TL;DR A man in Osaka Prefecture with listening difficulty/auditory processing disorder (LiD/APD) relies on earbuds to aid his hearing. He is concerned about Japan’s new earphone ban while cycling, which will take effect in April 2026 and could result in a fine. The man worries that the revised law, which will penalize earphone use while cycling, will disproportionately affect individuals with LiD/APD who rely on earbuds for daily functioning.
by SkyInJapan
28 comments
Common sense, not so common anymore.
This is what happens when old people who don’t use new technology write laws. I brought this up previously when the law was announced. Not only can AirPods used for auditory enhancement, they also have a transparency mode for people to continue to hear the world around them while they listen to music or podcasts.
So he says he needs it to understand conversations. So why must he have the earbuds in while cycling? And it is self diagnosed ? No letter from the doctor?
The whole thing sounds strange.
>Wearing earphones does not immediately constitute a violation. A violation is committed when it’s confirmed that the individual is pedaling without being able to hear necessary sounds or voices for safe riding
So, that doesn’t sound unreasonable?
He needs a lanyard of some kind to avoid being annoyed by the police. I personally avoid listening to music while cycling, but even a cyclist wearing earbuds is still far more exposed to street noise than a motorist in a car with music playing and the windows up, which most of them are.
If we’re going to crack down on the cyclist thing, we should also stop motorists from listening to music and force them to listen to the noise of the road. Actually, thinking about it, they should be forced to listen anyway. Motorists make nearly all the noise on the road, but put their windows up and block it out, while other street users (not just cyclists but walkers) are forced to listen to the noise that they are not themselves contributing to. It’s actually incredibly unjust, even apart from the safety angle.
And don’t get me started on the TV in cars thing.
They gonna ban people driving with earphones next?
I thought it was already forbidden.
He can use none conduction like shokz!!! No need to be queried then
Jesus there are open ear phones for this reason. Fuck sony has one. This is small news. Nobody is gonna give a fuck.
And yet we have cars which have been scientifically engineered to block outside noises for a quieter ride and then often include world-class audio systems.
Shouldn’t the drivers of cars be required to keep their windows open and not play any music while driving?
Safety should come first, shouldn’t it?
If this law is going to be applied, the law should be enforced equally no matter who is on the road and not just apply to people on bicycles.
“Single fringe case should undo massive amount of harm prevented from new law targetting distracted bike riders”
roll my fkn eyes.
alarmist bullshit.
if the police pull you over, explain you are wearing a hearing aid.
wear a help mark badge as well.
Even my over-the-ears active noise-canceling headphones actually filter out extraneous background noise and I find my self better able to hear the frequencies of people speaking and traffic noise.
I just people to use the bell when approaching pedestrians from behind.
Just this morning a 中学生 nearly rammed into my car because he had AirPods in, too bad for that guy, this is for the good of the many and of course any officer stopping him would understand his plight immediately and not charge him.
Either way, it’s a joke. I just read about the new Toyota Century released with friggin’ noise-cancelling technology. I assume many cars nowadays are made like that. So it’s okay to drive a car with built-in noise control, but you can’t use headphones when riding a bike?
I’m in the same boat. Bad hearing in both ears, not to the extent I need dedicated hardware, but to the extent earbud hearing assistance helps.
What I’ve done is, only wear an earbud in 1 ear at a time when cycling. This works well enough for letting me hear better and provide plausible argument that my hearing is not blocked by the earbuds. Not sure how it’ll play out once the law is in effect, but I had one convo with a policeman already that went fine.
OTOH full ear cover earphones should be a big no-no. Pretty obvious from a lot of the people wearing them that they’re the careless type as they usually check videos on their phones as well…
Jbl wind is your friend
I’ve seen people driving with AirPods. Even TRUCKERS.
This is an article about a problem that _might_ happen if people are quite unreasonable. But that hasn’t happened.
Honestly people get stopped for violations very rarely, period. Even id police think he’s listening to music, they might not stop him because today isn’t the day to do that.
Clearly there will be exceptions for disabilities. Deaf people can ride.
Won’t be able to hear my radar now, or hear turning beeps. So I guess Ill be safer not knowing if cars are coming up behind and looking at a map half the time anyway?
Yo can someone elaborate on these hearing better earphones
Wait. I had earphones in while biking (forgot about them) and got written up by a cop years ago. How is this law any different than what we already had?
I also have this condition. Props to the person standing up and being in the spotlight for this issue and questioning the law. I’ve suffered many years without proper auditory assist, and it’s very stressful and debilitating, trying to process sounds one needs to hear when necessary, filtering out what’s not necessary is very taxing mentally and physically
I don’t think there’s anything to get wound up about here. Police are not likely to enforce this law much if at all. Isn’t it illegal to hold an umbrella while riding a bike? I see people doing that shit all the time.
Also theres modern headphones that allow certain noises to come in, so ot can block extremely loud distracting noises but allow others in which helps you focus on your cycling route
Strong agree if it’s only both ears. I wear only one in an ear at a time to be able to hear. Wearing both is wild work, you can’t hear anything with modern noise cancellation. I will continue to wear one despite what is said.
I’m more concerned about the people with Airpods in and glued to their phones while riding their bike. Had one of those the other day literally for 3km staring at his phone (in his hand) while listening to something. Didn’t stop at red lights either. And of course no helmet.
I rather focus on those people than the few who might actually need a hearing aid.
Nothing is going to change unless the police actually starts enforing those rules.
Comments are closed.