Ear plugs / Sena / hearing loss / ear buds / your thoughts

[~TABASCO~]

Hello,

Because of my hearing loss I've tried my best to keep what I have left. I've always worn earplugs while riding for the last twenty years. A friend got me using a Sena unit now. I still use ear plugs while using the standard speakers, the stock Sena speakers are/were crap. I then installed cheep head phone speakers. Those were much better than the ones the Sena came with. We recently just popped off about 3000 miles going out and riding the AZBDR. While out, and using the Sena I still had a hard time with hearing speaking and music that my buddy piped in occasionally from his XM radio. For me it's just really frustrating not making out what he is saying because of static, wind noise, loss of hearing, etc. After making it home I read up a bit and performed more mods on my Sena. I turned the input MP3 jack into a stereo output for my 'ear buds', and cut out the in helmet speakers entirely. I've used some ear mold material to mold some 'custom' ear plugs that have some sound deadening properties, along with my ear buds being molded inside as well. I've not ridden with them yet but have concerns about turning up the volume to much and damaging my ears even more.

Question: Do others use 'ear buds' using their Sena? If so, what monitor do you use? Are they a custom fitted unit? How do prevent to much volume? Do they work well for you over the 'in helmet speakers'? For me , this will continue to be a work in progress until I can have 'ear protection ' and clearly hear someone speaking along with some music.

Have the Sena 10 from a few years back.

Thanks

 

[Don in Lodi]

Look into what musicians use. Blocks the damaging stuff but they can still carry on a conversation.

 

[EricV]

I have used custom ear mold monitors in the past for comm/music. Presently I use a Sena 20S with the stock speakers, (yes, they're crap), and foam 33dB rated ear plugs. 35 years of industrial work and military have left me with some hearing loss and a keen awareness of keeping what I have left too. The words to remember with hearing loss are "cumulative and permanent".

From my experience, a good custom ear mold monitor will allow you to use much less volume to get good sound/music levels and not put your hearing at risk. However, I personally find good quality foam ear plugs to be quieter than custom ear molds. I choose to forego the music in order to have better hearing protection. When I was doing multi-day endurance rallies, cranking out 20 hour riding days for 6-11 days at a time, I used custom earmolds, but over time having music became secondary to just having better noise reduction.

For your stated needs and concerns, custom ear molds with monitors would be a good thing. You get better music quality at much lower volume levels and block more ambient noise, but still have comm and music at levels that won't risk damage to your hearing. This is one vendor that I have used - PlugUp Another well regarded vendor Hear No Evil and another - Big Ear Inc.

 

[Squibb]

Sorry to say I don't think there is an easy answer here, as it's possible to subject your ears to sustained high dB & promote significant hearing loss without even trying. If your hearing is dull & you just seem to receive background white noise when you pull over after a ride, then you are heading for a problem. Hearing is precious & I know many people, both riders & ex-military, who need assistance but are reluctant to be seen wearing hearing aids in public. Music/TV always turned way up loud so you can't hear yourself think in their homes; struggling to keep up with the conversation when say eating out.

Custom made ear protection is good; convenient, easy to use, easy to clean but doesn't last forever as our ear canal shape will change over years of use. Also, despite what vendors will say to justify the expense, I don't reckon the noise reduction is quite as good as a well fitting foam plug.

So, currently I am using either Howard Leight Max SNR 37 (Orange), or 3M E.A.R SNR 39 (Yellow). Both work well, with the 3M seeming to take re-use better, although keeping everything clean/sanitary is important whatever you use.

Music in the helmet, turned up load to play through plugs? Whilst I wouldn't like to rain on anyone's parade, this rather negates the whole point of using ear protection IMHO, so I sorry to say the only answer is to make your own - there is alway a tune around that worms it's way into our brain that we hum/sing along to. The phone .......... well I would rather be away from the thing, that's the delight of taking a ride, but I accept folk running a business & the like will want to be able to keep in touch. Other comms perfectly OK in moderation.

This is just my personal view; take from it what you will & make your own decision. Your life, your hearing, your call.

Ride Safe ............... KEN

 

[Gigitt]

Tabasco, What SENA headset do you use?
The low end models have crappier speakers.

I have the 20S, I like the speakers. I have head everything fine out of them
I have gone through all types of hearing protection to cut down riding noise.
4 years ago i bought my 1st bike and helmet ... and a 20S. My Shark Vision R helmet is a very noisy helmet that whistles - I know why it whistles and my friends also with similar Shark helmets confirm it - it is a bad design under the chin area. SO hence ear protection is a must for me.
I've done the foamies, the silicon sonic filterd plugs, but now prefer using custom molded silicon earmolds. Earmolds give me the best fit for the longest of rides.

