I hope that you wear some form of hearing protection when you ride, even if it is as simple as using an earplug. I believe the noisy things I have done in my life have reduced my hearing ability - in my youth hearing plugs were not commonly available like they are now and we just didn't use earplugs when mowing grass, running a chainsaw, or riding our motorcycles.  I can remember the David Bradley and Clinton chainsaws we used on the farm when I was a kid had exhaust pipes that just pointed up from the cylinder with no muffler of any kind - your ears would ring after using them for a little while.

I ride with a Sena headset in my helmet, it allows me to talk to my wife if she is riding with me, or other riders who have the same brand.  It also allows me to answer telephone calls, or use the GPS on the telephone for verbal route instructions.  I seldom feel the need to listen to music while riding - I find the ride itself to be good therapy......on long rides that involve a lot of interstate I might be tempted to listen to music.

On most bikes I can use the helmet speakers with foam earplugs and still hear the helmet headset reasonably well.  At highway speeds on a bike without a windshield the wind noise can create a problem.  If I turn the volume of the headset up very loud it can create a problem with feedback for the person who is on the other side of the conversation, as their voice coming out my speakers goes back into my microphone and they hear their own voice as they speak.

FOAM EAR PLUGS - Foam plugs come in a variety of shapes and sizes.  The fist one I used where the yellow 3M ones.  They work OK and are readily available - they do get uncomfortable eventually and they are not the best at reducing noise.  My favorite are the Mack's Ultra Soft foam earplugs.  They are the quietest and most comfortable I have ever used, and they are available at most Big Box stores where the health items are kept. I bought a set of these green earplugs at my local Meijer's store, and they seem to be more comfortable and quieter than any other plug I have ever used........so much so that I have trouble hearing my intercom if the wind noise is loud.
https://www.macksearplugs.com/product/hi-viz-soft-foam-ear-plugs/

EAR BUDS - One solution to the problem of blocking the wind noise and still being able to hear the Sena headset is to use earbuds that have the speaker inside.  I tried these first as they are affordable and they stay in the ear well.  The little tab that sticks out can be trimmed back so that it doesn't hit your helmet - but I still found them to be uncomfortable after a while.  https://www.plugfones.com/product/basic/  They do have a new model with interchangeable tips - I have not tried these: https://www.plugfones.com/product/guardian/

I then tried these Panasonic earbuds as they are relatively cheap and small in size: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-EX15LP-BLACK-Headphones-Tangle-Silicone/dp/B0... They work well with the headset - but I found the silicone earpiece allowed a lot of wind noise into the helmet, and they are not very secure in my ear - but I could hear the Sena much better than using the helmet speakers.  I bought a couple of sets of foam ear tips to try.  You can buy Chines ones on eBay pretty cheap - I found they aren't all that much of in improvement over the silicone.  There are better ones available and I found that these work so much better - when you compress the foam and put it in your ear - you can feel the foam expanding and filling the cavity for about a minute, and they seal very well and are well worth the money. https://www.complyfoam.com/store/

I recommend the earbuds and the foam tips as the $30 solution!

NOISE CANCELLING EARBUDS - I watched a YouTube video of a fellow who uses the Bose noise cancelling headphones and he claimed they worked great.  They are expensive: https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/headphones/earphones/quietcomfort-20-acou...

I was not willing to spend that much money - but I found I could buy factory reconditioned units for half price on eBay:https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bose-QuietComfort-20-Noise-Cancelling-In-Ear-Headpho...
When I first tried them I had a short windshield on my bike that put the wind blast right at my shoulders and I would get noise from the bottom and top of my helmet.  The noise cancelling worked great - but I would get a popping sound in the speakers every few seconds.  I put on a taller windshield that moved the air up to my eye level on my helmet, and the speakers work incredible.  They cancel all the wind at lower speeds, and at 70mph and above they cancel 80% of the noise.  Stewmills called me while I was out testing these and I could clearly hear him on the Sena headset, and I also tried an MP3 player and I could easily hear the music - which is something that has never worked with any other system I have tried.  My helmet fits really tight and I can get the helmet on with the Bose earbuds in place - but I have to sneak a hand up in each side and remove the plugs before I can take my helmet off - the earbuds have microphones on the outside and they stick out farther than normal earbuds.  Trying to remove the helmet with the Bose earbuds in place pushes them deep into my hear and is painful.  I am going to try and mold some custom earpieces and see if that can move the Bose earbuds closer to my head - I also need to get a wire extension so I can put the control box in my pocket and not have it up at my collar.
NOTE:  I do know that these don't work well if you have a short windshield and get a blast of air at both the bottom and top of the helmet - I am not sure yet if they will work on a bike without a windshield.

