Ears on Wheels

Many bicycle riders know the feeling of seeing a car or truck in the last second because they were distracted by loud music on their headphones. Bicycle riders with hearing loss, unfortunately, do not have the option of taking off their headphones to improve their hearing.

Why not encourage your local cycling club to inform their members of the consequences of biking with an untreated hearing loss?

Provide the bicycle club with information about hearing loss and let them know about helpful websites to get them started. You could also refer the cycling club to a local hearing clinic in order to develop a partnership to raise awareness across the community.

In collaboration with their neighborhood council, the North Liverpool cycling club organizes an annual bike ride to raise awareness of cancer in men. The ride is supported by the HIM project, which campaigns for resources to put men's health issues on the public agenda. The bike ride helped get the message out that support organizations exist for men who may be suffering from cancer.

Biking with hearing loss can be very dangerous. Hearing aids often do not help cyclists hear high frequency sounds like bicycle bells. And in the city, noise and traffic can make it difficult for cyclists to isolate a single source of sound.

Educating bicycle clubs about hearing loss can help them improve safety on roads and bicycle paths, which benefits everyone. Cycling clubs could use this as an opportunity to make the local community more aware of bikers with hearing loss. This could grow into a larger effort to inform the entire community about hearing loss.