Groove Column: On ears (February 2008)

It's early on a dirty Monday morning in Prenzluerberg, just me and my laptop; I can hear the January rain fall inexorably outside my bedroom window and the tippy-tap of my neighbour's high-heels as she wanders off to work. I can also hear a constant high-pitched whine, a fizziness which has set-up camp permanently in my head. I'm used to it now and I only really notice it first thing in the morning and when I go to bed. My tinnitus.

It's a dirty little secret amongst DJs but I know very few who have not got some kind of permanent problem with their hearing. In the past year two friends have had episodes which have threatened their job altogether - emergency trips to audiologists and periods of enforced rest. I know DJs that can't get to sleep at night without the television or dishwasher on to distract them from the constant whine.

Hearing damage comes in three flavours; tinnitus, the ringing in your ears that you get after a loud concert or club night, except it never goes away. Hyperacusis, where loud noises and sudden changes in volume become very painful. And hearing loss, where you become deaf to certain frequencies, like your grandma except 40 years too soon. Once you've damaged your ears there's very little you can do about it apart from try and take it a bit easier and prevent the damage from getting worse.

I’ve been using earplugs for several years and I’m lucky in that I have no hearing loss, but last year I had an episode of hyperacusis after a couple of drunken gigs where i really blasted my ears and didn’t wear my plugs. The next two months were miserable; car brakes squealing, the banging of plates, even the rattle of my flat keys really hurt. For someone whose other job is sitting in studios listening to electric guitars and cymbals being hit it terrified me. I thought my career as a producer was over.

It’s better again now, thank goodness, but I’m ‘fessing up to all this just to say if you’re spending lots of time (as you should be!) in loud clubs listening to deaf DJs playing great music, think about your ears from time to time. All clubs are loud enough to damage your hearing if you’re not careful. Buy and take plugs with you and make sure you wear them at least some of the time: there are cheap and effective wax and foam ones as well as amazing ones which are custom-moulded to the shape of your ear and actually often make the music in a too-loud club sound better. Give yourselves a rest at regular intervals. Let’s be careful out there.

(published February 2008)

Comments

[Jan]

Great writing, as always. It's too bad you don't update more often!

Cheers,
Jan, from Holland

[Michael]

Hi Ewan,

I was asking myself the following while reading your column in the magazine (due to the fabulous interweb I can now ask you here :) ):
Your suggest that we are all standing and dancing in the club wearing earplugs. Wouldn't it be easier to just turn the volume down? (Not that I would personally demand or encourage that - I have no problems with my hearing whatsoever despite frequent club visits)

Greetings!

[James Elder]

Umm....what?