SUMMARY -For $30 you can use the Sony earbuds or similar - but be sure to get the Comply foam eartips as they help a lot......I will use these for most of my rides.  Time will tell as I get a bit more experience - but I believe the Bose Noise Cancelling earbuds are going to be my "go to" for long rides as they really do cut the noise down.....but are a bit cumbersome to fiddle with all the wires.      

Excellent thread Dave, coincidentally I was just about to post a thread today on this very topic because I accidentally discovered something that has completely revolutionised my relationship with ear plugs.

It's especially important if you wear an open face as I do, I recently bought a s/h full face helmet because it just gets too much if it's windy, however I just can't wear them, hate them to death, I don't know how anyone enjoys riding with a full face. So the most covering I get is a clip on visor for my open face, which is this style the RXT Metro https://www.rxthelmet.com.au/product/metro-matt-black/ But I think I'm going to upgrade to the Metro Retro https://www.rxthelmet.com.au/product/metro-retro-white-silver/

So you can see that wind noise is pretty tough. I'm also already losing some hi frequencies, even though I've always been careful, whenever I went to a gig of any kind if it was loud I'd at least pop into the toilet and wad up some toilet paper, anything to deaden the sound.

So I take it very seriously, and it's an all or nothing situation, if it doesn't seal completely then it's almost as good as useless. For silicone seals it has to be very soft and flimsy, I've only ever found one set that ever fit well enough to seal properly, and that was the philips SHE9550 https://www.goodgearguide.com.au/review/philips/she9550/268996/ I've bought a few sets of these after they were discontinued, for about twenty bucks. They are the best sealing earbuds I've ever had and I cannot get them any longer. I used the largest size that they came with even though I have small ears. The headphones themselves are awesome.

What I'm about to say next is quite simply unbelievable, but here goes. OK I thought I can't get these great headphones any more, but I shall purchase some other Philips SHExxxx headphones because they'll use the same replaceable sets of tips won't they.

You'd think so, I bought one after the other, the largest ones are too small, none of the Philips headphones use that particular size any more, all it is is a bit bigger than the biggest size. It's freaking unbelievable. After giving up in frustration I bit the bullet and spent a couple of hundred on some Sonys which in 2014 were their best buds https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00931SBS0

Nope the largest tips on the Sonys were too small to seal properly and reliably, you'd have to twist and finagle them then you'd move your mouth and they'd shift, and if they don't seal these very expensive buds sound like a $10 pair.

OK the search continued maybe something like the triple seal that etymotic make https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/er4-new.html

By this stage, I'm not looking to spend 300 bucks on earbuds, I was thinking that the triple flange that Etymotic use  on their top models as well as the cheaper ones must be a good if they can sell their buds for hundreds of dollars. So I went onto eBay and found some triple flange plugs

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-pair-Silicone-Ear-Plugs-Anti-Noise-Snore-Earplu...

At one buck a pop I took a chance and ordered a half dozen, and they come in a nifty little hard case, after all when you pull them out for a coffee stop you don't want to stick them in your jeans.

OK these did do the job, they are a very soft and pliable silicone. Now we start to get into the meat of this post but I did want to give the preamble to show the full journey. I've tried some locally made more expensive ones in this same style but these blue cheap ones are better, due to softer and thinner flanges.

I quickly discovered that in order to make them seal absolutely perfectly they need to be lubricated with water. And they worked pretty good but for long journeys they began to get a little sore. I discovered that I could shorten the stem and that helped.

But I wanted something for longer journey's that were comfortable. I haven't tried every brand of plug but I'm certain that I have found the best plugs you can get, the Hearos. The 3M are supposed to be good but they don't have the buttery softness of the Hearos I didn't know what size to get so I got two sizes the blue ones and the flesh coloured ones

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/New-Hearos-Ultimate-Softness-Ear-Plugs-NRR-32-14-...

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hearos-Original-Formulation-Xtreme-Protection-Ear...

They are wonderfully soft and comfortable, I cannot see how they can be improved, because their formula is perfect for closed cell and ultimate comfort.

The only difference is in their size, the flesh ones are smaller, they both work extraordinarily well and if you install them perfectly they do make a perfect seal and their softness makes them super comfortable. So that's what I've been using for a while and let the blue triple flanged sit in my draw. But the Hearos have some practical disadvantages which are the same for all foam plugs, and that is, 1 they take a while to insert correctly you have to roll them and get them cleanly in the canal before they begin to expand, this is quite tricky in hot weather because they puff up very quickly and if you don't do it right it's no good, and 2 you really need to put a fresh pair in every time you remove them.

So it's usually a few minutes to get them done right, first one then the other. Now a couple of weeks ago I have moved to a new place which is in the very best motorcycling area of Australia, if you want roads as well as scenery this is motorcycling heaven. It's an eight kilometre ride to the local shops at Maleny QLD, and this ride is so luxuriously beautiful that I'll ride to shops at any excuse, often taking an extra long detour.

