Earplugs

Ear plugs were essential while standing next to the cement fence on Chuckwalla Valley Raceway’s front straight while our resident fast guy, Troy Siahaan, put down laps for our latest middleweight naked comparo. With amateur and pro racers sharing the track on their purpose-built machines, the difference between the decibels varied from ear shattering to Euro 5 compliant. Being able to switch between 25 dB of attenuation at the turn of a dial, to 17 dB which allowed for discussion with the folks at track direction made a world of difference – and had me sold on the idea behind the Loop Switch ear plugs.

Since hearing usually plays second fiddle to vision when riding motorcycles, people sometimes forget how vulnerable their ears are out there on the road. The sound of your helmet traveling through the air at highway speeds is more than enough to damage your hearing over the long term – or even the short term if you’re wearing an open face or half-helmet. While it may go counter to your initial thoughts, wearing earplugs can actually help you hear better. When your ears aren’t completely overwhelmed, you have the ability to hear more sounds.