[alanmcorcoran]

Try the disposable squooshy ear plugs as a start. If you are concerend about protecting your hearing, I doubt anyone is going to suggest listening to tunes through earphones as something that is going to help. There is a lot of evidence that ipod type listening contributes to hearing loss (although not as rapidly as jet engines!) and I think at one point, when attempting to defuse a class action lawsuit that alleged that very thing, Apple even released a software "upgrade" that tamped down the volume.

If you can stand one more bit of unsolicited advice: Do your homework before you buy a helmet. There are vast differences from helmet to helmet regarding wind (and motorcycle) noise. Unfortunately, I don't think it's easy to "try before you buy." Go on-line - there are a couple of good helmet comparison/review sites out there that give you things like weight, head shape, wind noise, etc. If you get the right helmet, you will cut down a lot on your sound exposure. I like my Arai, but I've only owned three helmets to date and there's probably close to a thousand out there.