Belgian Singers Out with Tinnitus After Concert

Nobody19 · Sep 20, 2021

This was in the Belgian news yesterday. Because of a human error, two singers complained of tinnitus after giving a concert. Full article:

Original Dutch source

Painful mishap for The Starlings: Kato Callebaut (30) and Tom Dice (31) both have sore ears after a performance Saturday night. Due to a technical error, the couple heard a tremendously loud whistling sound in their ears during a performance. On doctor's advice, they are canceling their Sunday concert.

"On Saturday, things went wrong during a private performance," the musical couple let us know. "As a result, we received huge feedback - a loud and high-pitched flute tone - in our ears. A human error, with unfortunately a big impact."

This also affects the show that was scheduled for Sunday in Herent. "On doctor's orders, we have to rest our ears. So we must, with pain in our hearts, cancel today's show. Painful because we enjoy our audience hard every time during performances." The Starlings hope to catch up on their cancelled concert soon.

Their manager is doing the story. The couple themselves can't get on the line - the ears really need to rest. "After their performance at the Bollekesfeesten in Antwerp, they had another private gig at people's homes in Oud-Turnhout, with the two of them and the regular technicians," says Henk Vermeulen. "As with every gig, they had a transmitter in their ears, to hear their own mix. It was an intimate performance on a caravan-like stage. After their performance, another cover band would perform on the stage next door."

When that cover band's sound system was turned on, things went awry. "An interference must have happened with the frequency of our transmitting equipment. The audience suddenly heard a loud, rustling zoof through the boxes. And it was also heard very loudly in The Starlings' ears."

Two songs later, the gig was over. "When they came off the stage, they both complained of a tat in their ears. On the way home it got worse. It hurt to the extent that they had to go to the emergency room. There they were advised by the doctor to rest - definitely don't expose your ears to new sounds and stimuli now. It was soon clear that today's performance in Herent would not be possible."

Whether it is tinnitus is not certain. For that, Kato and Tom have to visit a specialist on Monday. The dull feeling in the ears can also go away on its own after a few days, but we'll have to wait and see.

It's all about human error. "Our crew did nothing wrong. At festivals the frequencies are often discussed, but that did not happen here. Whether it was inattention or ignorance, we do not want to throw mud. What absolutely takes precedence now is the health of Tom and Kato. Fingers crossed for the scenario where it goes away by itself."

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
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What surprises me is they were given advice to rest their ears. This is great, but I'm always told to let my ears get used to sounds (with bad consequences...)

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Belgian Singers Out with Tinnitus After Concert

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