Used to ride with no ear protection. Could that have caused my hearing problems
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Don’t know. I did too. Lots of mikes.
Following. I’m interested. Yamahas.
DaveL
I ride 4 strokes with stock exhausts. I wear hearing protection every time now. My watch routinely warns me that sound levels exceeded 95 or 100 dB. 6 or 10 hours of that will be damaging. I think most of the sound is from moving through the air, not the exhaust, but they both have a role.
WH
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I ride a Vespa Scooter GTS300 it is very quiet exhaust wise, it is the air that is noisy, 85 to 95db. I wear a helmet and due to my custom ear molds I don’t need any other hearing protection.
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Do your hearing aids fit into the custom molds? One of the main reasons I got aids was to be able to listen to music/podcasts on long rides but I’m not sure if that will work without slipping them into molds.
My aids are Rite the receivers are in the ear molds and the body of the aids are behind my ears. I wear the oticon INTENT1 aids now.
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Yes, they are so loud. Hard to say exactly with only the information you provided, though. Other issues related to health, genetics, noise exposure, etc can cause hearing loss.
I used to ride a Kawasaki Meanstreak with straight pipes and seldom wore earplugs. I put on a lot of miles and am pretty sure they contributed to my hearing loss during the past 13 years.
I really enjoyed riding. It is missed.
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I rode Kawasaki 500 and later Honda 750. Kawasaki was a real screamer but very loud.
Instant therapy. Riding.
I don’t anymore. But the Miata I had provided the same therapy! Top down. No helmet.
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Motorcycles will definitely damage your low frequency hearing so it is possible. I have recently come across information that shows vibrations can cause damage to your hearing as well. I am still reading up on this aspect but it does seem that the kind of vibrations and shaking you experience riding a cycle will probably cause loss if it is prolonged. Also it is clear that sudden impacts can definitely cause hearing loss. I would suggest a good muffler and smooth roads to be safe. 
Interesting seeing I have been rideing almost 50 years and my low frequencies is the best part of my hearing.
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Yes very dependant on the loudness and also whether you wear a helmet as at higher speeds the wind noise can be loud enough to cause some if long enough at a time. But, the original developer of Harleys wears hearing aids and states its from his motorcycles. There are many factors to consider. Just saying its a motorcycle is just the base. What kind and loudness of exhaust, time you’re riding, whether or not you use a helmet. And even some medicines can make you more susceptible to hearing loss. Then there’s your other noise history. This is generalized to give you an idea. Hope it helps
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low frequencies are the last to go from noise damage
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I count riding as one of many things I did in my younger days without protection that caused my loss…
It’s down the list though. I did always wear a helmet and that helped a little
… Dad’s chainsaw with no muffler that I used to use, that’s on the top of my list
many other things on that list too…
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Raced motocross from 11 years old till 22 y.o. Im sure it has something to do with my loss.
Also went to lots of rock concerts in the 70’s when they had no decibel limits and we would get as close as possible to the speakers. Also lived in the boonies as a kid and we would grab our .22 rifles and .38 revolvers and plink around with no ear protection like idiots.
My Dad also had unequal loss,
hearing aids my whole life and had surgeries for hearing when i was really young.
When i asked my first audiologist why he thought my hearing was so bad, he jokingly replied… “im guessing you didnt pick your parents right”
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Sounds like your audiologist believes you have a genetic hearing loss,
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J Giles band 1974, Philadelphia, I front of the speakers, ears rang for days. First time but not the last.
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Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner and T Rex at Angels Stadium in '77 if i remember right… they kept flashing the decibel reading on the big screen, 139 as i remember. Open seating on the infield and we got as close as possible like idiots
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Saw them in a club in Syracuse. Lived not too far from me in Groton MA. Saw a lot of bands in those days, but never had any ringing except Iron Maiden/Judas Priest in the Lowe’s Theater in Syracuse. That was painful even in the lobby. Joe Perry in a club was pretty loud, too.
WH
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