Though I should add this - and I'd eventually like to speak to an expert about it (if I can still hear him to converse with him at that point):
I ride with ear-plugs for my 360 miles of commuting each week. I also ride with a full-face helmet for such commuting.
Now I
know that the ear plugs are working very well - wind noise is greatly reduced, fatigue is kept down, etc. - yet after rides, and on my days off, I have ringing in my ears that was not there before. It is stronger after the rides, and there is no doubt I am harder of hearing... yet I wear some of the best ear-plugs I can buy (
Hearos ear plugs).
My contention is that the air pulses getting trapped up under my full face helmet are causing enough vibration up through my sinuses that I am still going deaf despite wearing the ear plugs; yet I've never read anything about this condition.
Also, it didn't happen when I used to ride sport bikes, and my theory here is that the angle of the opening of the full-face helmets isn't as exposed to the oncoming air due to the torso's angle-of-attack. With this cruiser and a slightly backward position (not upright, and certainly not a forward-leaning position), air pulses in the helmet have to be present and continual (and that the average speed is 80 MPH, and I do about 85 some days to stay away from people, doesn't help).
So, well, there's that to think of.