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Helmet Ear Pain Need Some Advice

Motomaniac

Motomaniac

COG Southwest Area Director
Member
Hi All, My ears after more than 200 miles of riding per day start to get very sore. The more miles I put on the worse it gets. It hurts to pull off the helmet, my ears are red and after a day's rest I am ready to go again with the pain starting again after about the same mileage. I wear ear buds, listen to music on my I-Pod, but I am in pain when I do not use my ear buds or listen to music too.  I put in 500 mile days and I could go more if the pain would go away! Does anyone have this issue and/or a possible solution? BTW I do live in a state (California) that requires a helmet.

Is this caused by too large a helmet?? Too small?? Can I use some padding to get relief? Welcome all comments. My current helmet is two years old, A Shoei RF 1000. Love it otherwise.  :motonoises:
 
You don't say what part of your ear hurts, but I'd say your helmet is too small, specifically in the cheek pad area. I haven't worn Shoei's in decades because their shell shape doesn't fit my head (the RF1000 actually gave me a throbbing migraine), but I know from using helmet speakers that if I don't have them positioned precisely, I get extrememly painful Antihelix - the curved part of the outer ear just below the top of the ear.

If this happens to you, then the ear opening in the cheek pad is in the wrong location and you need to find a helmet from a different manufacturer because all Shoei's will be the same.

Good luck. And protect your hearing.
 

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Well, that is exactly the part of ear that hurts after having the helmet on for a few hours. I do wear an XXL size. I am sure I cannot go much bigger. So you think I need another brand  helmet. Any brand and/or model suggestions? I really like the helmet I have otherwise. Thanks for any suggestions.  :motonoises:
 
All helmets fit differently.  Some are oval, some are round.  Some just do not have the ear pockets in the right place for everyone.  Trying on a lot of helmets is the only way to find out what works for you. 

I have found that any pressure anywhere on my ears will hurt in short order.  I even had a helmet that I needed to tuck my ear into the pocket.  If I forgot the pain would remind me otherwise I loved that helmet.

Add speakers or earplugs to the mix and you really need to be careful before spending your money.

I tried on modular helmets for about 2 years before I finally found one that was comfortable enough for me.  I do many 500 to 800 mile days and helmet comfort is very important to me.
 
On my ride to the Nat rally, I had a similar prob with a semi-new mod helmet. What helped me a lot...take a billiard ball, smush the ear area, & roll it round.
 
- comparing the AGV , Arai and OGK that i have , the OGK is the kindest to the ears (ie , they have big ear pockets).

- so , if you've got an issue with ears , maybe give the OGK a test. Mine is an FF4 (iirc).

.
 
Thank you all for the good information. Have a 9 day trip coming up in early August and not sure to stick with current helmet or go for a change.  Might get a Modular helmet. Looks like they might be more comfortable though a little noisier.  :motonoises:
 
The most important feature of any helmet is the fit. Go find a retailer that has a salesperson that knows how to fit helmets. So many stores have persons that know nothing about the shape of heads and helmets, or how to measure for a lid and fit the customer. They just point you to help yourself. Shop for the right fit first then pick out a graphic or color in that model. Fit, fit, fit....try everything on that you can find...
 
Agree with pretty much everything said here so far.

With my first bike (oh so long ago) I tried a bunch of different helmets, and found that only the Bieffe's fit me well (of the fiberglass helmets that is - back then polycarb was being heavily poo-poo'd in favor of fiberglass). Shoei's, while a nicer helmet, hurt the moment I put them on. Each brand seems to fit different head shapes better.

Fast-forward to a couple years ago, and again it's the less-expensive helmet that fits me best. Riding an HJC now. Had to borrow my brother's helmet recently (it's a large, just like mine), and it hurt the moment I put it on. I asked my brother what brand it was...can you guess? Yep, it's a Shoei! Twenty-five years on and their helmets still fit me the same - too tight in cheek/ears, like it's meant for a more narrow head.

So definitely go somewhere they know what they're doing, or just go try on a lot of helmets. From my experience it's a Goldilocks kind of thing - you'll try helmets and think "this one feels ok", but when you get to the one that fits "juuust right" you'll know. That helmet will fit like no other has.

Don't be afraid to try on helmets that you think are way out of your price range - if one has the perfect fit, then you have a known quantity or a benchmark.
 
Sizes vary a lot between brands too.  I have had 2 or 3 HJCs that fit well.  Just replaced one with a Scorpion and had to got to a size larger and it is still on the verge of too tight.
 
Almost all helmet mfg. use the same shell for all sizes, only the insides, the liners, make the size.See if you can purchase a new liner a size larger. Good luck!
 
wayne_jenkins_CT said:
Almost all helmet mfg. use the same shell for all sizes, only the insides, the liners, make the size.See if you can purchase a new liner a size larger. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Ummmm, the cheaper lids usually have the same size shell for 3 of there sizes, XS, small and med. Then the next shell has Lrg, Xl and XXL. Top tier lids, the good stuff, Arai, Shoei and others are two sizes per shell step sizes... Changing liners and cheek pads is a great way to fine turn the fit. And when the interior gets all Funky and nasty. New insides make a huge diff...
Look for your head shape too. Most riders in this country are of a round oval shaped head,  20% like me are long oval. Arai  Profile, and now the new Signet, are the only helmets to fit my noggin correctly. I worked in a shop for eleven years and got to try them all, almost all of them anyway. I won't wear anything less than an Arai.....
 
HJC ( a "cheap" helmet manufacturer) uses 5 shell sizes for their helmets. It's not necessarily the price, but the maker also.
I tried on every brand of helmet that was within my budget (took two weeks) and Shoei wasn't one of them, but very nice helmets I must say. I finally ended up with a Cycle Gear brand helmet for around $200 , because it fit the best and was light. Helmet don't really "break in" if it's uncomfortable when you try it on, it's gonna stay that way. The pads do "soften" a bit and loosen up, so consider this when fitting the helmet. The "dome" doesn't have enough padding to soften up and make it "more" comfortable or better fitting.

Anyways, the moral of this story, buy the best helmet that you can afford, make sure that the "dome" fits comfortably (my motto, if I don't like it the second it hits my head, I'm never gonna like it), wear the helmet as you shop for a new pair of pants, gloves or other farkle. If you still like it then, buy it.

Tim
 
6 Riders said:
HJC ( a "cheap" helmet manufacturer) uses 5 shell sizes for their helmets. It's not necessarily the price, but the maker also.
I tried on every brand of helmet that was within my budget (took two weeks) and Shoei wasn't one of them, but very nice helmets I must say. I finally ended up with a Cycle Gear brand helmet for around $200 , because it fit the best and was light. Helmet don't really "break in" if it's uncomfortable when you try it on, it's gonna stay that way. The pads do "soften" a bit and loosen up, so consider this when fitting the helmet. The "dome" doesn't have enough padding to soften up and make it "more" comfortable or better fitting.

Anyways, the moral of this story, buy the best helmet that you can afford, make sure that the "dome" fits comfortably (my motto, if I don't like it the second it hits my head, I'm never gonna like it), wear the helmet as you shop for a new pair of pants, gloves or other farkle. If you still like it then, buy it.

Tim
Click to expand...

Hafta second this!

"...buy the best helmet that you can afford...if [you] don't like it the second it hits [your] head, [you're] never gonna like it...wear the helmet as you shop for a new pair of pants, gloves or other farkle. If you still like it then, buy it."

 
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