Meldrew wrote:Too much information, not enough I'd say. A GP or practice nurse may have a quick look at your ears on a routine surgery visit, but have you had a recent hearing test, or had an audiologist show you the current condition of your ear canals.

I'd say that almost everyone on this forum will have some form of hearing damage or tinnitus caused by years of long term exposure to excessive levels of wind and engine noise inside a crash helmet

I've had tinnitus for many years, being completely unaware of the condition when I started motorcycling and for many years afterwards. Like everyone else I knew back then we thought wearing a helmet was sufficient protection.

Later all those years of wearing disposable foam plugs for protection but in reality were painful to wear for more than short periods, didn't work at all if they weren't inserted 100% correctly, or were difficult to remove if pushed in too far. Unless you carried spare new sets,you'd have to reuse them and they hardly ever worked a second time. They could up dirt from your fingers, get ear wax on them etc, you couldn't wash them etc.

Sadly once you get tinnitus it's a permanent condition, and this ringing in my ears isn't ever going to go away. So apart from maxi riding, I wear my custom ear plugs on overnight ferries, long and short haul flights, music concerts, in fact anywher wher I'm exposed to long periods of excessive noise.