Does cycling make you deaf?

[snailracer]

Aero ears:

 

[Garz]

It sometimes plays up which I definitely put down to cycling albeit not very often.

 

[postman]

ihave two aids .The wind noise is a nuisance .Makes conversation near impossible .But my mates understand when i shout at them .

 

[Amheirchion]

I went for a hearing test late last year as I found my right ear was not good after the test she said that both ears were well down below normal and I needed two hearing aids as I was not hearing high frequency, but I thought my hearing was OK just a bit “Mutton Jeff”, in the end I have settled for one hearing aid to see how I get on, up too now I hate it as everything is so loud and it's on the lowest setting

Old men and their bloody hearing aids, grumble grumble. Everything isn't too loud, you've just got used to not hearing things over time. Stick with them.

I've had mine since I was 3, and find the wind makes me near deaf anyway, not to mention the fact that my new super snazzy modern (NHS) hearing aids have greater amplification to the front than to the back, so traffic behind is quieter anyway.

 

[byegad]

My hearing is gone in the higher register (of speech) and I've got tinnitus in my 'better' ear. So wind noise makes me unable to hear anything in detail. I can hear vehicle noise and I know when someone is speaking to me but am unable to hold a conversation.
I have found something over my ear, or some cotton wool (I know it's not cotton these days!) lightly placed in my ears actually allows me to hear most of what is said to me on a ride. I suspect this is because both 'solutions' stop the wind noise.
Another aspect of this loss in hearing is I can understand men, who speak in a lower register far better than women. So my wife speaks to me and, while I usually know she said something, I have no idea what she has said, but a man saying the same thing would be heard and understood.

 

[gb155]

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo????????

 

[Cheule]

At times it can be loud but not deafening and certainly not painful. The only thing I find is pedestrians who shout things at you and think you can hear them clearly.

 

[billy1561]

My hearing is gone in the higher register (of speech) and I've got tinnitus in my 'better' ear. So wind noise makes me unable to hear anything in detail. I can hear vehicle noise and I know when someone is speaking to me but am unable to hold a conversation.
I have found something over my ear, or some cotton wool (I know it's not cotton these days!) lightly placed in my ears actually allows me to hear most of what is said to me on a ride. I suspect this is because both 'solutions' stop the wind noise.
Another aspect of this loss in hearing is I can understand men, who speak in a lower register far better than women. So my wife speaks to me and, while I usually know she said something, I have no idea what she has said, but a man saying the same thing would be heard and understood.

You make some good points there mate, although my wife says I have selective hearing...

 

[billy1561]

Thinking about it my employer supplies ear defenders which are unique to the wearer and block out all background noise but still allow conversation. May try them and see how it goes.

 

[asterix]

One of the downsides of cycle helmets is the wind noise that I don't get when not wearing one. It's also harder to hear traffic behind.

When I was a motorcyclist I used to get the same problem as gixxerman mentions but I don't with a cycle helmet.

 

[byegad]

One of the downsides of cycle helmets is the wind noise that I don't get when not wearing one. It's also harder to hear traffic behind.

When I was a motorcyclist I used to get the same problem as gixxerman mentions but I don't with a cycle helmet.

Well I don't wear a helmet, riding a recumbent trike if I'm going fast enough to roll it, a cycle helmet is not anywhere near sraong enough to stop serious injury. Cycle helmets only protect up to a 12mph impact without any sideways moment to the impact. Hitting headon will not be a head impact anyway.

Wind noise in my case is more likely to be induced by 40mph plus descending. I hit 32mph leaving the village as a matter of course.
My problem is hearing impairment and my (NHS) Audiologist told me that a hearing aid would make matters worse rather than better.

 

[Norm]

Hitting headon will not be a head impact anyway.

A strange assertion, I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has sniggered at the cyclist who head-butted the coach that stopped rather suddenly.

Most ear plugs that I've used are designed to cut out high frequency noises and will let through stuff in the vocal range.

Which is something which puts the lie to the macho bs about not being able to hear the engine that turns up on motorbike forums.

I think hearing damage also requires sustained volumes over 85db.

 

[JonnyBlade]

Does anyone else get irritated by the wind noise especially when cycling into a decent breeze? Never have music on while i ride so i can hear any traffic around me but i find the wind noise blocks out loads too.
My hearing is far from brilliant so maybe it is made worse by this.
What do people use to combat it?

Music in one ear on the quiet takes my mind off the howling winds

 

[billy1561]

Sometimes i wonder if it is something that you get used to. For example i noticed it far more as a novice cyclist but now although it is indeed an irritant it's perhaps easier to block out. Obviously some days are worse than others depending on whether you are cycling into a breeze.