This now revealed the problem with the Hearos, they start to become a pain in the backside, because it's fine to take a few minutes to get it right for a big ride, but having to install these, take them out and then reinstall every 10 minutes to go to the shops is tough. Not only that but you don't really want to put them back in, so I have a couple of containers of them and when I take them out they go into the used container and I put fresh ones in.

Then when I have a bunch of used ones I wash them in warm soapy water and let them dry out for a few days and they are back to new. You can see where I'm going with this, it starts to become very very tedious.

Hang in there because we're about to get to the good bit, and I'm going to bring Covid-19 into the picture.

I thought I'd give the old blue triple flange another go because they'd be much easier to manage as well as wash and seal for short journeys.

Now as I said I used to lubricate them with water and I started carrying water around with me for this purpose, I considered for about 2 seconds the possibility of using saliva to lubricate them but I canned that idea before it even had time to settle in my brain. Bacteria in the ear doesn't sound good.

Also rolling those Hearos with hands that are not scrupulously clean, seems also a bit wrong. By now we are in the middle of the Covid-19 storm, and I go to the supermarket and at the entrance there's some hand sanitiser, and I used it and it was a very slippery gel, it's also a disinfectant and it dries fast. Suddenly it all came together, not water, how about using the blue triple flange with hand sanitiser gel as the lubrication.

Bingo.



I'm using this but anything that is a gel type hand sanitiser would work. My first thought was to use a water based sexy time lubricant, but I didn't bother because it's obviously even better to have something that disinfects your hands as well as the plugs if you're going to stick them in your ear.

I've been using them now for a week and it has utterly, completely and totally transformed my riding. When they are in properly, it's like riding a luxury BMW with one of their super windshields.

I ride a GS500 and the engine sounds like a Rolls Royce with these plugs in and sealed, the mad deafening wind rush, sounds like the gentlest of summer breezes lightly caressing you. I ride better too because instead of hearing the engine screaming at 7000 rpm, it sounds more like a muffled Ferrari with a nice growl that you can't normally hear. So I work the rpm better now, which makes the whole bike feel more responsive.

One problem is that I have to keep a closer eye on my speed because it's very easy to find yourself creeping up to 100kph or more in an 80 zone, because it feels like I'm riding at 60kph. Even a windy day it not problem, it's makes me crack a huge smile every time I"m on the bike now. And with the gel as lubricant it only takes seconds to get them in.

So the big secret is to lubricate your earbuds whatever type you use whether connected to a sound system or not, with a gel hand sanitiser.

I put a dab of gel on the back of my hand and then twist those blue triple flange plugs in the gel to coat them properly, they slide right in (oo er) and they are always clean. I go to the shops and put them in their little hard shell and when I come out it's only a few seconds to install them.

Could be a problem with music buds though because of the gel. But this post is only about sealing your ears from the wind. Perfectly.

Occasionally I'll be riding and the seal with break just a little tiny bit, they still work well but you notice the difference instantly. It's worth it to just stop the bike and re-apply some gel, if that happens.

Regarding the Comply tips, I find them very intrusive and not very comfortable as their advertising says.

These blue triple flange plug plus gel is  life changing.

Here's some local scenery.



Thats the Glasshouse Mountains in the distance and wherever you go around here they are looming up at you in the most unexpected places. They don't look that impressive on the photos because it's an iPhone and therefore wide angle and makes them looks very tiny but they are huge volcanic plugs.

My latest (and last) attempt at getting hearing Nirvana is the S plugs.  These are silicone ear buds with speakers, and they are all day comfortable.  The do a superb job of reducing wind and other noises, while still allowing you to hear the needed traffic sounds.  I got the short 22 inch wire and it works excellent for plugging into my helmet attached Sena - the wire is just long enough to allow me to plug the connector in and maneuver my helmet on.....and there is not a lot of excess wire to get tangled on things (if you want to use them with a phone or MP3 player you may want a longer wire).  The wire size is much thicker than most earbuds, and it appears to be very durable.  The sound quality may not be all that great for music if you are an audiophile - the sound quality is great for phone or helmet communicator.....if you want to listen to music you may need to spend more and get the version with the two drivers.  The earbuds are completely inside your ears when installed and nothing rubs on the helmet....it appears that the wires are angled to help them route out of your ears properly.

At $ 129.95 they are not cheap - but they have greatly improved the annoyance/distraction that the wind noise in my helmet creates.....especially on long rides.

If you listen to music or have helmet communication - this is money well spent.  It has made the helmet communication so much better, and even at interstate speeds conversation is easy.

https://www.plugup.com/best_and_most_comfortable_stereo_earplug_earbuds_p/s%2...