Harley went to his ENT specialist today for a thorough check of his ear, to determine if the kamikaze yellow jacket caused any permanent damage. Good news is... NO! The ear canal is scarred and bruised, but all of this will heal. And his hearing should be fully recovered when the swelling goes down. He was very glad to learn this!His doctor told him a very valuable piece of information that I felt needed to be passed on to other fellow riders...
"Should you ever encounter a lodged insect like this again... if you'll keep a small bottle of alcohol with an eye dropper on your bike, you can use it to kill the insect immediately. Then it will usually flush out before any swelling sets in." Dr. B
Cool beans Dr. B! Alcohol kills!
Some of you may have already known this, but I wanted to be sure we all did. I can assure you, we will have a small bottle of alcohol on our bikes from now on! And having a set of tweezers in your First Aid kit or dash pouch would be helpful in case you have to retrieve some ear chomping (or nose digging!) creature from hell!
I'm not going to be one to start preaching full helmets and face shields, because neither Harley or I plan to quit wearing our half lid. We are, however, going to take heed to this danger and add ear protection to our "don't leave home without" list. It's really not a big deal to make sure a couple sets of ear plugs are on the bike, or for that matter, you can use cotton.
I've had ear plugs in my ears before, and they really help block out the sound as well as provide a barrier from flying insects. But, I love the sound of riding. I need to hear my motor purr, my exhaust rumble, and not to mention the encroaching cagers around me. I don't want to cover up all my ability to pick out sounds that clue me in to all this necessary information. I like cotton because it just slightly muffles any sound. Besides, it's much softer and more comfortable to my ears.
So if your like me, you love being out on your bike every chance you get, cruising the country highways, rolling in the "high" of life. Unfortunately, country cruising means bugs, and bugs at high velocity means... ouch!Let's just try to keep our holes covered or plugged so we can stay out of the doctor's office... shall we??
Unless of course... you like the doctor.
Lady R ;)
