A Fine Tip No. 2: Use Hearing Protection When Mixing

Eris Drew's personal journey with tinnitus and learning to DJ with earplugs.

Many DJs these days share a lot about their lives on social media. Many of us enjoy sharing a clip of a great blend or an exciting moment. Many of us like to show our appreciation and memorialize how great a party was with a post. Some of us even share our favorite music and special tracks we have found among the millions of tunes pressed to vinyl and available digitally. Some advocate for causes that are important to us. But there is something on our minds that most of us don’t talk about publicly except to each other, and usually only in hushed tones: our ears. That’s why I decided to make hearing protection the subject of the second installment of my “A Fine Tip” column for DJs.

We know that events are loud and that our ears are being put through a lot of punishment in the environments we play through repeated exposures over long sets. But we sacrifice our bodies to the beat because the accuracy of our blends and our ability to “feel” the music are oftentimes more important to us than our safety. We deeply do not want to compromise our art and in the process have created a culture of throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of an ideal. To some degree serious DJs are sonic athletes, pushing our bodies to extremes. 

My History With Hearing Protection 

My friend BMG from the Interdimensional Transmissions crew in Detroit was the first person to seriously raise the issue of hearing protection to me after I had already been DJing for decades. It was 2018, in the months before IT hosted me at the Underground Stage at Detroit’s Movement festival, one of the loudest, most reflective sound environments I have ever experienced. I was starting to tour internationally and had been laid off from my day job. BMG looked me in the eyes and said simply, “get earplugs cause those ears are how you are going to take care of yourself from now on.” I took him seriously and got non-customized “musician” plugs, but I found it was harder to mix accurately while wearing them and it felt like something had come between me and the music. I was hyper-focused on building a reputation as a very technical DJ at all costs. And channeling the vibe of the music through my body was a huge aspect of my work behind a pair of turntables. I had purchased over-the-counter musician plugs from Just Music in Berlin with changeable filters but I didn’t wear them all the time. I found these unfitted plugs uncomfortable. I felt that they caused certain frequencies to resonate and I felt that it was harder to DJ when wearing them. I also felt they diminished my perceived connection to the energy of the music and people around me. 

Over the next two years, as Maya (Octo Octa) and I started mixing at more festivals and playing on concert systems, I realized my ears were becoming fatigued. It wasn’t as enjoyable to play because my ears literally rang and hurt after gigs. My musical practice was supposed to be in some sense healing and positive, but I was starting to feel worn out by the exposures and even a little resentful of the sometimes brutally loud events. I was getting nervous about how loud I had to monitor to mix records accurately in big rooms and knew something had to change. 

I wasn’t only worried about myself. My love and concern for my partner far outweighed my somewhat competitive desire to sacrifice it all for the sake of a set. I knew Maya had temporarily lost her hearing in her left ear for a few weeks in 2013 after repeated exposure to loud transients during a two week nonstop stint of speaker dancing at Red Bull Music Academy events. I was worried about her. So Maya and I went to our local audiologist in New Hampshire and got ourselves some proper customized musicians’ earplugs fitted specifically for our ears. I don’t like admitting this but I hated how they felt in my ear and found I didn’t like mixing with them. So I wore the soft unfitted resonant plugs from Just Music instead. 

Sidebar - A transient is a burst of energy at the start of a sound that creates a peak in the audio waveform. It happens quickly. If you clap your hands or bump your microphone, an obvious loud transient occurs. In dance music, the loudest transient is usually the attack of the kick drum. Tempo detection and beat matching by DJs is achieved through transient detection and matching by either a human (ear+brain) or a digital program.   

During the Covid quarantine we each realized how bad it had gotten. Both of us had low level tinnitus which we usually ignored or covered with an app for iPhone and Android. Rain Rain Sleep Sounds, as it is called, is an application featuring loops of nature sounds like rain and thunder, as well as other sounds like air conditioners (a Motherbeat favorite) and even funny samples like snoring dogs (pugs specifically), which you can oscillate and blend like a DJ. As the months of seclusion went on our ears returned to a normal baseline and the ringing diminished almost completely. Relieved, we vowed to never put our ears through that again.

