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Protect your hearing!
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| DJ Eddie Lee |
After DJing for ten years and spending countless hours in nightclubs and DJ booths, I'm beginning to think my hearing may not be as sharp as it once was. At a recent family function I found myself saying "what?" quite often prompting a snippy comment from my dad insinuating I'd damaged my hearing.
When I knew I was going to DJ for an extended set I would do my best to keep the monitor as low as possible, but as the night progressed, the booth just got louder and louder. I recall many nights driving home at 8am with a horrible ringing in my ears. As many of you know, this is what causes tinnitus.
I'd invested in earplugs and tried them out for a trial period but it made both mixing and talking to my friends nearly impossible. I'd invested nearly $1000 in various headphones, finally settling on the Pioneer HDJ-1000s as the most comfortable and least piercing to my ears. But headphones weren't the issue......You just can't spend 8 hours in a nightclub 2 times a week and not expect some ringing.
Do I think my hearing is permanently damaged? Probably not....But, is it as sharp as it was as a teenager? Probably not either.....My point is that if you're gonna spend hours and hours in a nightclub, it might be wise to bring some light earplugs to filter out some of the damaging frequencies that nightclub speakers can do. And as I get older I'm realizing that my body isn't as tough as it once was.
And for the record, yes, I have seen "It's All Gone Pete Tong." Perhaps there's a tinge of paranoia here on my part but let's be realistic, NO ONE wants to have damaged hearing or end up deaf! So be wary of your hearing everyone! |
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| Taub |
| Also, if you use ipod regularly its also very very bad. The earphone supplied with your ipod is really bad for your hearing |
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| gmoney44 |
| would like to buy earplugs...anyone have a link to where i can get some good ones? thanks |
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| InterMilan31 |
| also your hearing capacity goes down by number of db with age....some lose it quicker than others |
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| DJ Eddie Lee |
I have an Ipod and YES I use it regularly.......In fact, I use it religiously. But it can't compare to what the clubs do to my hearing on a regular basis. There are MANY damaging sources out there. Just be careful not to overload your ears too often.
best,
Ed |
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| partyhopper |
If you spend lots of time in clubs, custom-molded musician earplugs, at around $200 a pair, are a very good investment.
If you don't know where to get them, ask a place that sells hearing aids, or an audiologist, or an ENT (ear,nose,and throat) doctor.
Eddie, I hope everything's ok with you |
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| PVDream |
I got the $12 ones on here. I would never wear them to a club b/c they stick out too far, unless I had my hair down, but for mixing at home they are awesome. The bass is sharp and clear. :D
One day I'll splurg and get the fitted ones to wear out, my hearing is definitly worth $200... |
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| bogartgreens |
| just ordered a pair of etymotic er-20s off an internet website...they're supposed to be decent (even if they stick out a little) and pretty cheap too (10-15 bucks) |
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| Trance Addix |
| quote: | Originally posted by PVDream
I got the $12 ones on here. I would never wear them to a club b/c they stick out too far, unless I had my hair down, but for mixing at home they are awesome. The bass is sharp and clear. :D
One day I'll splurg and get the fitted ones to wear out, my hearing is definitly worth $200... |
My hearing was valued at $139.67 on Ebay:( :tongue2 |
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| LuNaSeA |
| quote: | Originally posted by PVDream
I got the $12 ones on here. I would never wear them to a club b/c they stick out too far, unless I had my hair down, but for mixing at home they are awesome. The bass is sharp and clear. :D
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that's a piss-poor excuse.. you're valuing how you look over the fact that you're protecting your hearing in public??
WEAR 'EM PROUD!
eddie: thanx for your posts. i'm a huge advocate of getting people to wear earplug, as many TAs can tell you... hearing is one of those things that people take advantage of because it's not as noticeable as other senses like ur sight, smell, taste. etc.
if you started to see blurry, wouldn't you go to the eye doctor pronto? it's very hard to recognize whether you have damaged your hearing or not in a nightclub environment. even if you only go clubbing say, once a month, you should STILL wear earplug. loud music is loud music, no matter which way you slice the cake. and it WILL damage your hearing. permanently.
EARPLUGS FTW!!! |
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| DJ Eddie Lee |
I actually haven't seen the inside of a nightclub in nearly 3 months and so I haven't experienced any of that horrible ringing in ages. A lot of this comes at a time when I'm a bit paranoid about my health and senses. I don't know about you guys but I'm 28 and certainly not a spring chicken anymore. My body isn't what it used to be and anyone who's my age and still partying "like it's 1999" should be careful. I'll admit, I've been more than reckless in my day and maybe some of it is finally catching up to me.
As for earplugs, I HIGHLY recommend them as well. It was foolish of me to give up on them so quickly. And for you DJs out there here's a little trick I learned from John Acquaviva to avoid letting the monitors and headphones get too loud:
Every once in a while turn the monitors and your headphones off and give your ears a rest, especially when you feel that you're raising the volume. Leave everything off for a few minutes and turn everything back on to a normal decibel. This sorta "tricks" your brain into thinking the music is loud enough instead of constantly raising the monitor. I've heard certain big name DJs MAX OUT the monitors to insane, almost unbearable levels. |
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