Ear plugs in sx/mx

There was a thread about this a week or two ago.   
I wear them when I race and I wear earbuds with a small MP3 audio player when I practice Moto or ride my mountain bike.
Bikes are loud and my hearing remains very good in my 40s...   It started for me with the early four strokes, they were far louder than they are today, but still too loud on the gate for my taste.

I wear them. Helps with focus and breathing 

Pros and cons for me. Check out the other thread. I bought a good set of ear peace last week. Discovered I like the throw away foam ones better. Don’t like them for racing as much, can’t hear someone sneaking up on you. 

I tried them a couple times while riding and didn’t like it. Changes the sound of my bike enough that it just sounds strange and distracting, makes the tone too flat for me.

Looks like a big void in the industry….. sure seems to be something the big distributors could bring to market, other than the throwaways. There are quality noise dampers out there and it would be nice to source them from one location. Time for a shootout of ear plugs?

Actually Parts Unlimited started carrying Alpine ear protection this year which is a reusable plug.  I've used the throwaway ones for decades and tried them and they work really well.  The big difference is that when the bike is off and there's no noise around you can actually still talk to your buddies with them in as they don't really muffle normal sounds.  But when riding they do a better job of muffling the louder noises. 

If you ride a Yamaha 250F you about have to wear earplugs. That bike is so unbearably loud and raspy

Its funny, I wear them on my street track-bike, but not on my MX bike.

All I can say is you should protect your hearing at all times and all ages.    When you get older, it's too late. 

These are what I use.

Same. 

Hate them when riding motocross, wouldn't ride without them on my track bike.

I think that has a lot to do with wind noise though. 

Yes, definitely protect your hearing. Some helmets have an over-the-ear cup which acts as a sound dampener, but it's still not hearing protection. If you can wear plugs, do it. 

Magoofan, I like the ones you use, because that design reduces the SPL without making everything sound muddy. 

Same here, killed my focus. I do know a guy that straight up listens to music through his AirPods while riding single track (at a pretty decent pace!)

I’d like to wear them more. They make me feel claustrophobic in my helmet if that makes sense, like a crankcase with a plugged vent. 

That is what's great about them, you can still hear what matters.   

I have moved to ear plugs in the last year, after decades of never wearing them. Once I started wearing them I became much more sensitive to the volume of the engines. A side effect that I've noticed is that when I have them in I can hear when the motors making power better. I find that having them in you mostly hear the bass notes of the motor which tend to coorelate to when the motor is throwing off good torque. When the bass notes go away the bikes winding out and not making as much power - it has a more treble oriented sound as the power goes away which also it correlates to riding in a taller gear for me and letting the 450 lug more. I find that I actually ride faster with them in. 

The trade off as others have noted is that you can't hear other riders near by as well and could even be a little dangerous if you're cutting over not knowing if someone is right there.

I started wearing ear plugs a few years ago. They help me a lot! I wish I had started even sooner! I don't hear all the chain noise and it also helps to tune out some of the noise from the valve train. I feel like I can actually hear the motor better wearing them since they silence all the extra noise. And, now that I wear them I don't get a horrible headache every time I ride! 

Been wearing just typical throw away construction grade ones for 10 yrs. I can’t ride without them now. Helps me focus and relax. You still can hear plenty around you.

Yes, every time. Protect your hearing while you can. I find I ride better with them, it feels less frenetic and I can focus better on breathing, lines, etc

Do you have any insight into the practical difference between the 3 offerings?  Tour, Race, and MotoGP-race ?  The literature is, of course, vague.

Edit:  Appears the Tour is 17db reduction, race is 20db reduction (MotoGP-race is just branded/partner version) and "Pro" is a 2-set kit of both the 17 and 20 versions.

Just wondering what the difference between 17 and 20 feels like on the track.

Yes that is correct, just more reduction in sound.  I just use the race and they are great, I even use them on the street and I can listen to music on a bluetooth headset and hear the music clearly but block all the wind noise.  Pretty damn impressive. 

Same....I have speakers in the earpad recess of the helmet.   Can listen to music while riding....even take a call (hands free) thru my Cardo Packtalk.   Even with music going, you can still  hear traffic and other sounds you need to. 

Ear plugs?  Hell, I'm running ear buds with tunes jamming while I ride.  I get my hearing checked for work every 2-3 years and so far, all is good.  My wife on the other hand......her years as a flight attendant on planes was rough on the ear drums unfortunately.

I hate riding my mtb without my AirPods but feel uncomfortable with ear plugs in when the mx track is crowded. Probably need to do it more to get used to it but I feel like I lose situational awareness a bit. 

I've never ridden a 4 stroke so I can't attest to just how loud they are on track with helmet on but back in the day I tried them a couple times and couldn't stand it. Not hearing the engine revs and the environment around me was more distracting than a 2 stroke ringing wide open. Then again maybe that's also because you have to pay much more attention to the RPM's on a 2stroke for slamming gears so it's not such a big deal now on thumpers.