Do you protect your hearing?

Actually, a loud exhaust on a motorcycle does not usually affect the rider (driver) anymore than a loud exhaust on a car or truck affects the driver. The exhaust is pointed AWAY from the vehicle operator.

The reason many motorcyclists and Harley bikers wear earplugs is because of the damaging effects of wind noise. Without protection, wind noise at 60 mph can cause you to quickly and permanently lose hearing acuity. Going helmetless or wearing one of those stupid little Harley half-shell caps leaves the ears totally exposed. Even full-coverage helmets don't offer complete protection against the damaging effects of wind noise, so smart motorcyclists wear full-coverage helmets AND earplugs.

Loud pipes save lives.

Absolutely I use hearing protection. once you're aware of it, we're asaulted by loud sounds constantly.
I play raquetball, and the sound of the ball hitting the wall is very loud. I've considered earplugs during gameplay, but I believe it would hinder my competitiveness.
On my lawn tractor, TWO sets of protection: soft ear plugs and a pair of ear muffs used by marksmen. I do not intend on losing my hearing and missing decades of enjoyment of audio.
Even listening to one's sytem can damage your hearing. There will be a generation of men with hearing loss, the now boys who have pimped their econo cars with subwoofer drivers the size of their tires. When I can feel the bass inside my house (with windows closed) and approx. 200ft from the road, you know they're in process of losing hearing.
Motor sports are some of the worst. I remember going to a rocket car event at a drag strip when I was a teen. Mind scrambling noise levels! I sat for the evening with my ears packed with toilet paper and my fingers pushing the lobe of the ears over the ear canal! It was a hair's breadth away from excruciating! I avoid rocket car, monster car, etc. events. When at a concert, I always use foam earplugs. It may not sound as "perfect" but my ears still ring with tinitis for an evening after the show. Sign of hearing damage. A generation has caught on fire for Nascar and Harleys. Watch many of them go deaf in the next twenty years.

On principle I never attempt to recreate the concert experience at home. I do not listen to movies or music at "lifelike" levels. It's not worth the long term cost to hearing. I have had individuals demo their music in my HT. I used to let them have the volume remote. Not anymore. They would crank it up way past the point of sensibility (of course, the point of sensibility is completely determined by me). If they're listening at those levels, they'll be doing damage.
Finally, I believe many have suffered hearing loss simply due to driving on the freeway with windows down. It's very loud travelling with windows down, and I understand with todays more efficient cars, it's more economical to keep windows closed and use AC.

Fishboat,

There is some argument about whether hearing changes with age absent exposure to noise, but if it does the loss is nearly always at higher frequencies. I suspect what you're experiencing is a change in taste. I find that I now tend to prefer music of small groups, e.g. quartets, to large orchestrations. My favorites now are Bach, Corelli, and some jazz, whereas the bombast of Pictures or the 1812 might have been more to my liking as a teenager -- still enjoy Let It Bleed, though. I'm 69, 14 years after FIRE.

db

Loud pipes save about as many lives as loud car stereos.

http://www.motorbyte.com/mmm/pages/safety/safety40.htm