Earplugs, Earbuds and Phone Speakers on a Motorbike: What Official Pages Say About Hearing and Navigation

A rider who wants spoken directions has to decide where the sound comes from (a phone speaker, one earbud or a helmet speaker) and whether to wear earplugs against wind noise. This article reads two Ministry of Public Security answers (27 March 2026 and 5 June 2026), the text of Law 36/2024/QH15 on the national legal database, a Dan Tri International report of 26 February 2026, a Washington State motorcycle manual and a United States hearing-health page for what they say about earbuds, earplugs, phone speakers and navigation while riding a motorbike. None tests how well a rider hears horns with each option; “What the pages leave out” lists the gaps.

Earphones, headphones and the Vietnamese rule on sound devices

Article 33 of Law 36/2024/QH15 covers riders, passengers and cargo on motorcycles and mopeds. Clause 3 lists acts that a rider of a two-wheeled or three-wheeled motorcycle or a moped must not do, and point (c) bars the use of umbrellas and sound devices (thiết bị âm thanh), with hearing aids (thiết bị trợ thính) excepted. The database page shows the law as in force from 1 January 2025 and updated on 29 March 2026.

Both ministry answers repeat that clause and add Article 7, clause 4, point (đ) of Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP of 26 December 2024. They quote it as fining a person riding a motorcycle or moped who uses a sound device (hearing aids excluded) VND 800,000 to VND 1,000,000 and deducting 4 points from the driving licence. Both answers are titled around headphones (tai nghe).

Why the ministry says the rule exists

The 27 March 2026 answer says the law and decree set penalties for earphone use so that the person controlling the vehicle can concentrate on watching and listening for traffic signals and warning sounds from other vehicles, which it ties to preventing accidents. The 5 June 2026 answer gives the same reason.

The 27 March answer replied to a citizen who said that some online comments called the earphone penalty outdated (lỗi thời) and out of step with technology. The ministry replied that it notes the feedback and will compile and study it while reviewing how the road traffic order rules are carried out; the answer announces no change.

Hanoi enforcement and the single-earbud argument

Dan Tri International reported on 26 February 2026 that Hanoi traffic police had begun fining riders for using phones or wearing headphones, and that officers had stepped up enforcement, saying the behaviour poses safety risks. According to the report, comments under a Dantri Newspaper article included support for strict penalties on people scrolling on phones, and the argument that a single earbud used to hear navigation directions does not necessarily cause the level of distraction some fear. A Hanoi Bar Association lawyer quoted in the report said that using a phone while operating a vehicle is against the law.

Phone speakers and handheld phones

The sound-device clause does not mention phones. A separate provision, Article 9, which lists prohibited acts, bans holding a phone or another electronic device in the hand and using it while operating a vehicle that is moving on a road (clause 6). Whether a phone loudspeaker, with the phone fixed in a holder, counts as a sound device under Article 33 is not answered on any page read. The Washington State manual, written for another jurisdiction, lists GPS navigation, cell phones and headsets with music and intercom functions as features that provide benefit but can also be distractions, and asks riders to be aware of how technology may distract them from identifying traffic conditions and hazards.

For related reading, see Phone Mounts on Rental Scooters: Compatibility and Distraction Checks and Checking a Navigation App for Motorbike Riding in Hanoi: Routing, Offline Use and Lane Guidance.

Earplugs and wind noise

The Washington State Department of Licensing manual (text-only edition; the page shows no edition or revision date) says that even with a full-face helmet, noise from the bike, especially from air flow around the helmet, can be significant, and that long-term exposure to wind and road noise can cause permanent hearing damage. It says good hearing protection reduces harmful noise while still letting a rider hear important sounds such as horns and sirens. Its note adds that in-ear hearing protection (ear plugs) is legal in Washington, but in-ear speakers (ear buds) are not. That is a rule of one United States state, and the Vietnamese pages do not mention earplugs.

The United States National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD; page last updated 16 April 2025) gives average ratings of 60 to 70 dBA for normal conversation, 80 to 110 dBA for motorcycles and dirt bikes, and 94 to 110 dBA for one row that groups music through headphones at maximum volume with sporting events and concerts. It says sounds at or below 70 dBA are unlikely to cause hearing loss even after long exposure, while long or repeated exposure at or above 85 dBA can, and its prevention list includes wearing earplugs or other protective devices during a loud activity. It is a general hearing-health page, not a riding guide, and it does not mention navigation prompts. For horns as a signal in Hanoi traffic, see Horns, Lanes and Flashing Lights in Hanoi: What Official and Manufacturer Pages Say About Signalling.

Each option against the pages

Two accounts of the penalty

The ministry answers quote a fine of VND 800,000 to VND 1,000,000 and 4 points deducted from the driving licence. Dan Tri International gives the same fine range (about USD 31 to USD 39) but says violators may face a licence suspension of one to three months, rising to two to four months if the offence causes an accident. The ministry answers do not mention suspension, and no page reconciles the two accounts. The ministry pages and the decree text are the places to confirm the current figure.

What the pages leave out

• How a phone loudspeaker, a helmet speaker, an intercom or a single earbud is treated under Article 33, clause 3, point (c). The term sound device is not defined in the passages read; it also appears in Article 9, clause 16 (installing or using sound and light devices on motor vehicles or special-purpose machinery in a way that disturbs road order and safety) and Article 11, clause 1 (road-signalling sound devices).
• Any Vietnamese statement on earplugs, or on whether Vietnam draws the line between earplugs and earbuds that the Washington manual draws.
• How audible a phone or helmet speaker is over engine, wind and horn noise at riding speeds; the NIDCD figures are averages for sound sources, not riding measurements.
• Any change after the ministry said on 27 March 2026 that it would study the outdated-rule feedback, and how long the Hanoi enforcement reported in February 2026 lasted.
• Anything about rental helmets, rental terms or what a rental shop supplies or allows; the shop can be asked.

Sources checked

• National legal database: Law 36/2024/QH15
• Ministry of Public Security: earphones answer, 27 March 2026
• Ministry of Public Security: penalties answer, 5 June 2026
• Dan Tri International: Hanoi police fine motorcyclists for phone use
• Washington State Department of Licensing: Motorcycle Operator Manual
• NIDCD: Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

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