Acoustic Transmission in Helmets

[Rougarou]

To start off, my hearing is bad, too many boom-booms and pew-pews, so, with that, I try to protect what I have left and do wear hearing protection for many activities that create excess sound.

 

But,.....while riding, I wear ear buds which let me keep the volume of the music down while also isolating excess wind noise (so I think/thought).  Even when I wear hearing protection I notice this noise transmission.

 

What I get is the whomp, whomp, whomp low frequency sounds coming through when I wear ear pro or ear buds.  When I do a very seldom ride without ear pro/buds, there's no whomp, whomp, whomp and the noise level appears lower overall.

 

My NSWAG on this is that the ear pro/buds protrusion into the material of the helmet is allowing the low frequency acoustic transfer of the wind noise.

 

This happened/s with my Scorpion EXO900, Schuberth C3 and Arai Corsair

 

Anyone get the same/similar results.

[TEWKS]

2 hours ago, Living the Dream said:

What I get is the whomp, whomp, whomp low frequency sounds coming through when I wear ear pro or ear buds.  

 

Not going to be helpful but just thinking out loud here. That "whomp whomp" describes exactly what you hear when the rear windows are down in an SUV while traveling down the road. What's up with that?  

 

Helmet vent positions (open / closed ) change anything? 

[Rougarou]

27 minutes ago, TEWKS said:

 

Not going to be helpful but just thinking out loud here. That "whomp whomp" describes exactly what you hear when the rear windows are down in an SUV while traveling down the road. What's up with that?  

 

Helmet vent positions (open / closed ) change anything? 

 

Ya, the rear window thing,....sure don't remember that growing up

 

The helmet vents change nothing.

[realshelby]

You will find that noise comes from air turbulence hitting the helmet and upper body. Different helmets certainly effect how noticeable that is. A properly designed and correctly sized windshield can eliminate that noise to start with. 

[Lowndes]

I've tried all kinds of things to reduce the noise in several helmets.  The latest helmet is a Shoei Neotec.  I even tried taping over all the exterior joints, seams, and vents ( edges of face shield, etc) with very little reduction in noise. 

 

The only thing I've found that helps significantly is a thick and stiff cold weather skirt between the bottom edge of the helmet and your body.   That's a real PITA to ride with, limits head movement.

 

The thinner, fabric and stretchy knitted skirts do nothing for sound. Acoustically transparent. 

 

The skirt does indicate that most of the wind noise comes in around your neck.  I tried a foam neck pillow between the bottom edge of the pillow and neck/shoulders and found that it has to be sealed 100% all the way around to be effective.  The slightest gap will transmit about 98% of the noise.

 

I think headphone type cushions inside the helmet (seal completely around your ear) might be the solution.

[hopz]

This may not be a relevant response but here it comes anyway.

I did not have that sort of issue/irritation. My helmet was an HJC, and my audio choice was the Senna bluetooth headset. Great sound, no wires ('14 RT) no wind noise. As you mount the speakers in your helmet you can effect the "tightness"/proximity of the speakers to your ears. You can mount them as far or as close as you like... pairing to the BMW Audio was seamless after the initial setup.

This just an alternate solutions to the audio system setup...

 

Just my $ O.02

[lkraus]

I'm with hopz on this as I've not found earbuds to be very effective as noise blockers. It's also a hassle to get the helmet on without dislodging the buds.

 

I also see how "protrusion into the material of the helmet is allowing the low frequency acoustic transfer of the wind noise."

 

Foam earplugs block the wind noise, Sena speakers provide the sound.

 

At least, until Terry creates a Quiet Ride shield for the Hexheads. 

[Rougarou]

3 hours ago, hopz said:

This may not be a relevant response but here it comes anyway.

I did not have that sort of issue/irritation. My helmet was an HJC, and my audio choice was the Senna bluetooth headset. Great sound, no wires ('14 RT) no wind noise. As you mount the speakers in your helmet you can effect the "tightness"/proximity of the speakers to your ears. You can mount them as far or as close as you like... pairing to the BMW Audio was seamless after the initial setup.

This just an alternate solutions to the audio system setup...

 

Just my $ O.02

 

2 hours ago, lkraus said:

I'm with hopz on this as I've not found earbuds to be very effective as noise blockers. It's also a hassle to get the helmet on without dislodging the buds.

