Motorcycle Helmets may Attribute to Hearing Loss
October 26, 2011
While most people recognize that the roar of motorcycle engines can negatively affect the cochlea, the end organ of hearing, it may come as a surprise that the helmets themselves may actually contribute to hearing loss. A recent study published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America has demonstrated, using mannequin heads and wind tunnels, that an area underneath the helmet and near the chin bar is a significant source of the noise that reaches the riders' ears. These research scientists suggest that even at legal speeds, the sound the rider is exposed to can exceed safe decibel levels. It would therefore follow that hearing protection is increasingly important while riding motorcycles. At Georgia's ENT Institute, our audiologists can fit patients with custom earmolds made specifically to provide comfort, as well as appropriate hearing protection, under motorcycle helmets.
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