It doesn't matter how good a helmet is, riding motorcycle at speed is an extremely noisy endeavor. Most people didn't realize that gradual hearing loss is unrecoverable. Once it's gone, it's gone forever. There is no such thing as "getting used to the noise" as the only reason that one can get used to noise is because the hearing was deteriorating and therefore a loud noise doesn't sound that loud anymore. That's not 'get used to noise', but 'hearing damage'.
I always wear earplugs when I ride motorcycle. Earplugs, or any hearing protection devices, are rated by 'noise reduction rating', or NRR. The higher the NRR is, the more noise it can block out. The highest NRR available on the market is 33 for passive earplugs. However, not all earplugs that bear the same NRR rating block the same level of noise, due to difference in testing, I assume, but it's also due to each person's ear canal shape and size. One company's NRR 33 earplugs therefore may block more or less noise than another company's NRR 33 earplugs for the same person.
To select a proper earplug for myself, I went to http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/foearpltrpa2.html and ordered a pack of 19 different earplugs, made by 10 different companies (as the same company may have different earplug models). I will try out all of them in the next several weeks and keep notes on them. Once I found the best one for me, I'm going to order it in larger quantity.
For the record, I am currently using Moldex's Purefit 6800 that doesn't list the NRR on the package, but they are listed as having NRR 33 on their web site. However, some recent Moldex Purafit 6800 with NRR 33 printed on the package didn't block the noise as well the older Purafit 6800. Therefore, I concluded that even the same company making the same model of earplugs don't behave the same.
The exercise begins...
June 10, 2012:
After using up all these earplugs, the winners are: EAR Classic Superfit (great noise blocking but the foam is hard), Howard Leight Max USA, Moldex Camo NRR 33 (great noise blocking, long, soft, smooth). I decided to order a 200-pair box of Moldex Camo from earplugstore.com. These will last me a lifetime.