 

I also see how "protrusion into the material of the helmet is allowing the low frequency acoustic transfer of the wind noise."

 

Foam earplugs block the wind noise, Sena speakers provide the sound.

 

At least, until Terry creates a Quiet Ride shield for the Hexheads. 

 

 

I've got a Sena, started with the 10 in 2010 and now have the 20S.  I've got extenders that put the speakers right at my ears, but as I've said, my ears are pretty bad off and with the Sena cranked full on, at 80+, I might as well turn it off as I'm not hearing the tunes.  With ear buds, I hear the tunes, my issue is more, I think, with vibration transfer rather than the actual wind noise.  

 

I've tried the foam, etymotic and rubber type ear plugs, I still get the same vibratory sounds.  With ear buds (Dre Beats previously, and currently Shure's), I can at least hear the music directly and the wind noise is blocked out.  Putting a helmet on with ear buds is just as easy as putting it on with ear plugs.

 

I can relate it to trying to run with isolating ear buds in, each step creates a heavy vibration that transfers up and has a whomp echo in the ears, that's why I quit using isolating ear buds when I run, it's an annoyance

[realshelby]

Stand up on the pegs with the screen down. Still get the noise?

[Lowndes]

I've not found any of the soft silicone "mushroom" ear plugs or ear buds to be very effective at stopping outside noise.  The best 'plugs for my ears are the 3M yellow foam earplugs (when they are properly seated in my ear canal).  

 

Wired ear buds are noisier because the outside sounds like wind, wires flopping around and rubbing on jackets, will be transferred directly to your ears.  Try it; just put the buds in and rub the wire between your thumb and finger.  If any part of any ear bud or ear plug touches the inside of the helmet sound will be transferred to your ear.

 

A good windscreen is the very best place to start reducing the noise.  

[Mike]

Just a guess, but your earbuds may be getting whacked by the interior of the helmet as they contact the foam (or built-in speakers).. Though not officially sanctioned by any helmet manufacturer, a bit of time carving away the foam interior where it’s contacting your earbuds would take care of it. 

[wichitagreg]

It may also be sound transmission directly into your skull, especially right behind your ears.  The last hearing test I had she put something behind my ear on my head and tested how well I could hear compared to through the headset.  Amazing how similar the two reading were.

[Paul4450]

I wear custom molded, hard acrylic ear plugs with two drivers in each ear plug, made by Fit-Ear. They are wired with a 3.5 mm plug that I connect into my Sena 20S. The sound is great!  

But I wanted the extraneous noise to be even less. To get a better fit in my helmet, I did remove some of the EPS to make more room for my ear lobes. That allowed my ear plugs fit better, which helped reduce noise a bit, but not as much as I wanted. 
 

Then I bought some Dynamat sheets to line the inside of the ear pocket of the pocket. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/dyc-10415/overview/  It’s only $15 for two sheets which was more than enough. Now my problem is that with my helmet on, I have a hard time hearing conversations off the bike unless I activate the mic on my Sena. 
 

Maybe some Dynamat might get rid of the ”whomp whomp”. 

 

[mwood7800]

My c3 pro has a neck damn. With my x10 klisph I’m in heaven

[Trilegy]

I have been having an issue with plugs for some time. I previously had plugs and still used in helmet speakers. 

 

I finally (after lots of testing) moved to custom plugs with speakers in them. Much more direct sound and eliminated much of the other noises but I still had a whoomp whoomp at times...even when walking with the plugs in.

 

What I found out was my inner ears don't like having no air release which is caused by blocking the ear canal with a plug. Pressure builds up and acts like an amplifier in the ear with any helmet movement or even wind.

 

The solution for me was a vented earplug. These are silicon based moulded to your own ear. There is a vent in the plug that can be "filled" to change the level of air release in the ear.

 

They aren't cheap but with a custom plug, in plug speakers and an adjustable vent Im VERY happy. Still have a bit of the Whoomp but it is bearable given the quality of the plugs. I only notice it in extreme windy conditions.

 

Here in Aus it is an Earmold plug. Not sure elsewhere what they can be.   

 

Having tested different plugs, helmets, speakers etc over the years, whilst they aren't cheap, they are when compared to all the other expense along the way. And a massive peace of mind on every ride.