Wearing BAHA with motorcycle helmet

Bone Conduction Hearing Aids
#1

Hello all.

I have been looking into motorcycle riding for a few years now. I have a BAHA and was wondering how it would work with helmets. Obviously motorcycle helmets are very tight (for a good reason of course) so my BAHA would not fit.

Options I thought of, would like feedback of course:

  1. Would I be able to cut out a small part of the helmet in the inside? Is the material even able to be cut? That way my BAHA would not interfere when my helmet is on. It’s probably not the best idea to mess with the helmet, but I don’t think I would be putting myself at any more risk.

Option 2. Just don’t wear it. I am basically 100% deaf, but I think I would be able to hear important sounds on the road (car horns, emergency sirens, etc). Is this something that is commonly done by deaf riders?

If anyone has any advice, I would sure appreciate it. I really want to get into the motorcycle world, but this is holding me back a bit. Thank you!

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#2

  1. Cutting or drilling the helmet is going to adversely affect or destroy the structural integrity of the helmet which is obviously counter to the reason you wear it to begin with. If/when you go down the condition of your hearing aids is not the first thing you’re going to be concerned about.

  2. This is your best option. Riding a bike tends to make you VERY aware of your surroundings. You have much greater visibility than when you’re driving a car, and road noises tend to penetrate even full face helmets well. There’s always the danger of losing an aid putting on or taking off the helmet, so I’ve always taken them out, put in earplugs before setting out, and reversing the process during stops. I’m 72 and just sold my last Harley 3 weeks ago ending a 51 year career on 2 wheels.

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#3

Thank you for the advice! Your definitely right about damaging the helmet. It’s not that I don’t care about potentially damaging the hearing aid (thousands of dollars worth), but I would just enjoy being able to hear. I’m think that even if I could wear the helmet, the BAHA would be muffled by it anyways.

“Riding a bike tends to make you VERY aware of your surroundings.”

You made me realize that I usually listen to music in the car so loud I can’t hear anything else, so being on a motorcycle without the hearing aid would be the same, if not safer and more aware.

Thanks for the help!

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#4

I wonder if an Internet search for something like “motorcycle helmets and BAHA hearing aids” would produce some useful results. In a somewhat related thread I found that one mother had a football helmet custom-made for her son with CI implants. Perhaps something similar is possible for a BAHA implant and a motorcycle helmet if you’re willing to incur a special expense?

See links at end of post: CI Processor and Bicycling

#5

Before I came here that’s exactly what I did. It seems not a lot of articles help with my specific situation. I think I have come to terms that I will just have to take it off when I put my helmet on and back on when I take it off. Not a big deal, but obviously wish I could hear!

Thank you for linking those articles! I appreciate the help!

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#6

There is a thread about riding bicycles with CI processors recently that had lots of different views. One very experienced rider that wore the Kanso 2 CI processor by carefully removing just enough padding from the helmet to give clearance for his processor. Seems he had a big crash and the helmet was broken but his head was not.

Integrity of the helmet is important but so is hearing while riding. Maybe looking at different helmets you could see one that wouldn’t take the integrity away by removing just enough padding for your BAHA clearance.

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#7

I will definitely need to do some research, but thst would my ideal scenario if it’s even possible. Thank you for the advice!

#8

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before, but you might look into a half-helmet. I guess since I personally favor open face or full-face styles it never occurred to me to suggest you investigate halfs.

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#9

I’m the author of the CI and Bicycling thread. There very different answers but the same opinion. Be sure to wear a helmet bicycling and the same would hold true for a motorcycle.

Bicycle helmets are different from motorcycle helmets as I think they provide more coverage than a bicycle helmet since you are going as fast or faster as a car and I’ve seen motor cyclists (not all, just the daredevils) dangerously change lanes. I’m not as familiar with the Baha implant to know how the helmet would affect sound ability. I’m pretty sure the size of the external part of your implant would not suit a helmet or a CI.

If You feel confident you have the ability to hear horns, sirens, I would just use option 2 and not ride with your device. You need to be safe, but you don’t want to damage or lose your hearing devices either. Good luck and ride safe.

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#10

Somewhere I saw that some have a CL, on an extended cable, so the processor is not next to the head, but in the pocket. I don’t know how feasible it is to have when wearing a helmet, maybe there is the same for BAHA?

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#11

I personally don’t like the half helmet style, but even if I did, I don’t think it would work for me. My BAHA implant is pretty far up and not right next to my ear so I would still be facing the same problem sadly. Thank you for the suggestion though!

#12

Woah, this sounds awesome. I will try to find some info on this! Thank you!

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#13

Thanks for the advice! When my BAHA rubs against something, ex; a helmet; it makes a screeching ringing noise so even if it was “comfortable” it would be horrible, haha.

#14

I myself am new to motorbikes and use two hearing aids/Behind the ear hearing aids. I use a half helmet /jet helmet or a flip-up/modular helmet. I have to use the biggest size helmet on the market and a beanie hat combined. Not ideal as after 1 hour it tends to hurt my ears a bit. My older brother is in the same boat, he also uses a flip-up lid/modular helmet and a very old school analogue ‘siemens pockettio’ system. Neither of us can find much information on the net about hearing aids and helmets. There is a possibility of those costly helmets with built-in comms systems working for some of us.

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