Anyone Else Going Deaf....pardon?

[exbutlinred82 0]

Day job is on the phone so had routine Hearing Test.

 

 

Prolonged exposure to loud music is putting my hearing at risk....strongly recommend that I give up DJ ing.

 

 

Fat chance....and even less chance of ever catching me in a pair of ear defenders.

 

 

Anyone else in same position??

[Mattaious 0]

Yep

 

Also going blind - but thats another story.

 

[RichardP 0]

Click this for RNID Factsheet

 

If the idea of ear defenders is the building site variety then no wonder you're not keen. But ear protection comes in many forms - check out musicians earplugs in particular, which can be discreet, comfortable and not affect the quality of the sound too badly.

 

My hearing was damaged permanently after going to a particularly loud nightclub. Rather than put my hearing at further risk in future I got some Etymotic ER15s. Not cheap, but what price do you put on your hearing? :hphone:

Edited January 31, 2008 by RichardP

[DJJEG 0]

Pardon ? tongue out icon

 

In the same boat after 20 years going a bit mutton jeff in my right ear ( left ok ) have not been advised to give up yet but was suggested to turn it down a bit

 

As for ear defenders tried them but it was like learning to d.j/mix all over again

 

Anyone reading this i would recommend a hearing test once a year it only cost a few quid at your local docs

[exbutlinred82 0]

Thanx for the advice Richard.....

 

 

However....the job is hard enough without putting more obstacles in the way.

 

 

Gonna take a chance that the job will jar me off enough so I jack it rather than my ears being the problem.

 

Besides its quite a nice way of avoiding my partners nagging!

 

 

 

[C.S 0]

yep got my first hearing aid 3 weeks ago but dont need it all the time.

[Andy Westcott 0]

I like the sound of the musician's ear plugs; They cut the sound reasonably evenly throughout the frequency range rather than just muffling it. I expect these are the ones I've encountered before - they have a metal disc in the middle with a small hole in it.

 

My hearing was damaged years ago back when I used to run some pretty high decibels at teenagers' parties, and go to loud night clubs. I suffered considerable tinnitus in my 20s to the point where sometimes it would be difficult to understand someone speaking due to all that internal hissing and whistling - sleeping was a bit of a problem too.

 

That all subsided some years ago and now I'm left with quiet, but damaged hearing. It's not too bad really, but if two people are talking togeter or whilst the telly is on I've got little chance of following it.

 

When attempting to engage in conversation I still sometimes give an inappropriate 'yes', 'no' or a knowing nod, simply because I just didn't hear what the other person said and had to guess a suitable response.

 

So if you've met me and had odd responses or think I'm an idiot, that's the reason. smile icon

(i suppose the idiot bit could be due to other factors...)

[UKHero 0]

 

When attempting to engage in conversation I still sometimes give an inappropriate 'yes', 'no' or a knowing nod, simply because I just didn't hear what the other person said and had to guess a suitable response.

 

So if you've met me and had odd responses or think I'm an idiot, that's the reason. smile icon

(i suppose the idiot bit could be due to other factors...)

 

same for me lol I can mix bands etc to a reasonable standard but when it comes to having a convo with a group of people I cant work out whats being said my right ear is still pretty good my left has lost som HF in it.

 

I hate talking to people when im sound engineering as im always saying pardon lol.. They must think this guy is deaf and is a sound engineer lol... If only we had an official body that we could sue that would be great lol like the coal miners or those guys who use hammer drills on the roads.. Hey maybe the NADJ could be sued for not taking beter care of its members lol (Before the torrent of abuse hits me im only joshing)

 

look a smilie to prove it :dan+ju:

 

I just cant help myself lol

 

Nik

 

[High Fidelity 0]

My hearing is definitely not what it was, neither is my eyesight, so I suspect mine is due to age.

 

It was really brought home to me how bad my hearing is yesterday when a group of 18 of us from work had a meeting in Yates to discuss something. The background music wasn't loud at all, but I couldn't tell what others were saying half the time.

 

The wife calls me a deaf old b:cense:g:cense: at home and is always moaning at me for how loud I've got the TV.

 

The most frustrating thing is my eyes though.

 

I used to work on printed circuit boards, replacing components without any trouble. Nowadays, I have to have a big magnifying glass (as well as my glasses :fear: ) to wire up even a jack plug.

[analyst 0]

Yup, same story for me, guys.

 

My hearing isn't what it used to be. Done some rough tests, not a properly conducted audiogram test, and I now reckon my upper threshold begins to tail off somewhere between 11K-12K. I do like the TV louder than the rest of the family.

 

I also have difficulty holding the thread of the conversation if there's a reasonable level of background noise e.g. in a party where there is babbling conversation all around. I really have to concentrate hard and still miss some of it.

 

I certainly would give this strong advice to anyone: LOOK AFTER YOUR HEARING. A deaf world is a very, very lonely and isolated place.

 

I once knew a blind man and he always said this about his disability, he would rather be blind than deaf. For example, he was a big footy supporter, always went to Newcastle home games and he would argue about the game with other guys in the bar after it - because from the sounds all around him he could actually follow every little detail of the game in his mind.

 

Don't ever let anyone say about noise, "you get used to it". You don't! You only get deaf to it.

Loud volumes bring about a temporary hearing shift, its a protection mechanism. Probably most people have experienced this at some time e.g. say going home after a loud rock concert -partial deafness, possibly with a hissing sound, but its all restored the next day.

 

Persistent hearing shifts of this nature lead to inability to recover - the onset of deafness.

[RichardP 0]

Seems a few of us have a fair bit in common here!

 

Andy - you've explained very clearly much of what I experience regularly ... especially the part about sometimes having to nod along in a conversation with loud ambient/background noise ... a bit like having a travelling mobile phone conversation with fluctuating signal quality, and get fed up of saying "sorry repeat the last bit, I didn't hear you!"

 

Also echo the advice of Analyst. Shortly after experiencing hearing damage, I passed the advice of hearing protection on to some younger friends who are regular club-goers, at the same time feeling like I sounded old and 'past it', when actually age difference is less than 8 years. I first came across musicians earplugs about 10 years ago when a friend plugged them when we went to a medium-loud club, but I never got around to heed ing his advice until it was too late. The cheesy adage is true - you really don't know what you've got until it's gone.

[Phil Cunnington 0]

At the NADJ AGM at the end of April, we are having a presentation on 'taking care of your hearing' and 'the Control of Noise at Work legislation' together with the opportunity to see/touch various ear defenders etc. which are especially for musicians/DJs.

 

Its all to do with the current RNID's 'Don't Lose the Music' campaign.

More details at www.dontlosethemusic.com

 

 

 

Edited February 4, 2008 by Phil Cunnington

[nigelwright7557 0]

Day job is on the phone so had routine Hearing Test.

Prolonged exposure to loud music is putting my hearing at risk....strongly recommend that I give up DJ ing.

Fat chance....and even less chance of ever catching me in a pair of ear defenders.

Anyone else in same position??

 

 

You wont be much use as a DJ if you are deaf !

 

Ear defenders dont cut out all the noise just reduce it.

 

A DJ can get away with it as peopel think they are head phones !

 

I find too much noise gives me a bad head.

Thank goodness I am behind the speakers and not in front !

 

[otronics 0]

This has just reminded me of a topic on here a while back: http://www.havering.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=5085

 

Free hearing test...obviously not substitute for seeing a skilled person but useful.