Author: Mandy Lewis

If you’re a DJ or a muso and you’re reading this and thinking ‘maybe it’s time I got some earplugs…’, hold that thought and listen: there is NO ‘maybe’ about it. I cannot stress to you how important it is to protect your ears, they are your living, and they are under almost daily barrage.

I cannot stress to you how important it is to protect your ears, they are your living, and they are under almost daily barrage.

I’ve been on tour with The Prodigy and played gigs so big the monitoring is 30,000 watts of sound, but if you’re thinking ‘I only play little gigs’ it’s often those sh*tty little sound systems at Camden Monarch or some bar that will cause the most damage.

One day, years ago, my colleague Erol Alkan told me he’d lost 40% of the hearing in one of his ears and that he’d just discovered Geraldine and Paul at Musicians Hearing Services.

That recommendation changed my life. I’d get tinnitus SO badly after every gig, that I couldn’t sleep, and I’d be ill as a result. My immune system was shot through and I was a mess.

Since getting MHS to sort me out with plugs, I carry them EVERYWHERE and use them at big gigs, little gigs, parties, anywhere with a sound system. Now I sleep, I’m healthy and my ears aren’t getting any worse despite my job.

They make it easy, they are nice people, they’ll even get rid of that horrid build up of years worth of wax for you.

The plugs come in varying degrees of sound reduction and they just reduce it, not muffle it like those spongy yellow ones you can get for free at festivals. You’ll still hear the sizzle of a hi-hat and the boom of a kick drum, just at less damaging volume.

Now if you’re final thought is ‘hmmm but its quite expensive…’ Stop. It’s the best money I EVER spent.

Do it now. You will not regret it. Just guard them with your life!

PS – just one more thing – if you’re thinking ‘this is one of those free plugs for a plug thing…’ NO. This is from the heart and I paid the same for my earplugs as you will pay for yours.

Eddy Temple-Morris