Once we started to tour heavily again in the fall of 2021 we got new custom-molded soft silicone musicians’ plugs through ACS in the UK, one feature of which is a set of removable filters for different levels of reduction. We ordered -10dB reducing filters and -17dB reducing filters which we would switch out based on the perceived level of sound at gigs and the clarity of the monitors. But it was hard to adjust. Our DJ friends I. Jordan and Job Jobse gave us advice: wear them at every gig over the winter to get used to them. Job told us to just commit to a few rough sets over a four-month period and that we would adjust. He was right.  

My well-worn ACS custom molded earplugs with -26 dB reducing filters (fitted) and extra -17 dB reducing filters (pictured in the foreground).

My recorded set for Boiler Room in 2022, about 6 months after I started religiously and vigilantly wearing ACS plugs, was mixed live with filters. I played a tight set with some long accurate blends. I felt I did a solid job and played at my skill level. I believed I finally really had a handle on mixing with earplugs. But, there was a problem. My ears were still ringing after sets.

Blue ACS plugs worn throughout my Boiler Room set at Dekmantel

While we were hanging out after a set in Manchester UK, Jordan told me that they wear -26 dB reducing earplugs, the kind worn by construction workers! If I am being honest I have to admit that I thought to myself at the time “that’s bloody impossible for a DJ like me.” I actually thought they could only do that because they have “young ears” and possibly because they play on CDJs. Mixing records does present some unique challenges, because decks have no visual cues or meters to set tempo and mixing records is an inherently unstable activity (for example records wobble and warp slightly, the pitch and platter mechanisms on turntables are not entirely stable, vibrations in loud environments cause timing jitter, etc). I was just sure I knew I could never wear such strong plugs and still hear well enough to mix vinyl accurately. Then something horrible happened…

During ADE, less than 30 days after my Boiler Room set, I played an extended b2b with Russell E.L. Butler on a really loud system. I was excited for months to play the set because Russell’s a fantastic DJ and I couldn’t wait to mix records with them. I landed at Schipol Airport an hour before my set and rushed to the gig with my right ear feeling clogged. I thought it was just the pressure from the airplane failing to clear and I figured the issue would resolve itself. I wasn’t about to sit-out such a special set. What I didn’t know was that I had a blazing ear infection. As we left the gig and got into the van to go to our hotel I looked at Russell and Maya and said “something is really wrong, my ear is ringing in a way it never has before.” I didn’t realize it at the time but the ear infection rendered my inner ear especially delicate and susceptible to injury. The high pitched ringing never completely went away. 

I got treatment for my ear and the infection subsided but I now have irreversible chronic variable tinnitus (“variable” in that the ringing gets louder and softer throughout the day). I also temporarily developed hyperacusis, which made me extremely sensitive to all sound including music, voices, dishes clinking, car motors, doors closing etc. Listening became painful. In the fall of 2022, I canceled all my events and started to process something truly upsetting… my life in music might be over. I thought I would never DJ again, or write music, or even listen to it. Without knowing it I had developed a psychological condition known as “tinnitus distress.” After trying all kinds of snake oil to cure myself, I started cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to overcome my sensitivity and fear. My specialist confirmed what I suspected. My ear would be delicate going forward and my prior hearing protection wasn’t adequate for the environments I play in. If I was ever going to DJ again I had to get the “construction” plugs Jordan recommended. I also had to learn to watch my sound levels with a meter and not exceed the industrial standards for long exposure levels recommended by OSHA (the Occupational Health & Safety Administration). But he assured me that I could learn to adjust and that my ears would become less sensitive over time if I calmed my “flight or fight” response to the ringing through CBT. Habituation was the goal. An example of habituation happens when you move somewhere new. You stop noticing the sounds of your house after you live there a while (for example the refrigerator and furnace are not sounds your brain needs to concern itself with so it sends them into the background and doesn’t focus on them).

