Deafening helmets?

[DickP]

I ride with an Arai Debut helmet. First helmet I have owned as got it after my DAS beginning of 2020.

I use 3m 1100 ear plugs fully inserted to try and protect my hearing.

I can still have ringing ears after riding and think I'm developing tinnitus. From the wind noise. The helmet does feel like a bit of a drum at motorway speeds, even though it fits well and get the proper hamster cheeks and all. Once up to motorway speeds, all I hear is wind booming and roaring and nothing else.

A google has suggested Arai helmets can be prone to making people deaf. Is my helmet really badly engineered for those who want to retain their hearing?? Proper annoyed to be honest that I'm looking at having to spend several hundred again to just retain my hearing!

[bogie]

Cant comment on the Arai you have, as Ive not owned an Arai since the 90s. Some helmets are significantly better than others, a 3dB difference does not appear to be much but is highly noticable. There are many different lists online but a few helmets appear on multiple lists . Much of the time I wear a Sharky Evo One 2 which is a flip front which is pretty quiet, also have a Shark RaceR pro carbon thats very quiet.

https://bettersoundproofing.com/best-quietest-moto...
https://billyscrashhelmets.co.uk/tag/quiet/

[ChocolateFrog]

I bought a Schuberth for that very reason and still wore earplugs.

[Biker's Nemesis]

I have been wearing Arai helmets since 1985 and I am not deaf.

[Patrick Star]

bogie said:

Cant comment on the Arai you have, as Ive not owned an Arai since the 90s. Some helmets are significantly better than others, a 3dB difference does not appear to be much but is highly noticable. There are many different lists online but a few helmets appear on multiple lists . Much of the time I wear a Sharky Evo One 2 which is a flip front which is pretty quiet, also have a Shark RaceR pro carbon thats very quiet.

https://bettersoundproofing.com/best-quietest-moto...
https://billyscrashhelmets.co.uk/tag/quiet/

Bought a Race R pro carbon last year,it's like wearing earplugs!!

[shirt]

My first helmet was/is a profile V and it allows a lot of wind noise in. Bought an rx7 fim recently and it’s much quieter even with the additional venting. I still wear earplugs though.

[off_again]

Could it be worth investigating how the wind is flowing around the helmet? Maybe try adjusting any screen that you have or getting one of those little spoiler things to divert it around a little? Should help identify if you are getting some weird wind blast from strange places.

I had an issue with my old Explorer where wind was coming up from the headstock and from the lower part of the front - causing a lot of vibrating wind up to the bottom of my helmet. A couple of little spoilers fixed that and it made a massive difference. And my old and worn vented summer jacket also liked to mess up airflow too, which made things a lot noisier. Lots of variables.

[CarCrazyDad]

I think getting some good earplugs makes a big difference!

[Cylon2007]

CarCrazyDad said:

I think getting some good earplugs makes a big difference!

This, I have used custom moulded ear plugs since 2005 and wouldn't ever go back to disposable ones. It also depends a lot on the bike you ride as well as the helmet you wear. When I was still on sports bikes I wore Arai Viper GT helmets (loved them) but since changing to a naked bike, Speed Triple then Street Triples I wear a Shoei NXR as these work best for me. But I always wear ear plugs on the odd occasion I forget the bike sounds like a 'bag of spanners' even though there's nowt wrong with it LOL.

[Bob_Defly]

My Arai XD4 is very noisy on the Tiger, I think it's just the way the wind comes off the screen, nothing I can do about it really. I wear ear plugs all the time, it's more the vibration than high frequency noise.

I might sell it and try something else.

[catso]

Biker's Nemesis said:

I have been wearing Arai helmets since 1985 and I am not deaf.

What?

[Krikkit]

DickP said:

I ride with an Arai Debut helmet. First helmet I have owned as got it after my DAS beginning of 2020.

I use 3m 1100 ear plugs fully inserted to try and protect my hearing.

I can still have ringing ears after riding and think I'm developing tinnitus. From the wind noise. The helmet does feel like a bit of a drum at motorway speeds, even though it fits well and get the proper hamster cheeks and all. Once up to motorway speeds, all I hear is wind booming and roaring and nothing else.

A google has suggested Arai helmets can be prone to making people deaf. Is my helmet really badly engineered for those who want to retain their hearing?? Proper annoyed to be honest that I'm looking at having to spend several hundred again to just retain my hearing!

Are you sure the plugs are fitting as they should? How far do they stick out of your ear once inserted?

Occasionally if I don't get a plug in quite far enough they stick out far enough to be just about in contact with the lining of the lid, and it transmits the sound straight from the lid into my ear. At 37dB for those plugs I'd be shocked if they weren't enough to drown out even the noisiest lid at speed, I use a 30dB plug and it's more than enough.

[black-k1]

I can't comment on Arai specifically but I too have bought helemets that produced a lot of noise.

ChocolateFrog said:

I bought a Schuberth for that very reason and still wore earplugs.

