Ear plugs and motion sickness

[vinny]

So I thought I would take the wife for a little ride this afternoon, the sky was clear, temp about 74 degrees, sun is beginning to go down and the tourists are headed home. The leaves on the trees are beginning to turn....what a great time for a ride. While I was getting my gear on, I notices she had put ear plugs in her ears....never has she done that before, but what the heck, maybe she wanted to block a little of the noise, so I said nothing.
We went up 129 and then across 180 down 60 and back to the house, all in all it took about 50 minutes. When she dismounted, started to stagger a little and I asked her if she was ok? She said she was nauseated and went into the house and began to heave. Never before has she gotten sick on the bike, but in a cage, the twisties always make her sick. Do you think the ear plugs had something to do with the motion sickness? Or maybe something else? Any experiences with this?

 

[JPrieST]

Pregnancy can do this! JK

Seriously, the inner ear has EVERYTHING to do with equilibrium. I think it is possible that ear plugs could cause this, especially if they were the solid kind that seals off the ear canal. You made some elevation changes and I have seen this combo cause minor nausea. Though I would say it is very unusual in my experience.

 

[SoloTotoCoyote]

I have a friend who can't wear ear plugs because they mess up his equilibrium........so, maybe.

 

[Gonzo]

It is possible, IMHO, that if the ear buds are too tight they can cut off the circulation and contribute to the problem. You might try an experiment using earphones in the helmet that don't actually fit into the ear. This might be kind of clumsy, but worth trying just to get a result. Then if it does work, you can get microphone/speaker setups to go into the helmet.

 

[Spencer]

Try a "filtered" ear plug something like these:

Top of the line : http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/hear-plugz.html

or a more wallet friendly (but less effective): http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/wimoearpl.html

They are not solid so don't seal the ear canal and allow pressure equalization.

.

 

[vinny]

Pregnancy can do this! JK

I sure hope NOT! Would be difficult since we both have been neutered. Although the middle age thing has been around for a while, could be a contributing factor. Since this was an isolated incident, was suspecting the ear plug. Spencer's suggestion sounds like a good thing to try. Anyone out there have this happen to them or their passenger, and know for sure the ear plugs can cause this?

 

[Blrfl]

I had a set of Heartech Flite Mates that were pretty effective but sealed my ear up a little more than I thought they should. They sometimes left me feeling funny during altitude changes, so I could see that happening. Switched to Howard Leight Max disposables and haven't had a minute's trouble since.

The place Spencer linked to has trial packs that include a whole bunch of different styles. I bought a disposable pack and a reusable pack and tried a bunch. It was worth the money.

Or it could just be that the missus is developing an ear infection and today was the day she figured it out.

--Mark