The Shark is my commuting helmet on the Versys 650 as my speeds are kept relatively low.
I have a Schuberth C3 I use now for touring on the S10, and it is much quieter helmet. Speaker placement was very tight on the ears with alot of pressure, so I dremel the foam a 5mm deep pocket for the speakers. Now hell of a lot better!

So with the earmolds sound quality is fine. I don't listen to music too loud... but volume is set so I can hear it over the ambient road, and wind noise - YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HEAR HD QUALITY AUDIO WHILE RIDING A MOTORBIKE.

So how do you make it better...
1) make sure the speaker is correctly positioned over you ear when in the helmet - Test this by taking the speaker out of helmet and testing the correct position over the ear when you are wearing your ear protection. 5mm adjustment can make a BIG difference in the speakers quality

2) you can buy upgraded speakers like the TORK X-PRO.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I use regular earbuds with the Sena 20S for longer rides all the time and they plug right into the little port on the front of the mount. It's a bit tricky to put the helmet on till you get your technique down. I hold the helmet near my face upside down, just lay the extra cord into the crown area of the helmet, and then I bend forward to finish putting the helmet on. The last bits of cord can be pushed back by the temple areas with a finger. Probably looks funky and this took longer to describe than do it, but it works.

The sound is prioritized to the earbuds and the speakers are off when the buds are plugged in. The microphone still works fine. It's a heck of a lot quieter than without the earbuds and I can noticeably turn down the volume on the music when listening to it.

 

[fac191]

I use a Sena 10s which is great quality but i am feeding it 365kps blutooth through a good quality walkman. As for ear plugs i found these http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/etymotic-er-20xs-high-fidelity-earplugs-standard-clear-stem-frost-tip.html , and they are good with decent helmet speakers which you would have to upgrade to. I use earbuds mostly as i like a good sound, the hard part for me is finding tips which can make a good seal and are comfortable. These are what i use on my earbuds, https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B008NOHGN4/ref=sr_1_1_olp?ie=UTF8&qid=1507143079&sr=8-1&keywords=Xcessor+Triple+Flange+Conical+Small+Replacement+Silicone+Earbuds&condition=new , they fit my sony, oriveti, and sennheiser earbuds. They make a very good seal and very comfortable. The ear buds are http://www.hifiheadphones.co.uk/oriveti-basic-iem-earphones-with-detachable-cable-jet-black.html , and are worth every penny and are quite small and dont protrude. Good luck with finding a solution.

 

[rfulcher]

I have never had good luck with helmet speakers with or without earplugs. I use custom molded earbuds with a Bluetooth headset with good results. However I use S-plugs for backup and my wife and 2 friends prefer S-plugs to custom molded earbuds. https://www.plugup.com/best_and_most_comfortable_stereo_earplug_earbuds_p/s%2022-3.5-4.5.htm. Combined with a good windshield and a quiet helmet I have little noise other than music. If I turn off music from my headset I can carry on conversations but tend to speak loudly and others have to speak up. I suspect that trying to find earbuds with good sound, good sound blocking, and hear others talking will be a problem.

The Sena 20s has an ambient sound button maybe this is the answer for hearing other talking while using earbuds for sound blocking and music when on the move.

 

[fac191]

Just a thought, if your using your satnav as the music source they are usually dire, i have a garmin zumo 660 and its very poor. The better quality you use the less you need to turn it up. The combo i use is Hi Fi and non fatiguing . My other In ear monitors are Auriosonics Forte and are hand made in Nashville and are owned by Fender.
They make guitars or something ! . They are a bit too big for the helmet but wow they are something else sound wise.

 

[AVGeek]

This is a subject near and dear to me, as I have suffered from hearing loss and tinnitus my entire life. One of the reasons I chose the Sena early on was that at the time, it was the only unit that offered the option of using earbuds. I went with custom molded units done by a vendor at AZ Bike Week and while they weren't the most expensive ones out there (custom molds for musicians can easily top $1000), they were very effective at blocking wind noise. This has another positive benefit in that you no longer need to crank up the volume on the Sena to compensate for background noise, and will impart less damage. Another benefit is that battery life is longer too...

 

[fac191]

I think its obvious but worth pointing out that an effective screen etc is the first thing to do to minimise wind noise etc.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Tabasco, What SENA headset do you use?
The low end models have crappier speakers.