During what I can best describe as an adjustment period I took a few months off from playing and doing production work. I installed club monitors in my studio and started to reteach myself how to monitor with heavy filters at incrementally louder volumes. Once I started to tour again I began religiously wearing -26 dB filters and started to bring a sound pressure meter to gigs so I could keep a close eye on my levels during my sets. The pressure meter measures the sound at the DJ’s playing position, not the dancefloor. 

Recently Maya also made the switch to -26 dB reducing filters. She was using -17s and was nervous to add more reduction. But she noticed something that changed her mind. She couldn’t hear me speak during sets but I could hear her speech clearly with my earplugs in! How could I possibly hear her better with more reduction??? Because my plugs were taming the harshest frequencies in the room and this actually made mid-range sounds like the human voice crystal clear. The impact on musical detail is the same. I now love wearing my earplugs in the club and find the experience of music while wearing them clear and powerful. The low end still vibrates my body but all that harshness is gone.

So…Why Write this Article?

I am writing this article for a few reasons. First and foremost, having tinnitus is lousy and I don’t want you to experience it chronically if you can avoid it. It is a constant thing I deal with and it takes a toll on me.

Second, if you do have tinnitus I want to offer some advice and words of encouragement because I have managed to cope with it, tour hard, and still live a life of music. I honestly think I am getting better at mixing, not worse, by using strong earplugs. I am a little embarrassed to admit this but my therapist told me Bono has terrible tinnitus, which was a turning point for me because if fucking Bono can still tour with tinnitus I am not letting it stop me!

Third, I want to destigmatize the issues of tinnitus and hearing loss. Many if not most musicians over 40 experience tinnitus and hearing loss, and you don’t need to feel ashamed if you experience either or both now or in the future. The average age of onset is going down because of how loud the world has become due to technology. Furthermore, musicians can have issues with their ears at any age. Maya hurt her ear for the first time in her mid 20s.  

Technical Information and Advice

Here are my “fine tips” for DJs followed by some technical notes.

1. Get custom-molded fitted plugs from an audiologist as soon as you are able. 

2. Pick filters with a mostly flat frequency response so that the volume is evenly reduced across the frequency spectrum. This helps the sound to not seem muffled. 

3. Put your earplugs in BEFORE you arrive at the club. Humans perceive a drop in volume as a drop in energy, so don’t wait until you get to the club to put them in. 

4. Try to wear strong filters for your whole set rather than take them in and out. If the monitors are not loud enough or clear enough, don’t take your plugs out during the set. Ask the sound team to turn up your monitors or adjust the EQ (or balance between the bass driver and hi/mid drivers) to make them “brighter” and thus “clearer.” 

5. Commit to a learning curve. Play a few sets with the plugs in for the whole set even if it is hard or impacts your performance negatively to get used to the filters. Don’t give up! It will take a little time to adjust. Your ears are worth it. 

6. Practice at home or in your studio with your plugs in to get used to the filters before you try it in a club. 

7. Get an exam by an audiologist once a year to measure your hearing loss (if any) over time and to establish a baseline for your body which can be tracked as you get older and are exposed to more sound. 

My USB-powered volume meter which measures SPLs (“sound pressure levels”) in dB (decibels). I bring this with me to ALL gigs to measure the levels in the DJ booth. As alternatives, you can install a dB meter as an app on your phone and a level meter comes standard with an Apple Watch.

Now for the technical stuff. This can be a lot to absorb at first but once you get used to talking about loudness in decibels all you need is very simple math to protect yourself. 

1. If you use monitors to beat match (meaning one ear in the headphone cueing one channel and the other ear listening to the master signal in the monitors), the volume of the monitors needs to be a few dB louder than the volume of the main speakers (“mains”) as measured from the playing position to overcome the delay from the room. For example, Panorama Bar sets its dancefloor volume limit at approx 102 dBA and it is about this loud in the booth. To overcome the volume of the delayed floor signal my monitors have to be a little louder at approximately 104-105 dBA. Why do you hear a delay? Because the main speakers are far away from you and sound takes time to travel to your ear. That’s why monitors are essential. 

