A Warning to all young DJ's

[D-Kem]

Please take heed all. There are threads about this but if you don't protect it you'll lose it.

Was playing a gig last night and for the first time after 20 years of audio abuse i couldn't pick out a beat with my open ear. I found this quite alarming and after switching the cup from my left to right ear it became abundantly clear that my hearing to my right ear was significantly damaged. In the left ear (which is always covered by a headphone) all was crisp and loud with clearly defined highs. In my right ear (which is always open to the monitor) all i could hear was a dull, quiet and muffled sound with absolutely no highs. At 38 it looks like it may be time to call it a day. Ater all, what use is a partially deaf DJ?
To say i'm upset is an understatement. I adore music and to not hear it how it should sound is a bit of a heartbreaker. Im planning on making an appointment with the doc soon to assess the damage although there's probably an online test to check frequency loss.

If you're a young DJ and reading this you're probably thinking, as I did, that it won't happen to you or it will spoil your enjoyment of the music if you wear ear attenuators. Trust me when I say that the consequences of exposure to loud music far outweigh wearing some attenuators.

Please, for your own sakes, protect your ears. If not you can guarantee that somewhere down the line all you will be left with is a dull muffled sound and lots of regret.

Edit; I also forgot to add that socialising with your mates becomes very difficult too unless you can lip read.

[lapinfuu]

Im only 22 and can say one thing to this... Re read the first message of the thread 2 or ... 7 times... Make pause every hour, if you go often in club for gig or pleasure go for a professionnal attunation earplug pair which cost around 300 $ and worth 5000 times its price.

[KS2]

I've bought some ER20s but gonna get some customs as soon as I can afford it.

Did you have tinnitus before or even now? Or is it just the muffled sound?

[D-Kem]

I suffer from occasional intermittent tinnitus so that's not too bad. It's more the fact that i'm going deaf that bothers me, particularly when I could have prevented it.

[KS2]

Yeah I doubt I'll be able to wear the ER20s for DJing seeing as they stick out so much. Gonna try the Alpine ones until I can go for customs. Sorry to hear about your hearing mate

[scattrrbrain]

Can you recommend a nice set of in-ear which do the job?

[Zander]

Can you recommend a nice set of in-ear which do the job?

foreal

[Zander]

i have some plugs similar tothe ER20's. same design differnt company, and they dont bug me when i have my sennheiser280's on

[deevey]

I'm blessed that I still have superb hearing after 15 years of serious abuse and working as an LJ in a notoriously loud club with even more notoriously loud monitors banging off my left ear (why was the monitor installed beside the lighting desk and not the dj is beyond me!)...

Been wearing Protection of some sort since 2002 when I'm out and about (even if its just tissue paper sometimes it works and you'll notice no ringing ears next day!) .. I don't however when I'm DJ'ing, I just cant get enough of a feeling of whats "actually" going on with the floor.

But seriously too many of my mates are partially deaf due to clubs at this point and they aren't even dj's!

Your ears are your career at the end of the day - and we don't want anyone ending up like ol' frankie wilde.

[Jester]

yes .. hearing loss and the inability to maintain an erection after years of abuse *wink*