Noise Reduction Technology

The level of noise inside your helmet can be quite high. The airflow over a motorbike at 75 km/h (approx. 50 mph) or above will generate more noise than the bike itself. Motorcyclists can experience regular noise exposure of 80 to 100 db(A), levels that may cause hearing loss with sustained exposure. If sounds are muffled after you ride, you have experience hearing damage – read below to see how you can reduce these negative side-effects.

PHX helmets minimize the noise (or more precisely, the air pressure) that impacts your ears while you ride. That said our priority is your safety and comfort, which means that our engineers do not just wrap your ears in sound-proof mufflers. But there are steps you can take to protect your hearing.

Recently, with help from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research (ISVR) in the UK, wind tunnel testing took place for noise exposure inside the full face helmet at high speeds. The researchers discovered that turbulence of the windscreen's air-wake generated the bulk of the noise vibrations experienced by riders. This means that the precise position of the windscreen has a large impact on the volume you experience. The researchers disclosed that the windscreen vibrations (and the rider’s noise level) no doubt varied depending on what motorcycle was being ridden.

Some of the shell and padding modifications we have made have helped to reduce noise exposure by 5 to 8 dB on all helmet classes. By improving the seal around the neck of the helmet we have reduced noise levels on low windscreen helmets. By contrast, high windscreen helmets transmit noise through the visor and forehead, so the improvements have been targeted to the seal of the visor and to the helmet shell in order to be more effective in reducing noise exposure.

The study recommended further hearing precautions such as wearing ear plugs or noise reduction earmuffs (these however must be insulated from the helmet itself so that it doesn’t transfer vibrations). In fact the study specifically recommended that UK police officers who use motorcycles daily to always wear earplugs.

NOTE: If you are an experienced rider you may feel like you are going slower once you start to wear earplugs. Make sure that you pay close attention to your speedometer when you start protecting your ears for the first time.