I have the 20S, I like the speakers. I have head everything fine out of them
I have gone through all types of hearing protection to cut down riding noise.
4 years ago i bought my 1st bike and helmet ... and a 20S. My Shark Vision R helmet is a very noisy helmet that whistles - I know why it whistles and my friends also with similar Shark helmets confirm it - it is a bad design under the chin area. SO hence ear protection is a must for me.
I've done the foamies, the silicon sonic filterd plugs, but now prefer using custom molded silicon earmolds. Earmolds give me the best fit for the longest of rides.

The Shark is my commuting helmet on the Versys 650 as my speeds are kept relatively low.
I have a Schuberth C3 I use now for touring on the S10, and it is much quieter helmet. Speaker placement was very tight on the ears with alot of pressure, so I dremel the foam a 5mm deep pocket for the speakers. Now hell of a lot better!

So with the earmolds sound quality is fine. I don't listen to music too loud... but volume is set so I can hear it over the ambient road, and wind noise - YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HEAR HD QUALITY AUDIO WHILE RIDING A MOTORBIKE.

So how do you make it better...
1) make sure the speaker is correctly positioned over you ear when in the helmet - Test this by taking the speaker out of helmet and testing the correct position over the ear when you are wearing your ear protection. 5mm adjustment can make a BIG difference in the speakers quality

2) you can buy upgraded speakers like the TORK X-PRO.

I think its the "10"

 

[fac191]

The SMH10 was the original one i believe which i have used. now i use the 10S version which has superior sound and speakers.

 

[~TABASCO~]

Thanks guys,,,,

99% of my riding I have ear plugs and don't even use the Sena, no one to talk to. LOL The other 1% of the time is with my buddy that also has a Sena. He and I talk back and forth and he pipes in his XM radio and jumps it over to my helmet. I'm a rider that for the most part, I don't want to talk with anyone, no phones, no music, Etc.... I have the "10" Sena and that one doesn't (or didn't) come with the ear bud jack. I think only the higher end models come with the ear bud jack. I cant run just ear buds in my helmet, to loud, to much wind noise, NO WAY for me. I need something semi-custom fitted or my standard jumbo ear pugs shoved deep into my skull.. The ear plugs are what I really like. With the ear buds now, I can really crank it up and hear my buddy talking much more clearly but I don't have a perception of how loud I have it as I'm going down the high way, it could be at 60% or 100%... For me, this might be a situation that for as little as I use it just deal with the "sounds like SHI'TE" and move along, or if I want to keep messing with it, then it turns in to compromise I have to determine what I'm willing to deal with.

Only on long high way trips, I put on a big O' gold wing wind shield. Then I pull that sucker off so I can go tear up the dirt, put back on the stocker.

For the folks that have the molded ear buds, do you feel they cut the wind noise down as much as ear plugs ? If you have found something that works well and you don't want to drop the name / or price, please PM me... I know some people may not post what best works for them because they might feel they will get ridiculed for spending more than $25 on ear phones. If that's the case, reach out to a brotha... LOL

Thanks

 

[fac191]

Well as you get free gas in the States you lot can afford something nice ! . Just for the record Sena do a lot for the SMH10 that allows earbuds use and gets rid of the boom mic, I put my mic which is about 13mm wide behind the lining on my Neotec and it works great. For the record I have some moulded custom earplugs and don't find them any better than a well sealed earbuds tip. The triple flange tips I posted up are very good at blocking out everything. And I can hear the music well and don't feel closed off to the outside.

 

[rfulcher]

Well as you get free gas in the States you lot can afford something nice ! . Just for the record Sena do a lot for the SMH10 that allows earbuds use and gets rid of the boom mic, I put my mic which is about 13mm wide behind the lining on my Neotec and it works great. For the record I have some moulded custom earplugs and don't find them any better than a well sealed earbuds tip. The triple flange tips I posted up are very good at blocking out everything. And I can hear the music well and don't feel closed off to the outside.

Tell me more about this mic setup with the Neotec.

The S-Plugs earbuds are exactly like earplugs, no bigger. If you can use triple flange "Christmas tree" earplugs you can use S-plugs

 

[fac191]

Here you go,
https://www.sena.com/product-category/accessories/

 

[fac191]

I think thats the link for the SMH10 accessories if yours is different just go to the accessories page and choose your unit.

 

[Xsv]

I have had great success with these noise isolating earbuds https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/mc5.html combined with the comply memory foam tips http://www.complyfoam.com/products/p-series/ plugged into the sena 20s.

I hate the wind noise and this solved that issue for me. The earbuds sit deep and do not contact the helmet. They will not “fall” out.

 

[fac191]

They do earplugs which i also use and yes they are very good. What i use now are all metal construction with replaceable cables are very efficient so use less amp power and sound musical which i like. What you have posted would be an excellent purchase for anyone wanting to solve most of the problems posted here.