   Sidebar - A-weighted decibel (dBA or dB(A)) is an expression of the relative loudness of sounds as perceived by the human ear. A-weighting gives more value to frequencies in the middle of human hearing and less value to frequencies at the edges as compared to a flat audio decibel measurement. In bass-heavy environments dBA is a useful measure because it focuses on the loudness in the frequency areas to which your ear is most sensitive (e.g., speech). 

2. Bring a sound pressure meter to your gigs if you can afford one or install a loudness detection app on your phone. Many clubs have a sound pressure meter to measure the volume on the dancefloor. The meter is usually connected to a microphone hanging from the ceiling over the dancers. This meter measures the maximum volume you should set your master output at to protect the dancers but it might not accurately reflect how loud it is in the DJ booth. It can be louder or quieter in the DJ booth than it is for dancers. The only way to know how loud it is for you, the DJ, is to measure it with your own meter that has a built-in microphone. In some cases the club will set a “limiter” on the mains at a target volume to protect the dancers, protect the system from overloading, and/or avoid breaking the the volume limit set by their local authority (exceeding the limit can carry a fine or lead to a loss or suspension of the venue’s license). That’s all well and good and you should respect these limits, but there is a critical distinction here which many of us don’t appreciate: these limits don’t protect you. The mic is placed on the floor, not in your DJ booth. A cheaper alternative to a standalone meter is to install a sound pressure meter like the “dB” app on your phone—these programs are surprisingly accurate and certainly adequate for measuring the approximate sound level of a DJ booth. 

3. Roughly speaking, the volume of the signal reaching your ears is the volume you measure in the booth less the reduction of your filtered earplugs. If you are wearing -26 dB reducing earplugs and your monitors are set to 105 dBA, your ears are being subjected to roughly 79 dBA of sound pressure.

4. Even if you like to monitor quietly or always monitor using a blend of the cue and master in your headphone, events are almost always 100 dBA or louder. Why so loud? The conversation on dancefloors is easily at 75 dB or higher, so the sound teams push the levels to 100 or higher to overcome the banter and provide a clear powerful immersive experience of sound. It is notable that at home in a quiet room even 85 dB sounds really really loud, but at a club 85 dB is going to sound too quiet unless people are not talking and the room is not reflecting sound waves (which also has a sound cancellation effect).   

5. It is important to understand that exposure for the purposes of our safety is measured in volume and time. Our ears are built to recover quickly from loud sounds of a short duration, like a car door slamming or a loud voice. But sustained loud sounds like 3-hour-long DJ sets put your ears through a lot. The louder the set the more damage, and the longer the set the more damage. The charts below show you how time and loudness work together to damage your ears. The charts are concerning at first, BUT with the right hearing protection you can protect yourself and still smash a mix. You just need to be proactive and learn to adjust to playing with the plugs.

   

   OSHA is the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, an organization enacted by the United States Congress to set standards for exposure levels in workplaces. Be sure not to confuse the “Boiler Room” mentioned here with Boiler Room TV whose events are usually louder ;-)

6. My audiologists and therapists told me that a good rule of thumb is that your ears should never ring, even temporarily, after a set. If they do, your ear protection isn’t adequate and you need to make a change. If you have chronic tinnitus like me you want to be checking after gigs to make sure your tinnitus isn’t worse than normal. 

7. Hearing loss and chronic tinnitus often occur gradually over time. By some estimates 70% of musicians over the age of 40 will develop chronic tinnitus. Just because you feel fine now doesn’t mean your body isn’t taking a hit or that you have ears made from concrete. Two of my doctors confirmed to me that my variable tinnitus (as mentioned it gets louder and quieter through the day) was slowly building to a crescendo because of repeated exposures, which the inner ear infection simply pushed over the edge. 

