Hearing loss due to DJing (So-So Deaf related)
empanadamn
1,462 Posts
Can anyone please shed some light on how to prevent hearing loss while DJing? I've heard about getting fit for ear plugs as a preventative measure. Do these plugs have a specific name? Also, how much does the whole process cost, from being checked out and fitted to the plugs themselves.I'm shook at the idea that I'm willingly fucking myself up and losing a sense that can't be regained. My left ear (the cueing one) is feeling more and more sensitive, and I kinda feel like it's getting muffley, compared to the other. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but It's to the point that I don't want to listen to music on headphones when I'm not DJing or use that ear when I'm talking on the phone. Tinnitusisabitch.Any advice is appreciated. Thank you, B.
( I couldn't find a pic of him at the magic shop with the big ear saying "WHAT?! WHAAAT?!")
( I couldn't find a pic of him at the magic shop with the big ear saying "WHAT?! WHAAAT?!")
Comments
Invest in some hearing protection pronto and keep the levels in your 'phones sane. It gets really easy to have them cranked during your set (especially if you've been boozing it up, and ESPECIALLY if you've been going for hours without a break) but that is when you are most at risk of fucking yourself up permanently. Just about the only thing I regret in my life is not protecting my hearing before it was damaged, take care of yourself!
please please please protect your ears. there's no going back. i use these or a similar version every time i play out or DJ.
I gotta agree. I work specificallly with kids with hearing loss. Don't take it for granted. In our ENT clinic we are starting to see more patients that are coming in for ear molds to attach to their headphones (mostly b/c of the iPod). Our staff audiologists use them and love'em. Because they are deeper into the ear canal (and seal better), you don't have to turn them up to cancel out environmental noise. I'm not sure what you'll have to pay, but I was told that we are charged $50.00 (cost). You shouldn't have to pay for the visit, but contact your local ENT office (or University ENT clinic), and they should be able to give you all the necessary info over the phone. You'll want to ask about "ear molds" for music headphones.
done it before, and theres been times when (after a day of ringing) I wish I had.
point is: would you look at the sun straight on for 3 hours? NOOOOOOOO
So, wear some fucking ear plugs!!!
Don't fuck around, protect your ears.
I had a pretty bad run a few months ago. My ears were ringing all the time and it turned into a stuffy, muffled feeling. I couldn't get rid of it. Mine wasn't from djing, but from working on music at night with my headphones.
I ended up going to an Otolaryngologist to find out what was up. He told me my ears were not damaged, my hearing was better than most people, and there was no infection. He couldn't explain the stuffiness. It cost me about $250 to find this out.
The ringing and stuffiness were still there for at least a week after the doctor visit. I played it safe though. Almost no music and I wore ear plugs a lot, even for watching tv. If your ears feel fucked up you really need to give them rest. Serious rest.
I laid off of headphones for a long time and I cut out my ipod for almost 2 months. It seemed like everytime I used heaphones the discomfort, ringing, and stuffy feeling came back. After awhile, maybe 2 months, I felt better. I can use headphones, but I watch the volumes and I limit the time. I know I'm one step away from being back in hell.
Helpful things to remember:
headphones:
- they really don't need to be that loud. You put it lower and you adjust. It's natural to want to bump shit, but it's not worth hurting your ears.
-if you are on the bus or something and your ipod isn't cutting through all the white noise and sound of people, give it a rest. Don't try to battle a noisy bus with more volume. A 20 minute ride isn't worth being deaf. If it's too loud for me (especially on BART) I just take them off.
-take breaks. Every 30 minutes or less, just let your ears breath and relax.
-I got some open eared grado headphones and they are a lot more forgiving on my ears. They let them breathe.
ear plugs:
-I would say use them at all shows. It may cut out some of the highs, but most of the time I always feel like the highs are too piercing at shows anyways. The bar always has free ear plugs. Even at the free instores at Amoeba they have boxes of ear plugs. I think it might be a law actually, not sure.
-if you work on lots of music in your headphones, using ear plugs can be helpful. It's not great for your final mixdown, but just programming beats.
-don't eat with ear plugs in. Seriously. It makes it like 100 times louder. Especially crunchy things.
-even the tissue in the ear would be helpful if it's the only option.
my question is how do you DJ with ear plugs? how can you hear the headphones if you got earplugs in?
You can get "attenuators" or musician's earplugs, which lower the SPL's (sound pressure level) on your ears but preserve most of the clarity. I think you can get ones specially molded to your ears from an ENT but they're kind of pricey. But well worth it I'm told. I really need to get a pair for when I play out.
I've used these too and they're pretty good. Those little blue stems that stick out can get in the way if you're using headphones though.
I always use them in clubs. Headphone use in daily life should be limited and if you use headphones regularly (ipod, walkman aso) take breaks and adjust the volume.
For Djing it may be more useful to take the earplugs out and cut the monitor and headphone volume down instead from my experience.
Good flick, thought I would hate it but he pulls it off [no ayo].
I worked with a session drummer a while back who had to take 3 years off due to tinnitus. Even now he avoids the more "Snare-centric" gigs. But yeah, deafness is no joke, there is no shame in not caning the f*ck out of the headphones to try and impress some girl 12 feet away with your taste in music like half the f*cktards on public transport.
thanks. It's me. I appreciate that.
stane/love reminds me of songs from some of my favorite drum programmers (DJ Signify, DJ Krush). i listen to it while i'm snowboarding and the world goes away. nice work.
edit:
found this article over at studio reviews if anyone's interested