TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- DJ Booth
-- Hearing Problems
Hearing Problems
Since i bought my first set-up half a year ago...i think my hearing has screwed up a little. Now everytime i go to bed at night (or if its really really quiet) i can hear a constant faint beeping noise - i thought this only happend to you when you are 40/50 years old but im only 18 
Ive not been out clubbin for a couple of weeks and dont go that much anyway so i dont think its that. Anyway, when im beatmatching i find it a lot easier to do if i put the headphone volume really loud - so maybe it could be that...it also probably doesnt help that i just bought a 420Watt stereo.
So i was wondering if anyone else suffers from this, and if anyone can give me some tips on how not to become deaf by the time im 20. Is there certain frequencies which hurt yours ears more than others? cos i can change stuff like that on my stereo, if it helps...
The only thing i can think of just now is to buy earpligs, so im probably gonna do that - but this might make beatmatching hard for me.
Cheers
The amount of times you stress your ears doesn't matter - if they're fucked up once then they're fucked up for life. Age doesn't have anything to do with it either, although it's easier to damage your ears when older.
I've been around music all my life and I can remember hearing that faint beeping when going to bed for forever... and as long as it only stays to that level I can live with it, really.
I think it would be easiest just to not put the volume so high - I've tried mixing with as little volume as possible and it works just the same - even if the feel isn't quite the same 
Do we really have to tell you to turn down the volume? Couldn't u have figured this out by yourself? :/
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Wildfir3 Do we really have to tell you to turn down the volume? Couldn't u have figured this out by yourself? :/ |
If you really like it loud, then wear earplugs 
But yeah seriously there is no way around it. You must be careful with your hearing.
I wear ear plugs a lot , to the point that some people think I'm crazy ( like ear plugs in a small bar/club setting just because the music feels a little loud ). I don't care. I'll be happy years from now when you're deaf and I hear fine 
But on a side note I've been developing massive headaches/ear aches in my right ear ..... might be due to stress; but it gets so bad it literally knocks me out.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by jdat But on a side note I've been developing massive headaches/ear aches in my right ear ..... might be due to stress; but it gets so bad it literally knocks me out. |
That could easily be a bad ear infection. They can cause headaches, pain in the ears, dizziness and in extreme cases unconsciousness. You might want to get that checked....
As an edit: the infection might have been caused from wearing earplugs
Congratulations, you have tinnitus.
Loud volumes damage your ear, there is no cure for tinnitus and it will not go away although over time, symptoms may eleviate (over years). I have this quite bad so all I can offer in advice is to stop using headphones unless necessary as this is the most likely cause.
The best trick I have learned is to just stop thinking about it. If you don't concentrate on the ringing, it will go away, so just try and think about something to distract your mind.
Hi
I saw a site that have these ear protection devices that look just like hearing aids, Apparently they still enable you to hear but they remove certain frequencies and they keep sound below certain dB levels. They advertise them to musicians and dj's and construction guys. I can't find the link though.
I think turntableing is not to good for them ears huh?
huh?
I said I THINK TURNTABLEING IS NOT TO GOOD FOR THEM EARS?
btw I'm new, Hi everyone 
www.hearingprotection.co.uk
ER15s- get some....
That's it!
Those things are freaken expensive though.
Btw what are the average decibel levels at an event or club, assuming that these places have better that average sound systems.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Gunyouken That's it! Those things are freaken expensive though. Btw what are the average decibel levels at an event or club, assuming that these places have better that average sound systems. |
health and safety dictates we have to record the levels sometimes
Ive seen one one daft night 140 db peak (not me spinning i hasten to add) but i try not to let it go above 120db ish- after that its too much for most peeps.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Gunyouken Hi I saw a site that have these ear protection devices that look just like hearing aids, Apparently they still enable you to hear but they remove certain frequencies and they keep sound below certain dB levels. They advertise them to musicians and dj's and construction guys. I can't find the link though. I think turntableing is not to good for them ears huh? huh? I said I THINK TURNTABLEING IS NOT TO GOOD FOR THEM EARS? btw I'm new, Hi everyone |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Tranc3 Err, so you're saying that turntablism is bad for your hearing? How did you come to that conclusion? |
What dervish said!
I should really get some of those ER15's.
