Sore Ears from DJing, Looking for Some Advice...

Hi everyone, my name is Kevin and I am from the U.K.

I have been doing a weekly on-line dance music show for the last four years, I am a DJ.

I don’t play in clubs or anything, I just do it at home for fun.

I have been using cheap headphones for the last year or so.

Over the last three months I have been getting sore ears and slight tinnitus after and during my shows...

It is mainly when I am using headphones...

I know I need to have a break from my music and I am fine with that but I would hate to have to stop it completely as I do not have many things that I enjoy in life and I really enjoy doing my shows...

Basically I was wondering if anyone has had this same experience or anything like it and I am looking for any advice really.

I was wondering if buying some decent headphones would make a difference and I was also wondering if I could get some decent earplugs and use those in conjunction with each other...

Many thanks

 

https://www.tinnitustalk.com/threads/should-i-do-one-last-concert-nihl-tinnitus.34654/#post-434561

 

As someone currently dealing with pretty painful sound sensitivity and I have no idea when or if it will go away, stop before you regret it. Take a look through these message boards and ask yourself if you want to deal with what many of us have had to.

 

I thought this may be the case. My ears are sore this evening with a slight ringing..

I think I should take a month off and see how I feel and have a look into it.

I will definitely have look around the board..

Thanks.

 

Noise induced pain or as it is called "noxacusis or pain hyperacusis"

No one knows if it will go away or not, the best thing you can do is donate to research and stick around on the forum and complain about audiologists and ENTs being useless for treating this condition.

 

Many people take risks, that additional exposure to noise, and it works like the straw that breaks the camel back, your last concert.

Also if you go to an ENT the doctor is probably going to say that is fine and that you can do whatever other people do, which is plainly false and very dangerous advice that, sadly, some people with very bad hyperacusis got from their doctors and ENT.

Listen to your body and remember that ears need a long long time to rest and come back to normal.

 

the mammalian cochlea cannot "come back to normal" without bio-medical intervention.


I agree it will heal to an extent, but not a full recovery.

 

You have noise induced tinnitus. From what you describe, it sounds early, and tolerable. Further noise exposure, from DJ, or other sources such as power tools will damage the ear additionally. Look around these boards, some ended up with far less tolerable T.

Protect your ears religiously with muffs, ear plugs or both to any significant noise exposure to limit further damage. This includes motorcycle use, subways, restaurants, using lawn mowers, hair dryer, gym classes, blender, etc. Listen to TV and music only at lower volumes.

Avoid concerts, loud bars, and any headphones like your life depends on it.

Hope you have a quiet job otherwise, and feel better soon.

 

Thanks for all the replies, it is appreciated. I do have another problem, and I was wondering if it may be connected.

I was blaming the bad headphones and years of using them for the problem but it may be something else.

I have a bad mental health problem due to smoking cannabis when I was younger. I have stopped now and have been completely sober from all drink and narcotics for nearly eight years.

However, interacting with people and being around people is very stressful for me.
Over the last four years my neck has started to get sore. It is pretty bad to be honest, I constantly have a stiff neck and it has been gradually getting worse.

I was wondering if this could be affecting my ears in some way as it seems over the last few months both my ears have started to get sore. Yes, the DJing exacerbates the problem for sure but it may not be the primary cause.

I was just wondering what you guys think about this?

Many thanks.

 

The primary cause is most likely abusing your ears with a range of frequency for long periods of time and also bad feedback through poopy headphones. Stop while you're ahead and look into your neck issues just to be on the safe side - but I doubt it is the primary cause of your ear issues since you've said to have had that issue for the past four years.

 

Thanks, you are probably right, I was just musing really, but it does help to get other people's opinions.

I understand no one here is a doctor but I find it helpful discussing things with other people and so far have had some good advice.

I have found a way I could do my show without needing to wear headphones, so hopefully it will work. But I am going to have a break for a couple of weeks and then see how I feel. But from now on I won't be using any headphones at all.

 

Avoiding headphones is ideal. If you end up continuing to use them, I would recommend some over-the-ear "sealed" studio headphones like the Seinnheiser HD280s. These cut quite a lot of external noise and so you can have your in-ear monitoring volume lower. Also, download the NIOSH noise app for your phone and check the levels on your monitor speaker (and also inside your headphones--you can seal them against your leg to get an idea of in-ear volume). When mixing for any sort of length of time I would try and keep the external and in-ear volume lower than 80 dB. It may take some getting used to but you'll adjust.

Lastly, if not using headphones, I would invest in some Epymotic musician's earplugs and get used to DJ-ing wearing these.

And good idea to take a break for a week or two just to let your ears rest. Definitely don't try and bosh out a mix if they are already bothering you as you are just compounding the potential damage.

 

I remember we had a poster here that was (past tense) a professional DJ and he had some pretty severe tinnitus. I would take the ringing and sore ears as a big warning sign and either reconsider hobbies or wear good hearing protection and lower the volume.