Since ePPGs are supposed to be quieter, I’d like to know if there are people who fly without hearing protection. Have you done it, and if so, then how does it feel? Is it borderline lousy, so that you’d prefer hearing protection? Or is it quite tolerable and decent?
It depends on the motor. I’ve been flying a single motor electric PPG for over 7 years and never worn ear protection. Quitle tolerable on cruise at 1400 rpm and when you power off… ahhh… just the wind.
I’m flying the X4 without hearing protection. What I do is turn my hearing aids off. 
It is still pretty loud.
Seriously I’ve had hearing aids for about a decade now. Long before I started flying. I remember when I was younger the sound of a circular saw used to hurt. Now I barely notice it but again, I turn off my hearing aids.
Younger people have more sensitive hearing. Protect it.
I don’t bother on shorter flights but if I’m flying more than 20 mins or so the noise from the prop can get annoying.
I just throw a few of these ear plugs in the harness pocket for the longer flights and it makes it more enjoyable
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WHAAAAAAAAT???. lol Sorry had to go there.
OSHA does a good job recommending safe noise levels vs time - this phenomenon has been very well studied! It comes down to how loud the noise is (e.g., measured in dB), and for how long you’re exposed to that. Note that this exposure accumulates over time! Meaning, a certain high noise may be tolerable before long term damage for, as an example, 10 hours total, whereas lower levels of noise may cause the same damage over some 100 hours total. Just an example. But the point is, over time, your hearing gets damaged every time, just a little bit. Even if you find the noise level “tolerable”.
(Same thing with motorcycles’ loud pipes. People regret that after a few months or years of riding with “tolerable noise” causes hearing issues.)
It would be great if someone could measure this noise level (for PPGs and ePPGs). You can do that while on the ground. There are free sound/noise-measuring apps for your smartphone, perhaps good enough for basic tests. Once we have those numbers, we can estimate total exposure time for maintaining great hearing.
Hans
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I would never fly without protection. every minute that a source of noise is exposed to it damages it. even if you may not feel it yourself for decades. eppg can be very quiet in cruise mode, but every eppg must also start. my solution is to wear a ski helmet ( poc skull x ) and a hood over your whole head. this is also for reasons of hygiene so as not to burden the helmet with sweat or too much sun on the face.
the hood is a layer of fabric that only slightly dampens, but it has a small effect. the ski helmet dampens the big noise and also has the functions for the headset on one side and the vario for thermal flying on the other. when I fly with a petrol engine, I also put ear plugs in my ears. then of course I don’t use vario and headset. for events where radio is compulsory, I have a helmet with encapsulated hearing protection so that I can hear the radio easily.
i have been working as a craftsman for 30 years and even in my youth I was very much in favor of wearing hearing protection at all times. others have often laughed at it. when I see my friends from back then who were the same age or a little older, almost all of them have severe hearing damage or tintus who did not wear hearing protection. today they wear one so as not to make it worse.
simply put. hearing protection is a question of intelligence!
With a ski or flysports helmet, you can also vary the cushioning by inserting foams and layers of fabric. to be able to talk to colleagues and hear them or, depending on the e-pppg system, to hear the wind a little while thermal flying.
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Anysound that is loud is recommended to wear hearing protection.
You may not think you are damaging your hearing but it happens over time.
I have that ringing in my ears from that exact reason and you can never lose
that. There is no way to correct it.
I STRONGLY ADVISE wearing hearing protection to protect your hearing.
I dont know how those people are not ruining their hearing with those cars you can hear the base down the block as they drive by. They are damaging their hearing, and in time they will realize what they have done but it will be too late then.
Wear the hearing protection and don’t take any chances with your hearing.
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If you are lucky and have a decibel meter ( $10-15 on Amazon) then you can get a good reading on how loud your set up is.
If you were to walk outside and listen you would hear about 45-50 db.
A conversation is around 60 db
A concert is around 95 db. You should be fine for a few hours.
A heavy rock concert is 105-115 db. At this range you need to wear at least basic hearing protection. ( take them off when your favorite song comes on, and put them back on when it’s done)
115+ Db and you must have hearing protection. You will damage your ears, at least temporarily. Don’t play around with these levels. 120-150 is around a silenced gun, with 150-250 is a unsilenced gun. Just for some prospective.