couple of years though, we’ve gotten repeated requests from customers to modify the color scheme to make the plugs easier to find in work environments. Our motorcycle community also wanted something unique to them. So we did - red EarPeace S and smoke EarPeace M were born. All models have the same great filter set so you get the best audio quality out there. We also upgraded the design and quality of our materials so they are even more comfortable and easy to use. And there is a 100% guarantee on everything we sell. If you aren’t happy just send it back for a full refund no questions. In short, they come with the same 3 sets of filters (11, 14 & 19 db reduction) just a different color plug for the different communities.

3db steps is a noticeable change in volume for most people.

WHAT?!?!?

Amen brother.
2 years ago when my wife and I came home from Carlisle, I got hit with this blasted inner ear illness. It left me with vertigo, tinnitus, etc...  (May 31, 2017 12:30 all  good as usual. 12:35 everything changed. That fast and permanent.)
I don't want to start singing the sad song. But I now have this bizarre syndrome called hyperacusis, that makes certain sounds just awful (ice cubes in a glass, putting dishes in the dishwasher, etc.). Fingernails on the chalkboard level of awful.

I have done the medical route and have a bunch of different tools to help with this, but the best so far is Eargasm (same thing as what you got Gordon - lots of versions of the ear plugs with atenuators) Amazon $30.
I wear them at the gym, driving my IM , working in the garage etc. They are fantastic and cheap.

Believe me when I tell you, take care of your hearing! It can go in an instant and never come back.

Hearing,  eyesight, lungs, internal organs , fingers and toes all are targets of working with tools and solvents. My bladder cancer tumor ( I was lucky) was diagnosed as exposure to decades of paint products as well as 30 plus years diesel fumes. The liver abscess ( I was lucky)  no one knows for sure what caused that but I can tell you my lungs are not the best and this too is a result of various dust and fumes of every type. A good quality respirator carbon filter mask ( not the white A cup things)  safety goggles, gloves, ear protection muffs ( not ear plugs)  a well lit work area and most of all....good ventilation. Back in the auto shop days everything was just joke,  " Oh Not Me" was the quote, We all were less than smart as well as stubborn. …. "Huh"  ? " What" ?  " I feel like shyt" isn't so funny anymore. ... Your quality of life is dependent on how you protect yourself ~

IaM-Ray posted:

3db steps is a noticeable change in volume for most people.

Absolutely! 3dB is a 50% reduction in noise level, decibels are on a logarithmic scale.

And I've been using the same active noise reduction earbuds for 8-10 years. No ear infections, but I do clean the inserts with rubbing alcohol from time to time.

I spent my entire youth listening to classic rock (when it was just "rock"), and would (of course) turn it up until I could feel it in my chest. I spent my adult life in mechanical rooms with about 1000 hp worth of fans and compressors. Hearing protection was something for other people to bother with.

Regarding hearing loss: It was super-easy to be caviler about it and figure, "I'll just get hearing aids when the time comes".

I did that earlier this year, and I can tell you this-- all declarations of progress aside, they're still terrible. I've got super high-end aids, tried several brands, and have adjusted them probably 30 times. They're "OK", but you lose high frequency pitches first, which is how aids are tailored. Every single aid I've tried makes high-frequency noises "tinny", and turned up to what is allegedly my prescription, sharp noises like bells feed back slightly with every ring. I live across the street from a church which rings bells every quarter hour. The seat-belt chimes in my work truck do it as well.

Before anybody gives me a ton of free advice about hearing aids, I'm going to a young, well trained independent audiologist with a masters and a husband with hearing loss. She's not some dinosaur who hasn't kept up. I'm sure these things are better than what used to out there, but they're no miracle.

Take care of your ears.

Well now your a classic rocker who has a progressive hearing loss.

It’s no fun when we do stuff and pay the price for it later especially with our body.

I often  wonder about tattoo choices for a simple example.