Helmets Are my ears getting bigger??

[CruSTy]

It has been 6 years since I purchased a new helmet for myself. I've been quite satisfied with my HJC RPHA Max Modular size Large. I'm thinking I need to attend a Motorcycle helmet fitting and selection course. I purchased a Shoei GT Air (full face) size large. Nice Helmet, fits pretty snug and comfortable once I get my ears so after some more online research and based on my previous experience with HJC decided I would buy a new HJC RPHA 90S size Large. This helmet is nothing like the Max. While the helmet fits my head perfectly there is no room for my ears much less my glasses. This helmet is also configured for a proprietary communications system with speaker enclosures that seem to take up most of the ear space. Is this a trend with most helmet manufacturers or are my ears just getting bigger with age?

 

[rjs987]

I found it help wearing a beanie/doo rag/skull cap helmet liner. They have various names for the same thing. Every time I put on my full face HJC C70 helmet without the tops of my ears get pulled down and feel like there is no room for them. But with the helmet liner on first my helmet slips right on and my ears don't feel like they are in the way at all. I use a Schampa CoolSkin Skullcap. Makes a difference in comfort overall as well... to me anyway.

www.amazon.com/Schampa-CoolSkin-Skullcap-Black

 

[Shuey]

Well . . . ears and nose do continue to grow as we age.
Feet too also tend to get longer and wider as tendons and ligaments become more lax over time.
(Per "Healthline" and the "Cleveland Clinic.")

Shuey

 

[CruSTy]

I found it help wearing a beanie/doo rag/skull cap helmet liner. They have various names for the same thing. Every time I put on my full face HJC C70 helmet without the tops of my ears get pulled down and feel like there is no room for them. But with the helmet liner on first my helmet slips right on and my ears don't feel like they are in the way at all. I use a Schampa CoolSkin Skullcap. Makes a difference in comfort overall as well... to me anyway.

www.amazon.com/Schampa-CoolSkin-Skullcap-Black

Yup, I wear a beanie. It does help with the ears but the HJC 90S is so cramped my ears hurt then go numb. I think it affects my brain also lol.

 

[Upt' North]

It has been 6 years since I purchased a new helmet for myself. I've been quite satisfied with my HJC RPHA Max Modular size Large. I'm thinking I need to attend a Motorcycle helmet fitting and selection course. I purchased a Shoei GT Air (full face) size large. Nice Helmet, fits pretty snug and comfortable once I get my ears so after some more online research and based on my previous experience with HJC decided I would buy a new HJC RPHA 90S size Large. This helmet is nothing like the Max. While the helmet fits my head perfectly there is no room for my ears much less my glasses. This helmet is also configured for a proprietary communications system with speaker enclosures that seem to take up most of the ear space. Is this a trend with most helmet manufacturers or are my ears just getting bigger with age?

Yes.

 

[ToddC]

You should have seen my Grandfather's ears when he pasted........ We used them as sun shades at family reunions.....!! Ha!
Ear lobes get longer too.
T

 

[Mellow]

 

[ReSTored]

I recently purchased an LS2 Valiant helmet. I sized it based on advice from a few web pages, in particular Revzilla's.

How to size and buy a motorcycle helmet - RevZilla. The circumferance is critical, as is the shape of your head. If you have a long oval head you're likely not going to be happy in a helmet that is designed for a round head. Conversly, if you have a round head your ears are going to feel as if they are being crushed if squeezed into a long oval helmet.

I ordered mine for curbside pickup, but the store was actually open when I dropped by. I wore the helmet for about 20 miunutes and it felt OK. I also wore it for another 30 - 40 minutes at home just to be sure. The vendor told me that as long as all of the tags, stickers and labels were in place that it could be returned. Only when I was sure it fit did I strip all of these things off.

So all was well, I thought. Above sizing aside, the LS2 has a proprietary communicator as well and I purchased this a few weeks after I picked up the helmet on sale. Helmet fit great, until the speakers were positioned into the small recess provided, at which point I felt like my ears were being crushed. The small recess molded into the foam to position the speakers was nowhere near the depth of the speakers themselves. I used an exactoknife to carve out some foam so the speakers are now flush and the fit is what it was when the helmet was purchased. I should not have had to do this and if I had known about the need to carve out foam to get a proper fit I would have purchased another brand of helmet

 

[Sadlsor]

Well . . . ears and nose do continue to grow as we age.
<SNIP>
Shuey

I disagree.
I believe the head (and its internals) shrink, giving the impression that our external features "grow."
DISCLAIMER: I have no medical sources to validate this theory. But I don't care.

 

[drbuzzard]

my friends say that i have elf ears so i have several schampa beanies

 

[Southwest Ranger 217]

Solution: next time your at the barbershop have them trim your ears as well. May hurt for a while but at least you'll have room in the helmet.

 

[Oldbikefixr]

Different makers used to manufacture helmets to different skull shapes. An oval section would press on the ears of a rider having a more rounded skull.....and other possiblities.
Have such shapes been standardized, or are some still
different?

 

[SMSW]

I disagree.
I believe the head (and its internals) shrink, giving the impression that our external features "grow."
DISCLAIMER: I have no medical sources to validate this theory. But I don't care.

It happens to be a fact that our brains shrink as we get older and old people are more susceptible to head trauma because of this.

Some of us can even hear that shrunken walnut rattling around in the cranial cavity.

 

[Larry Fine]

my friends say that i have elf ears so i have several schampa beanies

Tell them they're actually Spock ears.

 

[drbuzzard]

Tell them they're actually Spock ears.

i'm six feet tall so you might be right

 

[Southwest Ranger 217]

Your ears stay in the same lication height wise so as we shrink in height then oue ears stretch so.... spock ears sound possible

 

[Moto-Charlie]

I don't know if will help with your ears exactly but I have worn both the RPHA Max and currently the RPHA 90 (like them very much). In both cases (as well as with the Symax before) I order the XL size helmet with the XXL size cheek pads. The XXL size pads are just a little thinner which helps with both my cheeck and ear pressure.

If the helmet is coming from the store they can swap them out there. If it come direct from a distributor I end up paying for and getting the helmet as is (with the XL pads in it) along with a set of XXL pads packaged separately. I then swap out the pads myself, put the new unused XL pads back into the XXL package, send them back and get a refund for the extra pad set.

 

[Shuey]

If it come direct from a distributor I end up paying for and getting the helmet as is (with the XL pads in it) along with a set of XXL pads packaged separately. I then swap out the pads myself, put the new unused XL pads back into the XXL package, send them back and get a refund for the extra pad set.

So . . . is it probable that someone else will order a set of XXL pads and receive a package that actually contains XL pads? Curious.
Shuey

 

[SMSW]

So . . . is it probable that someone else will order a set of XXL pads and receive a package that actually contains XL pads? Curious.
Shuey

Now you know why we get the wrong parts in an otherwise correctly labeled package. And why some vendors do not accept returns.

 

[Moto-Charlie]

So . . . is it probable that someone else will order a set of XXL pads and receive a package that actually contains XL pads? Curious.
Shuey

I've purchased my helmets from MotorcycleGear.com. They indicate that they know in advance that the swap will occur, both thier internal records and the return authorization anticipate the return of a different sized set and that then correct the package and/or repackage to show the proper size once they process the return. I have no way to know if the systems actually works, but they've worked with me several times doing it this way and have never hesitated to accommodate me.