8. Good communication with the sound team at events is key. A good sound team will want to protect you. I always let them know I need 110 dBA of headroom (available volume without clipping) on my monitors and that it is safe to give me that because I wear -26 dB reducing plugs. Often they have a default EQ setting on the monitors to tame the high end and help protect players that don’t wear plugs from harsh frequencies. That’s an issue because your plugs can sound muffled if the sound team is cutting a lot of the high frequencies. I always nicely ask the team leader to make the eq flat and assure them that I will request a frequency cut or a slight low pass if I need it. I should mention that I try not to go up to 110 but I want that little extra headroom for peaks since I scratch and play a lot of old records that have not been brick-wall limited (thus to achieve the same perceived loudness as a modern production I need to push my transient peaks a little louder on my records, and scratches generate momentary loud transients). Generally speaking you never want to use all your available headroom because then the signal will start to degrade, so 110 dBA gives me about 5 dBA of extra over my target average of 105 dBA. I often ask to turn up the top of the speaker (tweeter) if the monitors sound muffled because my earplugs cut a little more of the high frequencies than the mids or lows. This means the earplugs do not have a perfectly flat frequency response and attenuate (i.e. turn down more of) the high frequencies. It is helpful to know the frequency response of your earplug and filter combination. The chart for my PRO26 earplugs is below. Note that frequencies above 4kHz are reduced by a greater amount than the lower frequencies, which is why I need a little more high-end in my monitors than I would without earplugs.

   

9. Be aware of the volume of the output to your headphones. If you mix in your headphones take note that most commercial DJ mixers today can produce volumes that are dangerous over long exposures. Be mindful of your levels. Even if your monitors are low in volume, the headphones alone can still produce a signal over 110dB so if you want to turn them up loud all the advice herein still applies. A layer of hearing protection between your eardrum and the headphone cup is a very good idea. I measured our Pioneer A9 mixer with a pair of Sennheiser Hd-25 headphones turned all the way up and got a peak reading of 115-118 db with my meter pressed against the earcup.

Something we can all do to help each other is to encourage our friends, colleagues and fellow dancers to purchase hearing protection and wear it at events. My friend DJ sold is very public with their advocacy for hearing protection and I admire them for being outspoken about it for many years.

I always bring foam plugs for people I care about like my agent Alex because he forgets to bring his all the time. My fellow DJs, please don’t be shy to bring single use foam plugs for your friends who forget. <3

When not at the club I recommend practicing hearing conservation. Listening to music or podcasts at high volumes can put additional strain on your ears. Research indicates the world is getting louder and people are having issues with their hearing earlier in life than in prior decades.¹ Consider utilizing the safety loudness meter on your iPhone and get noise-reducing earplugs for planes, trains and other loud places. Being a DJ is already hard on your body, so try not to pile on. Planes can be as loud as 75-85 dBA. 

Final Thoughts

I am happy to report that it has been over a year since my injury and I continue to tour. Tinnitus sucks, but there is good news. My ears don’t ever feel fatigued after gigs and my tinnitus has stayed about the same, even improving a little despite a ton of touring since my ear infection. My last hearing test by an audiologist detected no change to my hearing and normal hearing for a person my age. My oversensitivity to sound is gone completely. I honestly think my mixing keeps getting tighter because my ears are finally monitoring at an ideal level: at or below an average of 82 dBA. Since my monitors are actually louder than the system and flat, I can hear clearly the attack of the percussion and drum sounds which are the metronomes I use most of the time for synchronizing long blends by ear. It took many months in early 2023 to get used to the filters in my -26 dB earplugs but I did eventually adjust. If I can do it, so can you. I am not special in this regard, only fragile yet determined. If you ever feel discouraged about wearing plugs when you mix, maybe consider this advice from Rick Rubin: “Don’t say you can’t do it, just say you haven’t done it yet.”

The content in Journal of the Motherbeat is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. I am not a doctor or trained healthcare provider and the advice mentioned is based on anecdotal experience which may be incomplete, flawed or inaccurate as it pertains to the subjects discussed herein or your specific physiology. Consult a variety of sources in making decisions related to your health. 

1. https://www.wwmedgroup.com/blog/why-hearing-loss-is-happening-at-younger-ages/