Lots of noise cancelling headphones have a pass-through mode that lets you hear the outside world. Alternatively, I use bone conducting headphones that leave my ears uncovered.

yes i bike on chicago lakefront up and down is like 40 miles for me.

also biking on roads you should never count on sounds to guide you. you should always use vision. for example, making a left you have to visually establish that driver coming straight has made eye contact with you or atleast looked at you.

can you share a example of how you are using sound to help you ride bikes with other vehicles on the road? are you maybe talking about honking? that. you will hear over podcasts.

The sound of a revving engine is often the first warning you have that someone is about to pass you and especially how they handle it is a good sign of how likely they are to attempt a close pass rather than overtake in the legal manner with the minimum distance.

Mirrors let you see the overtaking traffic with far more time to plan.

Audio cues are less and less useful as electric vehicles become more popular. (I am a city biker and there are plenty already.)

Also the radar for bikes is great

Mirrors are great, but most bikers don’t have them. And even then it might still be your ears that alert you that there’s a car behind you (electric or not — I still hear them), after which you can keep tabs with your mirror.

I don’t understand why everybody’s so happy to discount ears in this thread. Haven’t they been vital to our survival since forever? Yes eyes are more important in this case, but I’ll take whatever sensory aid I can get on my morning commute..

That doesn't work for EVs. Situational awareness is important, don't rely on any one thing,

"don't rely on one thing, but also let's reduce the number of things" is rather mixed messaging.

Hearing is useful for safety.