Ear Ear. I thought it was time I had better get on with doing some actual DJ-related technical stuff, and what better place to start with taking a look at the tool that is most important to any DJ and/or Musician. Your Hearing. ‘Think you’ve got tinnitus? You’re not alone! 17% of the world’s population have experienced the symptoms of tinnitus at some time and this is growing everyday’ Audio Relief Dumb as it might sound, this is an issue that many DJs shun, and can result in partial or complete loss of hearing, tinnitus, continuing ear problems, constant ear ringing and so on. I am no saint here because I am probably the worst offender. Don’t get me wrong, I own some ear plugs, but do I use them? No. Do I remember thm everytime I leave to head to a club? No. Do I wear them at the club when I do (on rare occassion) remember them? No. For some reason, I have been very neglecting of my ears, and its time something should be done. I have noticed a definate deteriation in my hearing for the past year or so, and funny enough, even when I asked my doctor about it she commented ‘I seriously doubt that at your age you have suffered from hearing loss…’, a very ignorant comment that a doctor should not make to a patient! ‘Jack Stoddart: I didn’t want a deaf DJ on the label. I didn’t want the company to be touched with the deaf stamp. Well, business is tough and sometimes you have to make awkward decisions and I’ve made harder decisions than dropping the deaf DJ.’ It’s All Gone Pete Tong 2004 There are so many options for ear protection out there that we have no excuse not to start taking action now. Every hour your ears are exposed to excessive noise levels, you cause permanent damage to your hearing, and once you lose your hearing there is no getting it back as the tissue of your ear drum is far too delicate to repair. If your ears are ringing because you thought it’d be a good laugh to stick your head inside a Funktion One Dance Stack (I have done it), then think again! Earplug Options; A simple set of ER20 ear plugs (available from most DJ outlets online and in stores) are perfect for the job. Attenuating Earplugs like these will cut out harmful far end high and low frequencies and ‘attenuate’ (meaning lower in volume) the music, this allows you to hear the music almost as you would normally hear it, with more or less a complete frequency range just at a lower level. A set of these are usually about £15-30 depending on the make and quality. http://www.audiorelief.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=31 If you wanted to take ear protection to the next level, you can also find places that will do a custom fitted ER15/ER25 type ear plug that can be molded to your ear shape for a comfortable fitting, which is great when you are wearing them for long periods of time. These usually cost between £150-200 depending on manufacturer and you need to go and have a mold of your ear taken (really strange feeling!). The number after the ‘ER’ refers to the amount of attenuation the ear plugs provide, and in my experience the 25’s are too much attenuation. http://shop.earproof.com/index.php?p=pDetail&pId=3&cId=&id=12 Another cool technology that is being developed is In Ear Monitoring which actually protects your ears from harmful noise levels coming from the club system whilst also providing a very good monitoring sound for cueing up your next track. International DJ Laidback Luke has been donning these in DJ mag and on his endless touring for the past few years. http://shop.earproof.com/?p=pDetail&id=11&lang=en I thought I would share this with everyone as it is something I am going through at the moment in deciding what kind of ear protection to use. The key thing to remember is that once you’ve lost your hearing, you can’t get it back- ‘It’s all gone Pete Tong’ anyone? HATESY

Ear Ear. I thought it was time I had better get on with doing some actual DJ-related technical stuff, and what better place to start with taking a look at the tool that is most important to any DJ and/or Musician. Your Hearing.

‘Think you’ve got tinnitus? You’re not alone! 17% of the world’s population have experienced the symptoms of tinnitus at some time and this is growing everyday’ Audio Relief


Dumb as it might sound, this is an issue that many DJs shun, and can result in partial or complete loss of hearing, tinnitus, continuing ear problems, constant ear ringing and so on. I am no saint here because I am probably the worst offender. Don’t get me wrong, I own some ear plugs, but do I use them? No. Do I remember thm everytime I leave to head to a club? No. Do I wear them at the club when I do (on rare occassion) remember them? No. For some reason, I have been very neglecting of my ears, and its time something should be done. I have noticed a definate deteriation in my hearing for the past year or so, and funny enough, even when I asked my doctor about it she commented ‘I seriously doubt that at your age you have suffered from hearing loss…’, a very ignorant comment that a doctor should not make to a patient!

‘Jack Stoddart: I didn’t want a deaf DJ on the label. I didn’t want the company to be touched with the deaf stamp. Well, business is tough and sometimes you have to make awkward decisions and I’ve made harder decisions than dropping the deaf DJ.’ It’s All Gone Pete Tong 2004


There are so many options for ear protection out there that we have no excuse not to start taking action now. Every hour your ears are exposed to excessive noise levels, you cause permanent damage to your hearing, and once you lose your hearing there is no getting it back as the tissue of your ear drum is far too delicate to repair. If your ears are ringing because you thought it’d be a good laugh to stick your head inside a Funktion One Dance Stack (I have done it), then think again!

Earplug Options;

A simple set of ER20 ear plugs (available from most DJ outlets online and in stores) are perfect for the job. Attenuating Earplugs like these will cut out harmful far end high and low frequencies and ‘attenuate’ (meaning lower in volume) the music, this allows you to hear the music almost as you would normally hear it, with more or less a complete frequency range just at a lower level. A set of these are usually about £15-30 depending on the make and quality.

http://www.audiorelief.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=31

If you wanted to take ear protection to the next level, you can also find places that will do a custom fitted ER15/ER25 type ear plug that can be molded to your ear shape for a comfortable fitting, which is great when you are wearing them for long periods of time. These usually cost between £150-200 depending on manufacturer and you need to go and have a mold of your ear taken (really strange feeling!). The number after the ‘ER’ refers to the amount of attenuation the ear plugs provide, and in my experience the 25’s are too much attenuation.

http://shop.earproof.com/index.php?p=pDetail&pId=3&cId=&id=12

Another cool technology that is being developed is In Ear Monitoring which actually protects your ears from harmful noise levels coming from the club system whilst also providing a very good monitoring sound for cueing up your next track. International DJ Laidback Luke has been donning these in DJ mag and on his endless touring for the past few years.

http://shop.earproof.com/?p=pDetail&id=11&lang=en

I thought I would share this with everyone as it is something I am going through at the moment in deciding what kind of ear protection to use. The key thing to remember is that once you’ve lost your hearing, you can’t get it back- ‘It’s all gone Pete Tong’ anyone?

HATESY