Clubbing and DJ'ing with Tinnitus

[wewejajawuwu]

I'm new to this tinnitus malarkey, so hello to everyone on Tinnitus Talk, and thank you for being such a great source of information and comfort!

My (probably noise-induced) tinnitus is fairly mild, so I consider myself lucky and offer my sincere sympathies to those with more severe T. However, a big part of my life is clubbing and DJ'ing, so I'm a bit concerned about what to do moving forwards, and would really appreciate some advice!

I am very keen to continue clubbing and DJ'ing, as I have a genuine passion for house and techno music (think fabric, berghain/panoramabar etc.), and my entire friendship group is built around this scene. Therefore, I've just bought custom-moulded ear plugs (ACS Pro26), which offer 26 dB reduction up to 4 kHz and ~32 dB reduction at higher frequencies. Also, I plan to take a good 6--8 month break from clubbing to give my ears every chance to recover and settle. After this, I will slowly re-introduce my (protected) ears to the thump of the club (e.g. just going out for a couple of hours in the beginning), so that I can monitor if any further damage is being done.

In light of the information above, does anyone have any tips/advice/experiences that could help me out? In particular, it would be great to hear from anyone who is into electronic music and clubbing!

When I do return to the clubs, I'll keep you all updated on how things go, so hopefully you can learn from my experiences! I know that hearing problems are prevalent in the house and techno scene, so it's important that we help each other out and learn from each other!

Thanks for your time!

 

[Karl28]

It's pretty much guaranteed to get worse if you do that

 

[seal]

I don't necessarily think it has to make it worse.i am just thinking about celebs like moby, Chris Martin or will.i.am plus a lot of djs who still go clubbing and have gigs even though they have T

 

[glynis]

If you are around lots of loud music in clubs and wearing hearing protection you can still get direct hearing damadge as loud sounds and bass sounds can pass through your Mastoid bone behind your ears direct to your cochlear and being near to the speakers or blasting music can cause permanant ear problems...lots of love glynis

 

[linearb]

If you are around lots of loud music in clubs and wearing hearing protection you can still get direct Perminant hearing damadge as loud sounds and bass sounds can go through your Mastoid bone behind your ears and being near to the speakers or blasting music...lots of love glynis

you can, but, I think a lot of this comes down to how much of a negative factor tinnitus is in your life. Of course it can always get worse, and one should not play with fire, but point of fact I have met many people who have had mild/moderate tinnitus over a period of decades, who have continued to go to concerts with earplugs and say that their tinnitus has never gotten any worse.

I'm not advocating that anyone do that -- if someone goes to a concert and does hurt themselves worse, then it's them who has to live with the damage, so it's not reasonable for me to suggest what someone else should do in this regard.

And, as @seal points out, there are many, many, many musicians with tinnitus who have continued to perform.

It's pretty much guaranteed to get worse if you do that

"pretty much guaranteed" is a very high bar, and I would say, requires a large amount of data. There are certainly people who say that they experienced a worsening in their tinnitus even with earplugs, and also plenty of people who say the opposite. There are also people who say they have experienced a worsening despite not exposing themselves to any additional loud sounds. There are people who experience additional hearing loss without experiencing worse tinnitus -- so, there are obviously a large number of factors at play here. Just as I do not think it is wise to say, with certainty, that concerts are safe if protection is used, I also don't think it's wise to say that they are not.

 

[Sebastians]

I'd definately hold out until after your 6-8 months sabbatical from Dj'ing and educate yourself in the meanwhile on the safest ways to continue your passion. I'm no expert, but i've read that a lot of DJ's with T prefer in-ear monitors over headphones as this gives them better volume control. Perhaps get in touch with a few of them and ask for their advice on such matters. I guess you will have to cut down on sessions and take frequent chill out breaks to give your ears some rest.
Also, be mindful of thumping bass and low frequency noise, as mentioned above. These could damage your auditory system without you realising so it seems.
In the meanwhile, be mindful of your ears and try not to expose them too much to other potentially harmful environments (loud gyms, metro and train stations, restaurants at lunch time etc etc)

 

[glynis]

I agree linearb,
Just need keep away from speakers and hope the risk they take is worth it if have tinnitus through noise exposure.
I am fine around loud music and using headphones or earphones and cinema but still wear reduction plugs just in case.
Also how people cope emotionally with their tinnitus would play a part in their decision and jobs they do like DJ or musicians .
I know lots of famous people have tinnitus and its a part of their life style and they have adjusted to cope with tinnitus because music is their life .
A great example from me is Ozzy Osborne who I think is great .
Would love him be involved with TT....lots of love glynis

 

[wewejajawuwu]

Thanks a lot for your replies, everyone! It really helps a lot!

I do understand that by continuing to go to clubs, I am running a risk of making things worse. However, club culture is such an important part of my life, that it's a risk I'm willing to take up to a point. My plan is to take it very slowly in the beginning -- by going out just once a month and only for a couple of hours at a time. That way, I'm giving myself the best chance of noticing things getting worse before they get too bad. And if things do start to get worse, then I would re-consider my clubbing-future! Also, I'm going to give up DJ'ing for the time being and get back into the acoustic guitar instead. Maybe I'll DJ again in the future if clubbing doesn't cause any further problems -- I can think about that further down the line.

 

[Bobby B]

Use plugs - foam and deep into the canal + ear muffs on top of it
That would work

 

[nathans]

Thanks a lot for your replies, everyone! It really helps a lot!

I do understand that by continuing to go to clubs, I am running a risk of making things worse. However, club culture is such an important part of my life, that it's a risk I'm willing to take up to a point. My plan is to take it very slowly in the beginning -- by going out just once a month and only for a couple of hours at a time. That way, I'm giving myself the best chance of noticing things getting worse before they get too bad. And if things do start to get worse, then I would re-consider my clubbing-future! Also, I'm going to give up DJ'ing for the time being and get back into the acoustic guitar instead. Maybe I'll DJ again in the future if clubbing doesn't cause any further problems -- I can think about that further down the line.

Hey mate,

I'm in a very similar scenario to what you were in early 2016. I produce electronic music and DJ in clubs regularly and have experienced non stop ringing in my right ear for the past 3 weeks. Ironically I hadn't actually been in a club for about 2 months prior to this as I had a hernia - I then had the operation 3 weeks ago and had some spare time on my side, so started to produce some music. This is when the ringing started - I also saw some links to the after effects of general anesthetic but I don't think this is related.

Anyway, how are things going for yourself now? Are you back in clubs? Are other recommendations you could provide would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Nathan

 

[j4ck100]

I am also in this boat with you guys so would be very interested to hear the current situation (see what I did there..)

 

[Julien87]

Looks like wewejajawuwu does not come on the board anymore. Maybe you can send him a PM, he should receive an email notification.