This is exactly what I did.

Biker's Nemesis said:

I have been wearing Arai helmets since 1985 and I am not deaf.

It may not have impacted you. If that's the case, you're really lucky.

The problem with hearing damage is that it can creep up on you slowly and unnoticed. It's still there and once it's gone, there's no getting it back!

[TimmyMallett]

catso said:

What?

Tinted visor as well?


Earplugs are a personal thing (I use the pink and yellow Howard Leight ones) but the key bit is insertion. Are you getting them properly in your ear?

Wet willy yourself properly, roll plug, lick it, insert quickly before expansion.

Edited by TimmyMallett on Friday 8th April 10:24

Edited by TimmyMallett on Friday 8th April 10:25

[catso]

TimmyMallett said:

Wet willy yourself properly, roll plug, lick it, insert quickly before expansion.

[airsafari87]

TimmyMallett said:

Tinted visor as well?


Earplugs are a personal thing (I use the pink and yellow Howard Leight ones) but the key bit is insertion. Are you getting them properly in your ear?

Wet willy yourself properly, roll plug, lick it, insert quickly before expansion.

Edited by TimmyMallett on Friday 8th April 10:24

Edited by TimmyMallett on Friday 8th April 10:25

Pull my hair and whisper that to me again.

OP.

I'd suggest if you're wearing earplugs and still being affected by wind noise, it's more down to the plugs you're wearing or the fitment? Even in the noisiest helmet ever a correctly fitted earplug would still block the wind noise.

As filthy as Timmy's post above sounds, it is actually really good advice on how to fit earplugs. Stretching that sticky out bit of the ear (Tragus??) Helps open up the ear canal during insertion too. Keep it stretched for a few moments while the plug expands too, then let go and it will form a tighter seal.

[Freakuk]

I've got an "arai" head and it's all I have worn in 24 years, they are noisy due to all of the vents etc.

However, some of the noise will be down to the bike, if I'm on my Panigale it's pretty quiet as I am tucked behind the screen, if I'm on my KTM there is no screen so a lot more noise. I wear ear plugs and I'm not deaf also.

It could be the bike, it could be the lid, or both. Maybe try a different lid and see if that helps?

[RockBurner]

DickP said:

I ride with an Arai Debut helmet. First helmet I have owned as got it after my DAS beginning of 2020.

I use 3m 1100 ear plugs fully inserted to try and protect my hearing.

I can still have ringing ears after riding and think I'm developing tinnitus. From the wind noise. The helmet does feel like a bit of a drum at motorway speeds, even though it fits well and get the proper hamster cheeks and all. Once up to motorway speeds, all I hear is wind booming and roaring and nothing else.

A google has suggested Arai helmets can be prone to making people deaf. Is my helmet really badly engineered for those who want to retain their hearing?? Proper annoyed to be honest that I'm looking at having to spend several hundred again to just retain my hearing!

What's the bike?

Firstly - some faired bikes produce a lot of 'spoiled' air-flow around the head because of the screen (the 1150GS is particularly bad for this).

Secondly - Arais are known to be noisy, and (I think) they're designed mostly for sports bikes (head down) riding position so the flow around the helmet is from a slightly different direction than if you're riding 'sitting up'. Try tilting your head forwards and backwards as you ride and you'll see what I mean.

I've worn Arais most of my life and have certainly experienced different amounts of wind-roar in different bikes. I personally tend to prefer unfaired or minimally faired bikes for this reason - if the air-flow hitting my head is unobstructed by a fairing (and is thus 'clean') I find it quieter than the air-flow coming off a screen.

Re ear-plugs - as said - make sure they're fitting well and expanding fully: if they're not 'sealing' the ear canal then you'll get a lot more noise than otherwise.

Also - do you have a 'long' neck? Sometimes the air-flow around your neck/shoulders can affect the noise you hear in the helmet. A while ago you could buy stretchy 'socks' that went around the base of the helmet and which restricted the air-flow into the helmet from below. Don't know if you can still get them but I think they worked quite well (but looked hideous which is why they weren't popular)

[AJHDingo]

Have you tried a neck tube as well? - I use one pretty much all the time - it seems to fill the gap between neck and helmet. A lot of noise seems to come through this gap otherwise - I use an Alpine stars Tech Neck Warmer. There is also a technique to putting the foam ear plugs in so they seat well.

[Salted_Peanut]

I agree with all the comments about how well your ear plugs fit. Also, here are some more ideas.

• I found that playing around with which Arai vents are open and closed made a significant difference to the wind noise. It’s worth experimenting – if you haven’t already – with different open/closed combinations.
• Usually, helmets with a chin curtain (e.g. the Arai Quantic) are quieter. While the Debut doesn’t have one, you could try an aftermarket Windjammer.
• An MRA Vario screen or Vario-Touring Spoiler would let you adjust the wind flow over your helmet.

Good luck!