Hearing Damage as a DJ

[BRENNER]

I don't have much Experience with Ear issues as a DJ, but from my Drag Racing days and as a Diver I have alot of Experience.

The Ear Drum is a Muscle just like any other it can be worked on. When I was Racing whether it was my Supercharged B18C Honda, or a Top Fuel Dragster, I'm able to get with in a few feet of the exhaust headers (the flames that shoot out keep me away more then the noise lol). And Even Now I can stand right next to the Monitors and have Heavy Bass blasting me and not even blink, walk outside where its quite and Hear fine.

As for Diving we deal water pressure acting on our Ears. What I suggest to my Student who have problems is a weeks before diving again to work on their ears by "popping" then (Hold your Nose and Blow). Now obviously that probably won't help with Sound, but that's just my point of how the Ear is a Muscle.

Hope that helps alittle

[DJ ATX]

Well I hope I'll be going out & gigging every week soon, so I'd need pretty good ones. I don't have that much money but ideally I'd want ones that lower the highs a bit as they are what causes tinnitus etc, but I don't want ones that lower the volume significantly.
I have looked on Amazon and there are ER20s and Alpine Music Safe Pro but I don't really fancy either of them as they stick out of your ear a lot and I have small ear canals.

http://www.surefire.com/EP3-Sonic-Defenders

[koffa]

I tried using those cheap earplugs, but I think they do take out to much our of certain frequencies and everything just sounds weird. I used to have molded ones, but I lost them in the vinegar smelling mud at a festival... Kinda sucked, didn't get new ones either. What I do is whenever I play I try to turn of the monitors whenever I'm not in a mix and have them at the lowest level where I'm still comfortable with the sound, have my headphones as low as possible (and make sure they have good isolation)... This doesn't work that good though, as I always get pretty severe cases of that ear fatigue when I leave, ie. not being able to understand/hear conversation etc. Sometimes it stays 'till the morning after, which sucks. Think this means I'm probably on the road to some permanent ear damage? Should probably invest in some good earplugs again... Thanks for this thread to remind me of my poor ears...

[funke]

Supercharged B18C Honda

You wouldn't by chance be interested in trading any gear for a b16 with skunk2 cams and a load of other bolt on goodies would you?

[jakeintox]

ideally I'd want ones that lower the highs a bit as they are what causes tinnitus etc

You're going to want the highs and lows brought down equally, or you won't be able to eq your tracks properly!

[Liambo]

Would this be true at any sound level? Or just at club volume? I boogered up my ears from shooting guns when I was younger and am wondering if this is why I have such a dificult time beatmatching.

It could be if you did it on a regular basis, i'v taken part in shooting a few times and my ears was pretty sore afterwords.. Haven't done it since.

My advice to people is to find out as much as possible about the history of your ears. I got my parents to tell me as much as they could about mines. Pretty much know exactly why my hearing is bad down to every last detail.

[djoverzero]

I picked up a pair of custom fit plugs from http://www.sensaphonics.com/?p=331. They ran $200 including the custom molds and hearing test. I was able to go to their office in Chicago, but you can also see any audiologist to have the molds made. They are small enough to fit under headphones, are comfortable over extended periods of wear, and (as others have mentioned) I can actually hear people talking in the clubs more clearly. They have been worth every penny.

[funke]

I was told by a doctor that my eardrums are scarred. I was standing in a group at the local fair a few months ago, and I couldn't be a part of the conversation because I couldn't hear anyone over the noise, while everyone seemed to not have a problem. I took a hearing test for a job at a seed mill, and surprisingly did quite well. I'm hoping the problem is that I just suck at beatmatching, so i'm wondering if anyone else with recent hearing damage has noticed that beatmatching has become more dificult.

[3IJ]

The Ear Drum is a Muscle just like any other it can be worked on. When I was Racing whether it was my Supercharged B18C Honda, or a Top Fuel Dragster, I'm able to get with in a few feet of the exhaust headers (the flames that shoot out keep me away more then the noise lol). And Even Now I can stand right next to the Monitors and have Heavy Bass blasting me and not even blink, walk outside where its quite and Hear fine.

As for Diving we deal water pressure acting on our Ears. What I suggest to my Student who have problems is a weeks before diving again to work on their ears by "popping" then (Hold your Nose and Blow). Now obviously that probably won't help with Sound, but that's just my point of how the Ear is a Muscle.

Hope that helps alittle

no offense but this is totally wrong and bad advice

[BRENNER]

I wasn't saying Put you ear next to a M80 and set it off......my point was it can be worked on. I have perfect hearing. But cause I've been doing stuff like working on and around drag cars since I was 10 (28 now) Loud Bass doesn't bother me.