Interesting and Fun Facts!
An increase of 3 dB represents a doubling of the sound pressure. But an increase of about 10 dB is required before the sound subjectively appears to be twice as loud. Which I take to mean that you can't trust your ears to tell you when things are too loud.
On any ride of any distance I wear ear protection no matter what helmet I've got on. Though I only ride full face helmets. I've never understood those who are so careful to provide great protection for everything from shoulders to toes. Then leave the most vulnerable, critical, and most often injured portion of their body with, sometimes, very little protection. But that's another story and I'm not here to tell anyone how to ride. Just a personal quandary.
On average, wind noise in a motorcycle helmet can range between 95dB and 105dB when traveling at 100 km (about 60 miles) per hour. Add loud exhaust or additional speed and this number can go much higher. This substantial noise level significantly influences the rider's mental status during extended journeys, and can lead to permanent hearing damage. The chart below shows some figures wearing a high quality full face helmet on some relatively quiet bikes at various speeds.
Noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage your hearing. Loud noise above 120 dB can cause immediate harm to your ears.
Ear protection has been proven to greatly reduce fatigue and increase mental acquiety on long rides. Something that is well worth the effort. A 25db reduction earplug can make a great deal of difference. You can actually hear what you need to hear better with earplugs than you can without them.
Though some windscreens can actually increase noise level to the riders. It is interesting how much the right windscreen can actually reduce overall noise. Never saw a chart that showed that before.
