Is it cool to wear earplugs when you are riding? I guess you can be “Cool” even when you are deaf. I have been riding for years and every time I go on a long ride, I feel like I am deaf. Lately, my left ear has been hurting while I have been riding. This leads me to believe that I have or had some sort of ear infection or something. Since I have some degree of high frequency hearing loss as it is; I have been doing a little research about hearing loss and protection.
You may think that wearing a full face helmet protects your ears. From personal experience, my ears were ringing just as much when I wore my expensive Shoei full face helmet as they did when wearing my quarter helmet. The noise from which you are trying to protect your ears is not exhaust or engine noise. Your exhaust really only affects those who ride behind you. Studies have shown that a full face helmet only reduces the noise about 3db. While that is something, many who ride cruiser style motorcycles don’t wear a full face helmet let alone any helmet at all.