I do have some tinnitus, though I'm not sure where it came from as I never did blast myself silly with music, though I used to play it pretty damn loud. I just get a ringing hum when its dead quiet, tho thankfully even a slight sound will make it go away (and I don't even realize its there after a few minutes anyways).
Anyways, lately I've employed a little rule with myself - if I can't hear myself speaking at regular volume, it's too loud.
Good point nrjizer. I do suffer from a small level tinnitus, but even worse i've suffered a minor form of conductive hearing loss in my right ear ever since i was a baby. So i cannot hear frequencies of 250 and 1000hz in my right ear. (it made learning to beatmix a bitch)
So everyone; protect your hearing, buy some good earplugs and believe me, hearing loss sucks!
taking care of your hearing is of the utmost importance.
just yesterday, one of my friends was telling me about a conversation he had with BT about his friend and so many peeps fav DJ, Sasha.
BT told my friend that you can't have a conversation with sasha unless you are yelling. You can speak at a normal voice level just six feet in front of him and he will be like "what? i can't hear you"
so yeah if you really don't be careful you can really screw yourself over.
as to the question about how bad diff. freqs are for your ears, i don't think there really is a difference. it all dependso on the amplitude of the sound wave.
but humans generally hear in the mid ranges much better then they do in the (especialy) lows and the highs. so we are more apt to boost the lows and the highs and thus do more damage to our ears without us percieving it.
also another thing to watch out for, is try to avoid exposing your ears to very sharp increases in volume.
your ear has a muscle that can cover it and protect the inner ear from damage from very high amplitude sound. but the muscle takes some time to contract so the muscle can't always protect your ear fast enuf. (this is why people who shoot artillery cannons play music really loud before they start shooting off the cannons).
also stay the hell away from headphones as much as possible.
yes of course they are necesarry for DJing, but they can do the worst damage to your ears.
so try not to use those walkmans or ipods. and if you do, make sure you keep the volume as low as you can.
lucky for me my tinnitus isn't too bad yet. i can notice a difference when i leave from LA to go to my parents house in St. Louis. here in LA theres always that constant hum of the highway so its never silent in my apt. so i don't normally have to worry about hearing a ringing noise. but when i go home where silence can almost occur i can notice the slight ring.
you can go to most ear doctors and they will make you special earplugs that are formed to your ear, which lower the decibel level almost the same amount for every freq.
those are a very great investment if you are gonna be DJing out or even just going ot the club.
one a side note. one thing i really hate to see when i go to clubs (and raves especially) are those damn cracked out speakertweaker kids. just sitting there right infront of the bass box with the music blaring.
I rember when I got a medical for work they tested my ears. My left ear (monitoring) is slightly fucked (just a wee bit). The nurse lady said it could have been from target shooting but I know I always wore all the proper stuff. I recon you really need to watch the volume you put your headphones upto.
Cos once it's gone it's gone.
BTW about Sasha did he not really damage his ears for a bit when he was it that crash? Maybe that has something to do with it too? 
I've been at clubs and right when i'm about to go on i get these mass headaches... i think it is due to stress and the loud volume providing more stress so almost more often than not i get ready to go on, and 2 seconds before i through in my ear plugs... beat matching is a little harder, but my stress level goes way down and my heart slows down. I will admit the night is a lot more boring w/ the volume so low though
edit: after looking at the E15's... i think i will save up for those next and screw my MIDI keyboard... i'm playing out way too much now
with regards to damaging your ears, it usually has more to do with SPL (sound pressure level) than actual volume (although prolonged exposure to loud noise will obviously fuck your ears up). sound pressure is the amount of pressure exerted by the moving air, and can be worst when there is sudden big differences in volumes. so sudden loud music in your headphones is not a brilliant idea.
what is usually the case with musicians and dj's, is that your built-in compressor/limiter (yes, your body has this function, mainly a safety feature) gets over-worked by frequent, large variations (which is why it can cope better if the sound is at a constant volume). i would definitely give djing a rest for a week or two, see if it improves.
most importantly, turn it down! on the amp as well as the headfones... i always find it easier to beatmatch with the headfones quieter anyway, so long as you can hear it that is 
oh, and go see what your doctor has to say, he/she should be able to give you advice on how to prevent further damage.
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.